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Residents praise Joliet police for de-escalation at Bicentennial Park; another resident alleges failure to enforce protective order
Summary
At the pre-council meeting residents praised Joliet police for handling dangerous July 3 fireworks and unsupervised crowds, and a different resident accused police and the state's attorney of failing to enforce her order of protection after an incident she says was captured on gas-station surveillance.
Several residents addressed the council during the public-comment portion of the pre-council meeting, offering both praise for Joliet Police Department actions during Bicentennial Park festivities and a detailed allegation that police and prosecutors did not enforce an individual order of protection.
"I just wanna say thank you, and I just wanted to give them their recognition and, you know, their time in the spotlight because they deserved it," Megan Cooper, a Joliet resident, said after describing rowdy, unsupervised teen activity and illegal Roman-candlestick fireworks at the July 3 event. Cooper said officers gave multiple warnings, attempted to de-escalate the crowd and only used force after urging dispersal.
Separately, another resident recounted a private safety concern and alleged law-enforcement inaction. The resident said surveillance footage from a gas station shows her alleged attacker driving directly behind her pickup and that officers did not review the footage or pursue enforcement of her order of protection.
"What good is having this order protection if law enforcement and state's attorney are not gonna enforce it?" the resident asked, describing fear for her safety and asserting the respondent has weapons.
The transcript records these public statements but does not include direct responses from police or city legal staff during the pre-council meeting. Council members and staff did not record follow-up actions in the session's minutes as presented during the meeting; the resident's complaint about enforcement therefore remains unresolved in this record.
The meeting concluded after a motion to adjourn carried by voice vote.
