Will County News

Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Joliet, Illinois will host a New Year's Eve celebration tonight at the Mt. Zion Baptist Church at 402 Singleton Place in Joliet Illinois. According to the Mt. Zion Baptist Church's Website: "Watch Night - 2010 All roads lead to to Zion on Friday, December 31st, 2010 @ 9:30PM. We pray that all of the Mt. Zion Family will be there to "Praise in" the New Year together! P.S. bring a friend... " The Combined Choirs of Zion will sing and Pastor David G. Latimore will give An Anointed Word Sermon. Mt. Zion Baptist Church is one of the most historically significant churches in the Joliet area.  Longtime Mt. Zion Pastor the Rev. Dr. Isaac Singleton was a noted Civil Rights Leader who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr..  Singleton also founded the Joliet Affiliate Rainbow/P. U. S. H. Coalition. I have heard nothing but amazing things about the Mt. Zion Choir, so if you are looking for a faith-filled way to ring in th...

The New Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox, as seen from the Old Plank Road Trail at Nelson Road The New Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox is nearing completion.  The new Hospital is a replacement hospital for Silver Cross' current facility on Briggs Street and Route 6 in Joliet. The new hospital is right of I-355 on Route 6 in New Lenox.  The 400 million dollar facility will have 6 floors. It will also have: 184 Medical-Surgical Beds 8 Pediatric Beds 30 Obstetrics (Birthing) Beds 22 ICU Beds 20 Behavioral Health Beds 17 Rehabilitation Beds 38 Emergency Department Private Treatment Rooms and 1 CT Scanner in the ED 11 Surgical Suites The New Silver Cross Hospital is located on a 76 acre campus.  The hospital is scheduled to open in  February of 2012. UPDATE: New Lenox Silver Cross Replacement Hospital will open February 26, 2012 . 

2014 Christmas Tree Recycling in Will County The Forest Preserve District of Will County is collecting Christmas Trees to be recycled into mulch for Forest Preserve Trails. According to the Will County Forest Preserve website: "This year, give the Earth a gift by recycling your Christmas tree. Every year, millions of Christmas trees end up in landfills. However, you can give your tree a second life by recycling it with the Forest Preserve. Your tree will take a new life "path" by becoming mulch used on our trails and for landscaping. Please remove all tinsel, lights, and ornaments before dropping off your tree. This program is for individual households; no commercial tree surplus, please. The Forest Preserve will be accepting trees at: Isle a la Cache Museum  in Romeoville Monee Reservoir  in Monee Plum Creek Nature Center  in Beecher Sugar Creek Administration Center  in Joliet Trees will be accepted every day from December 27 through January ...

The Chicago Tribune made this video-interview with former Blockson Joliet workers and survivors:

I love antiques! From watching American Pickers on the History Channel to driving across Will County to attend auctions, I love seeing items from the past. Will County is home to two auction companies that regularly hold auctions. First, Jerry Rossen auctions holds auctions about twice a month at the Will County Fair Atrium building in Peotone, Illinois.  Here is a short video I did of some of the action at a Jerry Rossen auction!: The other Will County Auction house that I know of is Chamblee's Auctions in Rockdale, Illinois. Both list their auctions on auctionzip.com . You can view photos of items to be auctioned in order to decide whether you want to attend the auction. You can also use the auctionzip site to search for auctions near you. As far as Antiques shops go, there are several Antique stores in downtown Wilmington, Illinois on Water Street. A little farther south on Historic Rt. 66, in Braidwood, Illinois, you will find Second Time Around A...

Piles of topsoil await spreading back on the land from which it was removed in Manhattan Township, Illinois Piles of topsoil await spreading back on the land from which it was removed in Manhattan Township, Illinois, at Cedar Road and Baker Road, between Manhattan, Illinois and New Lenox, Illinois Piles of topsoil await spreading back on the land from which it was removed in Manhattan Township, Illinois, at Cedar Road and Baker Road, between Manhattan, Illinois and New Lenox, Illinois Piles of topsoil await spreading back on the land from which it was removed in Manhattan Township, Illinois, at Cedar Road and Baker Road, between Manhattan, Illinois and New Lenox, Illinois Piles of topsoil await spreading back on the land from which it was removed in Manhattan Township, Illinois, at Cedar Road and Baker Road, between Manhattan, Illinois and New Lenox, Illinois, Joliet smokestacks in the background Piles of topsoil await spreading back on the land from wh...

