The Joliet City Council on June 20 adopted an ordinance approving a settlement and mutual releases agreement between the City of Joliet and multiple private parties over the construction of the Northpointe development and also approved a first amendment to the memorandum of understanding for the Hobart Road project with the Illinois Department of Transportation and Will County.

The settlement, described in Council memo 374-25 and tied to Will County case number 2022 MR 138, was presented to councilors as a step that will end ongoing litigation and remove the city’s potential long-term maintenance liability for roads and bridges associated with the closed-loop network for the Northpointe and Centerpointe projects. City attorney Mike Laden said the agreement “will ultimately prevent trucks from the Eastgate development from going on to Route 53” and will stop similar truck traffic from Northpointe on Route 53. Laden also told councilors the settlement removes a “looming multi $100,000,000 liability” that the city could otherwise have faced for maintenance and bridge obligations.

Why it matters: council members and staff said the settlement resolves multiple legal risks and will allow regional traffic studies to proceed with Joliet as the final arbiter of resulting traffic mitigation. Supporters at the meeting said the deal will return jobs and end costly litigation; critics said the public did not have adequate access to the settlement language before the vote.

At a special meeting called by Mayor Terry Darcy, the council heard public comment from residents and stakeholders before taking votes. Matt Robbins, identified as supervisor of Jackson Township, said residents had seen “none of the agreements,” adding that “we have no — we don’t know if it’s good or bad for our community.” Delilah Legrad of Jackson Township told the council that residents “have brought up very serious concerns” for years and warned that past promises by developers had not come to fruition: “their signature means nothing.” Several other residents urged caution or asked for more information; Michelle Peterson, identifying herself as a Jackson Township resident, said she did not know “how anybody can say vote yes or vote no when there’s really no information to look at.”

Other speakers supported the settlement. Tom Lee commended the city and said, “I think the city has done a phenomenal job of working this out and bringing this to a conclusion.” Patrick Young, representing the operating engineers and the building trades of Will and Grundy counties, said the deal would bring jobs for local tradespeople and urged councilors to vote yes.

City officials and staff said the settlement negotiations were lengthy and, because of litigation rules, could not be fully public while the case was active. Mayor Darcy acknowledged distrust among some residents at the meeting and said, “You don’t trust us, but let’s learn to do it.” Staff also told the council the settlement text had been reviewed in executive session earlier in the week and that there were no changes to the version reviewed on Tuesday. A council member asked whether the public could get copies; a staff member, Beth, answered, "Correct. And we can have copies available as well." The city said the settlement documents would be made public after the meeting.

Votes at a glance: the council voted to adopt both ordinances presented during the special meeting. Council memo 374-25 (settlement and mutual releases agreement related to the Northpointe development, Will County case number 2022 MR 138) carried on a recorded voice vote with council members recorded as voting "aye." Council memo 375-25 (first amendment to the Hobart Road MOU with the Illinois Department of Transportation, Will County, the City of Joliet, and Hobart Road Extension JV LLC) also carried on a recorded voice vote with all present voting "aye." Copies of both ordinances and the settlement were represented as available after the meeting.

What the settlement says and next steps: according to presentations at the meeting, the settlement (1) prohibits use of Route 53 by trucks from the Eastgate development and limits trucks from Northpointe using Route 53; (2) removes the city’s obligation to pay for maintenance of specified roads and bridges after year two under prior agreements, eliminating what staff described as a potential multi-$100 million exposure; (3) requires the parties to work with Joliet on measures to reduce truck impact on downtown and surrounding roads; and (4) provides for more regional traffic study work with Joliet retaining final decision authority on mitigation. Officials said the settlement was reached the day before the council meeting and that a civil trial that had been scheduled for the coming Monday would no longer proceed as planned.

Council action and formal record: after the ordinance text was read into the record, the council moved and seconded the motions and recorded individual roll-call "ayes" for each ordinance. For the settlement ordinance (Council memo 374-25) the roll call recorded Councilman Cardenas, Councilman Clement, Councilman Hogg, Councilman Moreno, Councilman Mudrin, Councilwoman Quillman, Councilwoman Reardon and Mayor Terry Darcy as voting "aye;" the mayor announced "Motion carried." For the Hobart Road MOU amendment ordinance (Council memo 375-25) the roll call recorded Councilman Clement, Councilman Hogg, Councilman Navarro, Councilman Moreno, Councilman Mudrin, Councilwoman Quillman, Councilwoman Verdin, Councilman Cardenas and Mayor Terry Darcy as voting "aye;" the mayor announced "Motion carried." Copies of the ordinances and the settlement were promised to be made public and available following the meeting.

The council adjourned after hearing no additional public comment. The city said written copies of the settlement and the Hobart Road amendment would be released after the meeting.