Will County News

The City of Joliet will hold a public forum regarding selection of its new water source on Thursday, December 5, 2019 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Cantigny VFW, 826 Horseshoe Drive. The Joliet City Council is expected to vote on a new water source in January 2020.  Joliet needs to select a new water source because its current source--a deep sandstone aquifer--will no longer be sustainable by 2030.  Joliet has studied alternative water sources since 2018 and has narrowed the possibilities to five: Illinois River, Kankakee River, Lake Michigan-DuPage Water Commission, Lake Michigan-Chicago Department of Water Management, and Lake Michigan-New Indiana Intake. The schedule for the December 5th meeting is: 5:00-5:30: Open House 5:30-5:45: Study Presentation 5:45-6:15: Panel Discussion 6:15-7:00: Public Comment The Illinois State Water Survey has studied the aquifers of Northeastern Illinois from which Joliet currently draws water:

To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the transcontinental railroad, Union Pacific Railroad's Big Boy steam locomotive is touring the United States.   On Friday, July 26th, Big Boy arrived in West Chicago, Illinois as thousands watched: Big Boy will be on display Saturday, July 27th and Sunday, July 28th in West Chicago.  Big Boy will depart West Chicago on Tuesday, July 30th and head west towards Rochelle.  Go here for full schedule.

Workers at the large IKEA Distribution Center on Laraway Road in Joliet and the Distribution Center in Minooka have voted to join the Machinists Union.  IKEA is moving work from Minooka to the new Joliet facility.  Press Release from the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers: WASHINGTON, June 21, 2019 –  A group of 186 distribution center workers at IKEA distribution centers in Joliet and Minooka, Ill. voted this Wednesday and Thursday to join the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM). IKEA is in the process of transitioning work from Minooka to its new facility in Joliet. “These hard-working men and women are proud to work at IKEA and do tremendous work for this company,” said  IAM Organizer Dennis Mendenhall , who led the IAM’s campaign. “Yes, joining the IAM gives them the opportunity to negotiate on wages, benefits and work rules. But this campaign was mostly about fairness and a voice on the job, as well as ensuring that

Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie has shared photos of the first baby bison born at Midewin in 2019! A bison herd was reintroduced to Midewin in the fall of 2015 as part of a twenty-year study of the impact of bison grazing on prairie restoration. Photo courtesy of Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie.  Rick Short / USDA Forest Service - Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie

For results in the April 2, 2019 election in Will County, go here . Many municipalities in Will County span multiple counties.  To find results from neighboring counties: Grundy County Kane County DuPage County Cook County Kendall County Keep in mind that election night results are unofficial and may not include all mailed, write-in, provisional and early ballots. 

Representative Larry Walsh, Jr. has introduced a Joint House Resolution  that would expand the Illinois Tollway System to include I-80 from Route 47 in Morris to I-294. Full text of the Illinois Joint House Resolution: " Authorizes the Illinois State Highway Authority to expand the Illinois toll highway system to include Interstate I-80 between I-294 at milepost 112 and Illinois Route 47 in Morris at milepost 154. The project will be completed in a manner that supports diversity involvement in the project work and economic development in the region ." I-80 through Will County handles traffic from the largest inland port in North America, the CenterPoint BNSF and Union Pacific intermodals, where shipping containers are transferred between trains and semi trucks.  Warehouses and Distribution Centers for companies like Wal-Mart, Amazon, IKEA, Home Depot, and more have built in Will County in the last two decades and have added to semi truck traffic in the area.  The

Prairie restoration workers and volunteers will plant over 10,000 pounds of seed at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie in the coming months.    Restoration partners and Midewin volunteers are working to plant prairie seeds on 700 acres of new restoration land. Recently, the National Forest Foundation, the Wetlands Initiative and volunteers mixed the seeds of 175 different plant species tailored to each of Midewin’s different prairie habitats.  Beginning with the smaller quantities required, each seed species is meticulously weighed according to a “recipe” indicated for each habitat. Most of the larger quantities of seed will be mixed offsite and then broadcasted across the former soybean fields near Midewin’s Henslow Trail.  Members of The Wetlands Initiative’s Midewin field crew – Jim Conboy, Rachel Rohde, and Matt Taber mix the prairie seeds by hand in the Horticultural Building at the USDA Forest Service’s Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, 30239 S. State Rt. 53 Wilmington,

The Fight Back Fund has paid for a message on a digital billboard along Interstate 80 in Joliet, just before the Des Plaines River Bridge:   An Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) report rated the Interstate 80 west-bound bridge over the Des Plaines River and U.S. Route 6 "Intolerable" under the "Structural Evaluation" heading.  You can view the IDOT report for the west-bound bridge here and the east-bound bridge here .   Interstate 80 is a critical highway for both Will County and the entire United States.  Notably, Will County is home to the largest inland port in North America. Over a million shipping containers per year enter Will County by rail and are then distributed by semi truck to area warehouses and other destinations.   I-80 bridge over the Des Plaines River in downtown Joliet:

An Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) report rated the Interstate 80 west-bound bridge over the Des Plaines River and U.S. Route 6 "Intolerable" under the "Structural Evaluation" heading.  You can view the IDOT report for the west-bound bridge here and the east-bound bridge here .   Interstate 80 is a critical highway for both Will County and the entire United States.  Notably, Will County is home to the largest inland port in North America. Over a million shipping containers per year enter Will County by rail and are then distributed by semi truck to area warehouses and other destinations.   I-80 bridge over the Des Plaines River in downtown Joliet:

The Wilmington Police Department issued the following press release today, February 1, 2019 regarding possible flooding due to a seven mile ice jam on the Kankakee River: Here is a video of the Kankakee River almost completely covered by ice near downtown Wilmington, taken 1/31/19:

The New Lenox Commons will be the site of a Women's March on Saturday, January 19, 2019 from noon to 3 p.m..   From the event's Facebook page : "Southwest Suburban Activists, in coalition with Action for a Better Tomorrow, Arab American Family Services (AAFS), Indivisible Illinois, Indivisible South Suburban Chicago-ISSC, Moms Demand Action - IL, Warehouse Workers for Justice and other community members are thrilled to be hosting the women’s march in New Lenox. This event is about next steps: unity, leadership, equity, and involvement. This year we are combining our MLK Day of Action with the Women's March. We will be collecting items for local shelters and domestic violence service providers. Items requested include: women's deodorant, diapers (4,5,6), tampons, maxi pads, toothbrushes and toothpaste, adult diapers, cotton balls and Q tips. The Women’s March will allow us to unite as a powerful network for change, to ensure our communities are inclusive, to incre