Will County News

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....

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...

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, ...

The Forest Preserve District of Will County is planning a fun event at Plum Creek Nature Center, located at 27064 S. Dutton Road in Crete Township .  See details below from the Forest Preserve: "“Snow Day Festival” is set for noon-4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 19, at Plum Creek Nature Center in Crete Township. This year’s lineup will feature snowball fights, snowshoes, ice carving and more. New this year is an appearance by Elsa and Anna, characters from the Disney movie “Frozen." “Visitors will be able to see a short performance then meet and take photos with the characters,” said Suzy Lyttle, an interpretive naturalist at Plum Creek. “This will happen in a cozy warming tent. Plus, we will be showing the movie in the nature center with free popcorn.” Another new fest feature this year is the snowball fight arena. “Even if there is no snow, we have tons of plush snowballs at the ready,” Lyttle said. “There will be an area with hay bales perfect for ducking and hiding.” Ice bowl...