Will County News

The Illinois Department of Public Health reports Region 7---which includes Will and Kankakee County--has experienced 6 days of test positivity increases and recorded an 8.5% test positivity rate for the last day reported--August 27, 2020.  The 8.5% is a .2% increase from August 26, 2020. The last date is reported on this  graph , where August 27th shows a 8.5% positivity rate of COVID-19 tests.  

In an August 27, 2020 press release, Exelon Generation announced they plan to retire the Dresden and Byron Nuclear Plants in 2021.  The Dresden Nuclear Plant is located in Grundy County at the confluence of the Kankakee and Des Plaines Rivers.  Press release from Exelon: "CHICAGO — Exelon Generation announced today that it intends to retire its Byron Generating Station and Dresden Generating Station in fall 2021, resulting in the loss of four nuclear generation units that together supply clean, zero-emissions energy to more than four million homes and businesses in northern Illinois. Byron, located just outside Byron, Ill., will close in September 2021, and Dresden, located in Morris, Ill., will close in November 2021. Dresden is licensed to operate for another decade and Byron for another 20 years. Together, they employ more than 1,500 full-time employees and 2,000 supplemental workers during refueling outages, most from local union halls. The plants pay nearly $63 million

Will County leaders joined Governor Pritzker in Will County to discuss COVID-19 mitigation measures in response to rising positivity rates:

Governor Pritzker has announced mitigation efforts will begin Wednesday, August 26th in Will and Kankakee County after 3 days of COVID-19 test positivity rates at or above 8%. Details of the restrictions are at this link .

The Illinois Department of Public Health reports Region 7---which includes Will and Kankakee County--has experienced 7 days of test positivity increases and recorded an 8.3% test positivity rate for the last day reported--August 21, 2020.  The 8.3% is the same as the rate for August 20, 2020. The positivity rate is recorded on this graph , along with other COVID-19 data.   This marks three days in a row with test positivity at 8.0% or above. According to the State of Illinois Plan, "three consecutive days averaging greater than or equal to 8% positivity rate (7 day rolling)" would result in mitigation efforts to prevent the spread of the virus.  More details here .

The Illinois Department of Public Health reports Region 7---which includes Will and Kankakee County--has experienced 7 days of test positivity increases and recorded an 8.3% test positivity rate for the last day reported--August 20, 2020.  The 8.3% is a .3% increase from August 19, 2020. The last date is reported on this  graph , where August 20th shows a 8.3% positivity rate of COVID-19 tests.   This marks two days in a row with test positivity at 8.0% or above. According to the State of Illinois Plan, "three consecutive days averaging greater than or equal to 8% positivity rate (7 day rolling)" would result in mitigation efforts to prevent the spread of the virus. For more information from the Illinois Department of Public Health, go here .

The Illinois Department of Public Health reports Region 7---which includes Will and Kankakee County--has experienced 6 days of test positivity increases and has reached the 8% positivity rate that after 3 days would require mitigation efforts. The last date reported on the  graph , August 19th, shows a 8.0% positivity rate of COVID-19 tests.   According to the State of Illinois Plan, "three consecutive days averaging greater than or equal to 8% positivity rate (7 day rolling)" would result in mitigation efforts to prevent the spread of the virus. For more information from the Illinois Department of Public Health, go  here .

The Illinois Department of Public Health reports Region 7---which includes Will and Kankakee County--has experienced 5 days of test positivity increases and is one tenth of one percent away from the 8% positivity rate that after 3 days would require mitigation efforts. The last date reported on the  graph , August 18th, shows a 7.9% positivity rate of COVID-19 tests.  According to the State of Illinois Plan, "three consecutive days averaging greater than or equal to 8% positivity rate (7 day rolling)" would result in mitigation efforts to prevent the spread of the virus. For more information from the Illinois Department of Public Health, go  here .

Today, August 20, 2020, the Minooka Community Consolidated School District held an emergency Board of Education meeting where it was decided the 1st quarter of school would be held remotely. For the Superintendent's letter explaining the decision in the context of recent Illinois Department of Public Health guidelines for in-person learning, go here . 

The Illinois Department of Public Health reports Region 7---which includes Will and Kankakee County--has experienced 5 days of test positivity increases. The last date reported on the graph , August 17th, shows a 7.5% positivity rate of COVID-19 tests.  According to the State of Illinois Plan, "three consecutive days averaging greater than or equal to 8% positivity rate (7 day rolling)" would result in mitigation efforts to prevent the spread of the virus. For more information from the Illinois Department of Public Health, go here .

Wilton Township has published an official public notice of a Board of Trustee Vacancy with directions on how interested candidates can submit a letter of interest: PUBLIC NOTICE TAKE NOTICE that Wilton Township of Will County, Illinois, effective as of August 12, 2020 will have a vacant Board of Trustee position. This position was held by a Democrat and must be filled by a Democrat by appointment within the first 60 days. Any interested candidates can submit their letter of interest to wiltontownshipclerk@gmail.com until September 4, 2020. Jody M. Thatcher Wilton Township Clerk

At an emergency meeting, the Lincoln-Way High School District 210 Board voted to implement remote learning from August 31, 2020 to September 18, 2020.  The District says it has set a target of September 21, 2020 for a return to blended learning. Full release:

The Board of Education of the Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210 will meet tonight, August 18, 2020 for an Emergency Meeting to discuss the re-opening of school. This video shows how to watch the meeting online, as well as view the agenda: To go directly to the video log-in page, go here . 

The Lincoln-Way High School District 210 Board of Education will hold an emergency meeting on August 18,  2020, at 7:00 P.M., in the Knights' Round Table Hall at the Lincoln-Way Central High School, 1801 East Lincoln Highway, New Lenox, Illinois, to discuss the reopening of school. According to the District's Board Docs website, "Due to COVID, stakeholders may provide public comment in person in an Open Meeting or via email. Please email, lstone@lw210.org with your public comment by 5:00 p.m. the day of the meeting, it will be read aloud at the Board of Education meeting." The only action item on the agenda for the August 18th meeting is the re-opening of School for the upcoming year.

  Each month, the Illinois Gaming Board publishes a report on Casino operations in Illinois. The July 2020 report revealed that across Illinois Casinos, Admissions were down 48.11% compared to July 2019 and Adjusted Gross Revenue was down 28.63%. Taxes that the State of Illinois and local municipalities receives from casino taxes include both an admissions tax (set amount per admission) and a wagering tax (percentage of adjusted gross receipts). Report showing admissions and AGR at each Illinois Casino for July 2020: Report showing data for all of 2020, with bar graph comparisons to 2019  

  Joliet Junior College has received funds through the federal government to distribute to students.  The Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) was established by the CARES Act to provide emergency financial aid grants to students. JJC received $2,748,813 to distribute to students. For the summer session, 550 JJC students were awarded $534,600 in CARES Act funds.  For fall semester, students can apply online to be considered for up to $1400 in funds. According to the application page : " Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) grants are intended to go DIRECTLY TO STUDENTS for their expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus, such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, and child-care expenses. Requests will be accepted from any JJC student currently enrolled for the Fall 2020 semester and eligible students will receive disbursements in accordance with the federal guidance for HEERF funding. DIsbursements will no

Before closing for repairs in 2019, the Brandon Road bridge was a favorite shortcut over the Des Plaines River to avoid I-80 or downtown Joliet. Barge traffic did make for frequent delays while barges and boats navigated the locks at Brandon Road, but waiting traffic could take in the nature of the Des Plaines River: