Contentious Joliet Township meeting held over millions in state grant money to help asylum-seekers

JOLIET TOWNSHIP, Ill. (WLS) -- Joliet Township residents attended a contentious meeting Tuesday night over an $8.6 million grant awarded to help fund resources and aid for asylum seekers.

Attendees did not mince words as they addressed concerns over the money.

"I don't believe you're fixing a problem, you're creating a problem," one speaker said.

"We need to take care of our own. We have issues here. We need to strengthen our foundation," said another.

"The purpose of this grant was to help our community partners who serve individuals beyond the county township and city boundaries," said Supervisor Angel Contreras. "This is a reactive request grant to address current issues, it was not intended to bring more people to our areas."

At the packed meeting, those who supported the township's efforts were vastly outnumbered by neighbors and city leaders concerned over the proposal on how to use the grant money if the township accepts the fuds.

"We cannot meet the needs of these people," said John Sheridan, president of the Cunningham Neighborhood council.

"We have to first take care of our citizens here before we can go and take care of anybody else," said resident Trista Graves Brown.

City Council leaders, including Joliet's mayor, said they were aware of the townships effort's to obtain the grant, but did not provide input.

45 "It was done without our knowledge and we can't sustain the grant as it was written so it's just not tenable," said Joliet Mayor Terry D'Arcy.

Joliet Township has not yet accepted the grant money. Township leaders said they will consider all options, including tonight's public comment, as they decide to move forward.