Will County Gazette

Jim Lanham, a candidate for Illinois’ 86th House District, is calling out several local lawmakers for sitting on their hands after it was revealed that a local apartment complex was housing several convicted child sex offenders under one roof. 

The apartment complex, which Lanham has deemed the “Pedophile Palace,” is located at 1000 Cora St. in Joliet. 

It houses 11 registered child sexual offenders. 

State Rep. Larry Walsh Jr. | https://www.ilga.gov/house/rep.asp?MemberID=3059

"These offenders range in age from 23 to 54, with victims as young as five,” Lanham told the Will County Gazette. “They did it once, who knows if they’ll do it again? These are bad people who don’t need to be in neighborhoods."

Lanham and John Sheridan, president of the Cunningham Neighborhood Council, recently celebrated the Joliet City Council's approval of $100,000 to construct a neighborhood park at 1000 N. Center St., a block away from the “Pedophile Palace.” 

The park project, which has been planned since 2022, aims to end the current living situation 1000 Cora St. out. 

In a livestream with Patch in mid-October, Lanham and Sheridan highlighted the distinction between sexual offenders and predators, with the latter being subject to stricter residency regulations due to their offenses. 

They believe the presence of a children's park will legally compel the predators to move, ensuring greater safety for local families.

Lanham is confident that the park's establishment will force these offenders to relocate, citing a similar case in Aurora where a park prompted offenders to leave.

He said local legislators have failed to respond to the issue. 

“They did nothing about it,” Lanham said. “They could have crafted a law and changed if there's going to be more than one sex offender at an address, it has to be zoned or something. They could have come up with something.”

He called the lack of response from state legislators “rather disturbing,” including his opponent State Rep. Larry Walsh Jr. (D-Elwood) whose district the apartment complex is located in as well as State Rep. Natalie Manley (D-Joliet) and State Sen. Meg Cappel (D-Shorewood), who represent nearby areas. 

“That was an opportunity for our General Assembly to do something and nothing, zip, zero, nothing,” Lanham said. “No committees. You see different bills they propose to do that all the time. A bill is proposed, it goes to committee, the committee votes on it, and then they forward it for a vote. Nothing at all of that nature. Total complete inaction. I see nothing whatsoever.” 

Cappel is facing GOP candidate Katie Deane-Schlottman for the State Senate District 49 in the Nov. 5 election while Manley is running unopposed in House District 98. 

"They’ve said nothing, yet they have the power to craft laws that could address this issue. Instead, they let it slide," he said. 

Lanham recounted an incident where Cappel canceled a meeting with local residents, noting she had a scheduling conflict to attend a fundraiser for Governor J.B. Pritzker. 

"Who is more important, seeing the governor or talking to terrified residents?" he said.

Lanham expressed frustration over pushback from advocacy groups regarding his terminology and noted the defense National Association for Rational Sex Offense Laws provided NewDay Apartments which houses the offenders.  

NARSOL communications director Sandy Rozek accused Lanham of using the issue to “further his campaign for a seat as Illinois’ 86th District state representative.” 

"Those people are just nuts," Lanham said. "If you went through their website, you would see they cry over this stuff, acting like these pedophiles, these predators are being made victims. They're not. They’re volunteers. They intentionally did all these acts. They hurt children, and just to see someone advocate for them makes me sick, absolutely sick."

Rozek questioned the fiscal responsibility of Joliet politicians who are using taxpayer money to evict individuals with past convictions from their homes.

Meanwhile, Lanham highlighted his efforts in securing donations from local businesses to help mitigate costs for the city. 

"I ended up getting a rather significant donation that saves the city quite a bit of money,” he said. 

Former Joliet mayor Bob O’Dekirk initiated plans to displace residents of a local apartment building by trying to enforce a law that prohibits multiple offenders from living at the same address, which was deemed unconstitutional. 

He then pursued the creation of a "pocket park" within 500 feet of the building, using city funds to purchase and clear an adjacent lot for this purpose. 

The issue gained traction after a 2020 court ruling deemed unconstitutional a law that prohibited more than one registered sex offender from living at the same address, leading to concerns from local residents when multiple offenders were relocated to a single apartment complex in Joliet in 2022. 

Lanham explained that this situation arose after a previous law limiting the number of child sex predators living in a single structure was struck down, allowing multiple offenders to reside together, provided they adhered to other regulations regarding proximity to schools.

Lanham detailed the ensuing local outcry. 

"Neighbors found out and didn’t like it,” he said. “The Cunningham Neighborhood Council got together to complain to the city. Initially, the answer was not a lot could be done, but the city decided to buy out a burned-out house within 500 feet of the apartment and build a pocket park instead."

The city recently voted to allocate $100,000 for the park's construction, which, according to Lanham, will force the offenders to relocate as sex offenders are not allowed to live in such close proximity to a city park. 

"When it is built, any child sex offender will have to move,” he said. “There’s no grandfathering in. I assume New Day Apartments will transfer them to another property that’s not within bounds.” 

Lanham emphasized the need for prioritizing children's safety over the feelings of offenders. 

"Those men are not victims,” he said. “They are volunteers, and child safety is more important than their feelings. It doesn’t come down to a matter of rights.” 

Meanwhile, NewDay Apartments, which owns the “Pedohpile Palace,” claims their residents have not committed any new offenses.

“Community safety remains the #1 priority of NewDay Apartments, and that is exactly what we have provided. No current tenant at Cora St. has ever been accused of a new registerable offense, much less convicted of one,” NewDay Apartments said in a statement to NARSOL.

Lanham is running for the 86th House District which encompasses all or portions of Channahon, Elwood, Joliet, Ingalls Park, Preston Heights, and Rockdale.