Joliet City Council District 2 Candidate Robert O'Dekirk

Will County News Politics spoke with Joliet City Council Candidate Robert O'Dekirk at the recent Informate/Get Informed Candidates Forum hosted by the Unidos Marketing Network.

O'Dekirk is challenging incumbent Timothy Brophy, along with fellow challengers Brian Baltz and John M. Gurka.

O'Dekirk said District Two residents take a lot of pride in their neighborhood and Joliet, saying many District 2 residents have lived in the same neighborhood their entire lives.

O'Dekirk said residents of District Two are concerned about crime, and with the Joliet police department running 40-50 officers short, it is a legitimate concern.

O'Dekirk said among his main goals is getting the city back on a healthy financial track by sitting down and working with the unions.

O'Dekirk said while some have advocated for a 10-20% cut in the budget, he is not sure if citizens are ready for a 10-20% cut in services.  Along with cutting back to an economically sustainable point without jeopardizing services, O'Dekirk would like to focus on increasing revenue.  For example, he said he would push to prosecute misdemeanors locally so that the City of Joliet could collect the fine money.  To do that, Joliet would pass local municipal ordinances that the city could use to prosecute the case and keep the fine money if the person was found guilty. O'Dekirk also said Joliet could increase its use of asset forfeiture to increase revenue.

Joliet City Council District 2: 3 Challenge incumbent Timothy Brophy

Three challengers are up against incumbent Timothy Brophy in the Joliet Consolidated Election to be held April 5, 2011.  The challengers are: John M. Gurka, Brian Baltz, and Robert O'Dekirk.




Timothy M. Brophy is the current Joliet City Council Member serving District 2.  His biography from the Joliet City Council Website:
"Timothy M. Brophy – District 2 City Councilman

Councilman Brophy has represented the residents of Joliet since 1995 and has served on several city council committees during that time. Tim graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University and received a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. Tim is currently the President of Dow Mortgage Co., and Broker/Owner of Dow Realty, Inc.   Other activities include membership in the Joliet Rotary Club, Joliet/Will County Project Pride, the Irish-American Society of County Will and the Will County Continuum of Care. Tim is also a board member of the Joliet Area Historical Museum .

Family History
Tim is married to Rayna J. Brophy, nee Hemphill. He has three children: Danny 10, Taylar 9 and Braden 4.

Goals for the City of Joliet 
Tim has both big and small goals for the City of Joliet . On a larger scale Tim would like to make Joliet a place we are all proud to call home. He would like to augment and diversify our economy and to maximize all revenue sources so we can keep pressure off property taxes. He would like to continue the revitalization of downtown Joliet into a vibrant and active place to live, work and play. He continues the work of changing the Evergreen Terrace housing project area. Tim emphasizes the importance of working together with other units of government, especially Will County , to effectively and efficiently get the most out of taxpayers' dollars.

On an individual basis Tim would like to completely eliminate basement flooding from every home. He would also like to relieve neighbors of problem houses, drug houses, over-crowding and other residential abuses. Tim would also like to continue to work with the Joliet Police Department to eliminate noise pollution from loud vehicles."

I was unable to find any official websites or YouTube videos for John M. Gurka, Brian Baltz, or Robert O'Dekirk.  If you know of any sites with their information, please email me at willcountynews@gmail.com.  I will also check for more information as the election nears.