EDC Concert Complaints Come Across Loud and Clear at Pre-Council Meeting

The three-day-long Electric Daisy Carnival Concert, May 24-26, at Chicagoland Speedway brought residents from New Lenox, Joliet, Manhattan and Elwood to a pre-council meeting June 3 in Joliet to express their dissatisfaction over house-shaking vibrations that lasted till 4 a.m.

The three-day Electric Daisy Carnival concert that shook residents from surrounding communities was addressed June 3 at a pre-council meeting in Joliet. Residents closest to the May 24-26 concert—New Lenox, Joliet Township and Manhattan—called on the Joliet City Council to be responsible neighbors. They called for sound monitors and adherence to Environmental Protection Agency regulations regarding noise pollution.

Of the four speakers that approached the city council, New Lenox’s Chuck Soukup spoke first. Recapping the night that music and bass-thumping vibrations bounced residents out of bed and shook picture frames off the wall from 1 a.m. till 4 a.m. May 24, he said the nine miles between his home in New Lenox and the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet was not enough to fade the noise. His parents are residents of Mokena, he said. They too were negatively impacted by the concert.

Soukup presented research that shows an 10 p.m. restriction on outdoor concerts in the City of New York. He described the 4 a.m. cut-off as a “rookie mistake” by Joliet. “The bottom line is we all lost sleep so the City of Joliet could make a buck. ...You can’t compromise my quality of life to make a buck.”

Two local mothers painted a picture of the harmful effects of the loud music and vibrations on their young children. Kristin Smith, of Elwood told the council that her nine-month-old daughter was injured when a picture frame containing a photo of her first Christmas fell from a shelf and hit her in the eye. Later, the volume and noise levels were hiked. At 1:30 a.m. on May 25, the vibrations tripped the baby’s SIDS monitor, which immediately sent Smith into a state of panic.

Although she discovered that the vibrations had triggered the SIDS monitor, her daughter was frightened and awake till 6 a.m., said Smith.
City Council Member Jan Hallmus Quillman was concerned. She asked Smith about her daughter’s injuries and whether or not the child required a doctor’s treatment.

READ: Area Woman Starts Petition to Halt Future Electric Daisy Carnival Concerts

Next, Toni Markum, of Manhattan,  described a weekend in which families with special needs children were clamoring to find ways to calm their children, some of whom endure the symptoms of autism, sensory disorders and more.

Those in attendance agreed with Markum when she denied statements by EDC promoters that the noise level had been turned down 33 percent on Day 2 of the concert. The sound was jacked up at 1 a.m. and lasted till 3 a.m. She said Sunday night, Day 3 of the concert, was the worst.  In reaction to the concert, Markum has started a Facebook page called “Hey Joliet, Electric Daisy Carnival  HAS TO GO!!”  

Markum was vehement in her comments to the council. “I’m telling you that this needs to be done.”  She cited the facts of her research, which indicated that Chicago and Las Vegas set an 11 p.m.  time restriction on outdoor concerts, including the likes of the popular Grant Park festival, Lollapalooza. Joliet resident Robin Atkinson was annoyed too. He asked the council implement its noise pollution ordinances as well as those restrictions put forth by Will County, State of Illinois and the Illinois EPA.

Having listened to the presenters, Joliet Mayor Tom Giarrante assured the presenters that the council would delve more closely into the matter. He said the complaints would not go unaddressed.  

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