Tony's, Molly Zelko, Aykroyd, D'Arcy And More: Joliet Patch 2022 (2024)

Community Corner

Here's a look back at 10 of the most memorable Joliet Patch articles you read and offered your reactions on social media during 2022.

Posted Wed, Dec 28, 2022 at 6:12 pm CT|Updated Wed, Dec 28, 2022 at 11:00 pm CT

There was a tremendous change in leadership for the Joliet Police Department, and there were some sad, unexpected announcements along the way, including news that one of Joliet's longest-operating nursing care facilities will be closing for good in early 2023.

The following is a compilation of significant stories published by Joliet Patch during 2022:

'Gorgeous' Tony's Fresh Market: Joliet Celebrates Opening

In one of Joliet Mayor Bob O'Dekirk's biggest success stories during his second term as mayor, the ugly and abandoned Kmart store at 1801 W. Jefferson St. came back to life on June 29 as Tony's Fresh Market celebrated its grand opening.

"It's a great addition," O'Dekirk told Joliet Patch that morning. "It sat dilapidated for years as the old Kmart. There was talk about making it storage units, which I opposed, and I made the right decision."

Jim Marnos, one of the representatives of the Tony's Fresh Market company, told Joliet Patch that the new Tony's in Joliet had 235 employees. He said the produce, meats, deli and bakery are four of the most popular sections for Tony's. The first four supermarket aisles carry ethnic products.

Before Tony's opened this summer, the former Kmart building had been vacant since the store closed in December 2016. The Kmart store was built in 1965. A Planet Fitness now occupies the corner property at the former Kmart that decades ago was a ShowBiz Pizza Place.

Joliet Portillo's Makes History: 1st Triple Drive-Thru Opens

On Feb. 1, Vice president of restaurant support Michael Portillo drove to Joliet to mark a milestone event for his popular restaurant franchise. The first Portillo's Pick Up in the nation — a triple drive-thru — officially opened at 10:30 a.m. in Joliet at 1444 N. Larkin Ave.

"Joliet's a great town," Michael Portillo told Joliet Patch. "My dad always has been an innovator and 39 years ago, we opened our first drive-thru, Downers Grove, and here we are."

Joliet marked the 70th Portillo's restaurant for the growing fast-food restaurant business. The new Joliet restaurant is only for pickup and carryout orders. There is no dining room inside.

"It's another way to get Portillo's,"Michael Portillo said. "It's got all the elements we like." The new Portillo's is in the North Ridge Plaza. A VASA Fitness Center opened in the same plaza.

Thousands Rock Old Joliet Prison For Jim Belushi, Dan Aykroyd Concert

Jim Belushi and Dan Aykroyd had the Old Joliet Prison rocking on Aug. 19, putting on an electrifying performance — as promised — for the first-ever Blues Brothers Con inside the 1858-era Old Joliet Prison.

Promoters told Joliet Patch they were expecting at least 5,000 people that Friday night. The entire prison yard was filled with lawn chairs and only a small portion of the crowd was leaving around 11 p.m. as Aykroyd and Belushi were still in rare form, dazzling their spectators.

That Friday afternoon, Aykroyd and Belushi walked the Old Joliet Prison grounds and made time for photos and autographs with fans. They also granted several interview requests with reporters, including one on one interviews with the Joliet Patch.

"Well, thank you for the welcome that it looks like we're going to be receiving," Aykroyd told Joliet Patch. "I'm very grateful for the welcome and ... just everyone's countenance seems so happy and up and God knows we need that in the world today.

"We'll see what the reaction is to the music. I think it's going to be all right. So I say thank you to the community for letting us come here and film in the first place, and thanks for having us back."

The movie Blues Brothers came out in 1980, making it 42 years old now.

Is Molly Zelko's Body Buried Across From Stryker Ave. High Rise?

On Sept. 24, retired Joliet area newspaper editor Lonny Cain gave a riveting presentation in the Joliet Area Historical Museum about the Molly Zelko mystery. Cain revealed the crusading newspaper editor from the 1950s may be buried in a sanitary sewer across from the Stevenson Gardens high rise on Stryker Avenue.

Cain's presentation coincided with this weekend's 65th anniversary of the 47-year-old Joliet newspaper editor's disappearance and presumed murder by Joliet's mob.

For the first time, Cain revealed the identity of the woman he and late Joliet Herald News columnist John Whiteside made a focal point of their reporting efforts to solve the Molly mystery, starting in the late 1970s after the 20-year anniversary.

The woman's name was Jeannine (Lake) Pace. She saw a large black car with four men park in front of their house at 103 Stryker Ave. and open the trunk. After the body was dropped face-first into the ditch, the men threw some dirt over the hole to cover the body, so it wasn't visible.

Then, the black car drove off. The time of the incident was between 1 a.m. and 1:30 a.m.

Joliet, Aurora Hollywood Casinos On Move: Penn Gaming Confirms

Nearly one year after Joliet Patch broke an exclusive story revealing that Hollywood Casino was looking to relocate its gambling casino and hotel to the new Rock Run Crossings development in Joliet near Interstates 55 and 80, Penn Entertainment Inc. confirmed the news.

On Oct. 10, Penn also announced it will be moving its Hollywood Casino in downtown Aurora to a different location as well.

