Terry D'Arcy Re-Election Campaign Announcement For Joliet Mayor Met With Mixed Reaction

JOLIET, IL — The last time Terry D'Arcy ran for the mayor of Joliet, he announced his candidacy nearly a year in advance, throwing a party with balloons inside the showroom of his D'Arcy Motors automotive dealership on Essington Road.

Four years later, as the incumbent mayor of Joliet, D'Arcy didn't even issue a news release regarding his candidacy. On Tuesday, D'Arcy posted a short message on his Facebook page showing D'Arcy holding his city of Joliet envelope for the 2027 election for mayor. The Facebook announcement reads, "Let's keep Joliet moving forward —the best is yet to come!"

By 5 p.m. Wednesday, D'Arcy's Facebook announcement signaling his intention to vie for a second term, generated 355 likes and 54 comments.

Here is a sampling of the comments:

• "Of course it’s AI content— fitting," wrote Andrew.
• "Yay, I am so happy. Thanks for all you do Mayor," wrote Faith.
• "Glad to hear you will run again," wrote Stewart.
• "Thank you Terry for leading Joliet. You’re a great man," wrote Thomas.
• "I am glad to hear you are running again, you will win and do a great job for the people of Joliet," wrote Nick.
• "Good job buddy keep up the great work," wrote Bart.
• "Can't wait to vote u out," wrote Pam.
• "Good news Terry. Best of luck in your reelection," wrote Bert.
• "How much of a political donation is needed to get grants in the amount that Bill Dimitroulas received?" wrote Joseph.
• "Joliet needs to change leadership especially its top guy. Between data centers and warehouses Darcy is not for the people," wrote Ed.
• "No!! We need a mayor who spends money on our city. Streets etc not parks!! No Data Centers. No!!" wrote Nancy.
• "How about building something else we don't want like a warehouse or solar farm or coffee shop," wrote Robert.
• "Bringing the best in the first term would be a good idea," wrote Val.

When D'Arcy first announced his candidacy for mayor inside his dealership showroom, his speech contained the following remarks: "I would like to use my leadership skill set to help lead for the future of this great city with clear and energetic communication while keeping my ear to the ground for our everyday needs as Mayor and vote number 9 on the council. We are a city Manager/council form of government, and I understand how we can work well together.

"My approach as a servant leader in our businesses that employ over 225 wonderful people has allowed me to now have the time to devote myself to public service as I have worked myself out of a job."

Joe Clement Keeps Campaigning For Mayor

Second-term Joliet City Councilman at large Joe Clement, a retired Joliet police detective, informed Joliet Patch that D'Arcy gave him a courtesy phone call this week to let him that D'Arcy was obtaining the elections petitions.

Clement emphasized that just because someone obtains the election petitions does not mean they will actually carry through the process and be on the April 6, 22027,consolidated election ballot.

"I have great respect for Terry and still consider him a friend from many years ago," Clement remarked. "Terry and I go back a long way, we did a lot of charity work together. I am still in at this point. I've had a lot of people encourage me to run. Pulling petitions is just one thing, you still need to get your signatures and then there's the filing ddeadline, and you have to go through the challenges."

In addition to D'Arcy and Clement, the other Joliet residents who have taken out petitions to run for Joliet mayor are Jim Lanham, Steven Casey and Stanley Keen. In the 2023 election, only three people ultimately ran on the ballot: D'Arcy as the successful challenger, two-term incumbent Bob O'Dekirk, who was soundly defeated, and third-place finisher Tycee Bell.

The vote totals showed D'Arcy with 61 percent of the vote, while O'Dekirk and Bell combined to capture the other 39 percent.