Will County News

The group Warehouse Workers for Justice has released the following press release regarding workers in a Joliet warehouse who are filing charges with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission today in Chicago: "Workers at the Kraft/Cadbury's warehouse in Joliet are filing charges with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission today alleging that DB Schenker - the company running the warehouse - has repeatedly refused to address discrimination claims and has created a hostile work environment. "There are Nazi signs on the walls," said Angela McDonald, one of the workers at the warehouse. "When you have to work late or on a Saturday you never know what could happen." A group of Schenker employees, along with Warehouse Workers for Justice, recently met with civil rights representatives and local clergy to request assistance in dealing with the discriminatory practices. One worker described fearing for her safety while walking to her car after bei

The Huffington Post reports a group of workers who worked in Wal-Mart's distribution center in Elwood, Illinois have filed a class-action lawsuit against Schneider Logistics and Reliable Staffing claiming they were not paid what they were owed. Schneider Logistics is contracted by Wal-Mart to run the distribution warehouse in Elwood.  Reliable staffing, as reported by the Huffington Post, supplies workers for Schneider.  In a press release announcing Schneider's contract with Wal-Mart, a Wal-Mart executive was quoted as saying: ""The Elwood distribution center will provide Wal-Mart the opportunity to better serve our stores throughout the Midwest,” said Johnnie Dobbs, executive vice president of logistics and supply chain for Wal-Mart. “Our partnership with American Port Services, Schneider Logistics and Schneider National will create hundreds of good paying jobs for the region and represents our continued commitment to Illinois as a partner in both economic a

Did anyone else do a double-take when Mike Wolfe of American Pickers just said he was from Joliet? Wolfe has previously explained he grew up poor in Joliet , where he began his career finding bikes and other items in the trash and reselling them. Maybe newly-elected mayor Tom Giarrante and the City of Joliet could get some sort of financing deal available to bring an Antique Archeology store to downtown Joliet.   There are too many beautiful buildings sitting under utilized.  An Antique Archeology--in my opinion--would bring a great amount of foot traffic downtown, creating an environment where more people would go downtown to shop.  Plus it would draw shoppers from Chicago, producing more customers for downtown shops and restaurants. What do you think?  A Joliet branch of Antique Archeology to anchor the new shops planned for the downtown Joliet intermodal high-speed rail station? There is so much history in and around Joliet, from the Joliet Arsenal to Will County's agri

Tom Giarrante has been elected to be the new mayor of Joliet in the April 2011 election.  According to unofficial results on the Will County Clerk 's page, Giarrante has won with 3,942 votes.  Unofficially, 14, 983 people voted in the Joliet Mayoral Election.  According to the 2010 census, the population of Joliet is 147, 433.

According to the Will County Clerk's unofficial election results website , Tom Giarrante has been elected Mayor of Joliet. According to the Will County Clerk's unofficial results, with 111 of 111 precincts reporting, Giarrante has won with 3, 531 votes.   The results are unofficial, from the Will County Clerk: " UNOFFICIAL RESULTS On Election Night, as precincts are reporting, you will see the results being tabulated. These results will not include the Absentee by mail, Servicemen or Early Voting results. We will upload these results at the very end of the evening after all 445 precincts have been checked in. Election results will not be official until Tuesday, April 26, when canvassing of votes is completed and after absentee ballots postmarked by midnight, April 4, and provisional and grace period ballots are counted on April 19." The next highest vote-getter was Warren Dorris with 2, 730 votes, that number is again an unofficial result. 

Participants in the Joliet Job Corps participated in the 2010 National Job Corps Oratory Competition.  Job Corps is a no-cost education and career technical training program administered by the US Department of Labor "that helps young people ages 16 through 24 improve the quality of their lives through career technical and academic training. The Job Corps program is authorized by Title I-C of the  Workforce Investment Act of 1998 ." The Joliet Job Corps is located on the site of the former Joliet East High School, 1101 Mills Road, Joliet. Joliet Job Corps is overseen by the Chicago Regional Office of Job Corps.  Joliet Job Corps participants live in dormitories on site and complete educational training and career training in field such as culinary arts and certified nursing assisting.  For the 2010 Oratory Competition, Joliet Job Corps participants composed and delivered speeches responding to the prompt, "How has Job Corps impacted your life?" Here are

The local group Warehouse Workers for Justice will commemorate the anniversary of Dr. King's assassination with a vigil in Downtown Joliet April 4, 2011.  See the Warehouse Workers for Justice press release for more details: "Vigil planned to commemorate MLK dream on April 4 Warehouse Workers call to Revive the American Dream FOR RELEASE ON:  April 1, 2011 Press contact:   Abraham Mwaura, Warehouse Workers for Justice:  312.775.2154   abe@warehouseworker.org On April 4th, 1968 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, where he had gone to stand with sanitation workers demanding their dream: The right to bargain collectively for a voice at work and a better life.    In celebration of the life and dream of MLK Jr. Warehouse Workers for Justice is hosting a vigil at the Will County Courthouse calling to revive the American dream on Monday, April 4th at 12 noon.   The vigil is part of a national day of action in support of workers rights  in solidarity  with