"PENN intends to develop a new land-based casino as part of the Rock Run Crossings development project in Joliet, which is adjacent to the I-80 and I-55 interchange and several miles from the current Hollywood Casino Joliet riverboat property which it would replace. The project, with an estimated budget of $185 million, is expected to include a modern, best-in-class casino with approximately 800 slots and 45 live table games including a baccarat room, a Barstool Sportsbook, high quality bars and restaurants, approximately 10,000 square feet of meeting areas and an event center. Construction of the new property is expected to begin in late 2023, subject to regulatory approval."

Our Lady Of Angels Announces Permanent Closing Date

On Nov. 10, the president of Our Lady of Angels Retirement Home announced the Joliet retirement home will be permanently closed by March. Our Lady of Angels has been at 1201 Wyoming Avenue on Joliet’s west side since 1960.

"Following long and deliberate consideration, we regret to announce that Our Lady of Angels Retirement Home will close by February 28, 2023," announced Sister Jeanne Bessette, president of the Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate. "This difficult decision is made for financial reasons alone. Put simply, despite our best efforts, OLA has been and will continue to lose a substantial amount of money, and we can no longer continue to operate as a stand-alone long term care facility."

3 Nurses Suspended By Ascension, Turmoil At St. Joe's Hospital

Joliet's constantly renamed hospital campus along Madison Street and Glenwood Avenue — now known as the Ascension Saint Joseph's Medical Center of Joliet — remains in a state of turmoil this weekend after three nurses got suspended on Oct. 22.

According to the Illinois Nurses Association, the nurses at Ascension St. Joe's were escorted out of the hospital the previous night, which was a Friday, after they called attention to a dire nursing shortage in the emergency room.

Hospital guidelines recommend the unit be staffed with 10 nurses, but only four were available to treat 46 patients, according to the INA.

At Saturday night's news conference, covered by Joliet Patch, Hannah Puhr spoke on behalf of her employer's night shift nurses. Puhr said she works as a day shift Emergency Room nurse.

"Shout out to them," Puhr remarked. "They're amazing, they have some of the best nurses that I know."

About 100 people attended the Oct. 22 news conference held outside the Ascension St. Joe's hospital along Glenwood Avenue. Joliet Mayor Bob O'Dekirk as well as at-large Councilmen Joe Clement and Cesar Guerrero were also in attendance.

President Biden Tells Joliet: 'Let's Go Spread The Faith'

On Saturday, Nov. 5, a smiling, cheering and energized crowd of 300 to 400 people packed into the Jones Elementary School gym in the Minooka area of far west Joliet for a historic event — President Joe Biden gave a 23-minute speech with three days to go until Tuesday's midterm elections.

Biden urged people who already voted to go to their next-door neighbor and give them a ride to the polls Tuesday, if they haven't voted.

The crowd was reminded how Republican U.S. Senators, notably Rick Scott in Florida and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, are trying to get rid of Social Security and Medicare and use that money so that big corporations and businesses won't have to pay any taxes.

Shortly before 11 a.m., Biden walked on the stage to an enthusiastic audience and remarked, "Please, have a seat ... I was at a big rally not long ago, last year, and I said everybody, take a seat, and the press said Biden's so stupid he didn't even know they didn't have any chairs!"

Biden's appearance in Joliet appeared to pay off as an overwhelming majority of Democrats running for Will County offices, including county clerk, county sheriff and county treasurer all emerged victorious once the mail-in and the provisional ballots were counted a week after the election.

Before leaving Joliet to campaign in Pennsylvania with former President Obama on behalf of U.S. Senate candidate John Fetterman, President Biden offered these words to his supporters in Joliet: "All of you, all of you, are the reason I've never before more optimistic about America. We just have to remember who in God's name we are. We are the United States of America."

Joliet Hires 1st Outside Chief of Police Since 1990s

On March 1, Bill Evans became Joliet's first outside police chief since Dennis Nowicki and Joe Beasley served in that role, back to back, during the 1990s. After 24 years on the job, Evans retired from the Cook County Sheriff's Office in September 2016 where he was a lieutenant.
He spent several years in a command position investigating gang activity and 16 years in the SWAT unit. He was one of four candidates in the 2014 Democratic primary, finishing in second to incumbent Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart.

Joliet City Manager Jim Capparelli hired Evans. In 2021 October, Capparelli got rid of Dawn Malec after less than nine months on the job. Malec had replaced Al Roechner, who accepted a raise of more than $31,000 to spike his pension in exchange for submitting his immediate notice of resignation, in January 2021.

Terry D'Arcy Intends To Defeat O'Dekirk, Announces Run For Mayor

For the first time since winning office in 2015, Joliet criminal defense attorney Bob O'Dekirk will face a challenge in his bid to remain as the mayor of Joliet. One of Joliet's most notable businessmen, Terry D'Arcy of D'Arcy Motors, announced his candidacy for mayor on June 15.

The municipal election will take place on April 4. There are also five contested City Council seats on the ballot. At his June press conference, D'Arcy announced he's running for mayor because at 66 years old, he has the time necessary to devote his attention to being mayor of Joliet.

He said he's running because of the public service component. He said he wants to give back to the city. "I just want to help people," D'Arcy told reporters at his news conference.

The Joliet Police Department's Supervisors Association has announced its unanimous support for D'Arcy over O'Dekirk, who was also a Joliet police officer during the 1990s before changing careers and becoming an attorney.

Capparelli became the first city manager since the 1990s to hire a Joliet police chief from outside the police department. Capparelli and Joliet are now defendants in a federal gender discrimination lawsuit filed by Dawn Malec, who got demoted as police chief by Capparelli in 2021.