Former Joliet City Councilman Pleads Not Guilty

A former Joliet City Councilman pled not guilty in a Will County Courtroom on Monday morning. Don “Duck” Dickinson was charged with Attempt to Obstruct Justice back in March. The charge is connected to accusations made by Dickinson, that he was being blackmailed by Joliet Mayor Bob O’Dekirk. Dickinson resigned from the Joliet City Council in November of 2020 after announcing that Mayor O’Dekirk was attempting to blackmail him and stated that he would be filing a police report against the mayor. O’Dekirk has denied any involvement in a blackmail scheme against Dickinson and stated back in 2020 that he was considering filing his own police report against Dickinson for the filing of a false report. O’Dekirk told WJOL when charges were filed back in March that he did not end up filing that police report. The investigation into the matter was handled by Illinois State Police.