At the Warehouse Workers for Justice Press Conference in August of 2010, Will County News had the opportunity to interview the Rev. Craig Purchase--pastor of Mt. Zion Full Gospel Tabernacle and also recent president of the local Rainbow Push Coalition--regarding how he learned about the group Warehouse Workers for Justice and the issue of temp work in Will County Warehouses. I also asked how warehouse work affects the people in his congregation and whether warehouse workers utilized the food pantry he ran.  Watch the interview below: If you would like more information, read the Warehouse Worker's Full Report, " Bad Jobs in Goods Movement: Warehouse Work in Will County, Illinois ." Also, following the release of this report by local media, John Grueling, President and CEO of the Will County Center for Economic Development wrote a September 10, 2010 letter to the editor of the Joliet Herald News in which he wrote: " The logistics industry is a gro...

Against a backdrop of falling snow, Manhattan, Illinois lit its Christmas tree in Times Square!  Christmas tree lighting in Downtonwn Manhattan, Illinois.  Santa and Mrs. Clause greeted everyone from the back of the firetruck.  Santa and Mrs. Claus on back of Manhattan Fire Protection District Squad 1216 at Christmas Tree Lighting. People head to Times Square for the Christmas Tree Lighting in Manhattan, Illinois Video of Christmas Tree Lighting in Manhattan:

The Illinois State Senate passed SB 1716 which would recognize civil unions in Illinois.  According to the  Illinois Senate Democrat's webpage ,: "The legislation was debated at length this week in both the House and the Senate. The bill passed the Senate on Wednesday 32-24-1 and Governor Pat Quinn has stated his intent to sign the measure. Under the legislation, Illinois for the first time would recognize civil unions, thereby granting certain rights and responsibilities to same sex – and opposite sex – couples who enter into the unions. Some of the rights would include the ability to :     -Make medical decisions as is afforded to opposite sex spouses -Share nursing home rooms; -Have hospital visitation rights, as family; -Obtain employer-based health insurance if offered to spouses; -Share in retirement benefits; -Receive inheritance." State Senator Toi Hutchinson, whose 40th district  includes much of Eastern Will County,  voted  in favor...

Wilmington, Illinois, November 27, 2010 The Island City sparkled Saturday night for the annual holiday parade. Citizens gathered to mark the season as a parade made its way down South Water Street, where restaurants and antiques shops welcomed everyone. Of course, plenty of excitement filled the air as Santa made his way into town. After the parade, there were carols in the new gazebo at Claire’s Corner, and real reindeer visited. The lighting of the tree made the downtown park a splendid place for visiting and enjoying the early evening festivities. Christmas lights at the Holiday Parade in Downtown Wilmington Wilmington VFW Post 5422 leads the Wilmington Holiday Parade through downtown Wilmington The mayor of Wilmington Illinois at the Holiday Parade Santa arrives on a horse-drawn carriage at the Wilmington Holiday Parade The Wilmington Community Christmas Tree  Reindeer arrive at the end of the Wilmington Holiday Parade

Wilmington, Illinois is kicking off the holiday season with a lighted holiday parade Saturday, November 27th.  The parade starts at 4:30 p.m. No alcohol will be allowed during the parade line-up or during the parade itself. According to the Wilmington, Illinois website , no live Santas are allowed as Santa Claus will arrive in Wilmington for the parade. The community tree will be lighted following the parade. If you are looking to grab a bite to eat in Wilmington, willcountynews recommends Hayden's Crossing, one of the most unique restaurants in Will County.  Located in Downtown Wilmington, Hayden's Crossing was made from recycled barn lumber.  You can see pictures of the barn and the process of using the barn wood for the restaurant on Hayden's Crossing's website . Hayden's Crossing's name also refers to an important piece of Will County History.  As this 1909 plat map of Florence Township shows, Hayden's Station--in section 1--was inside the foot...

The Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie is the largest tallgrass prairie east of the Mississippi River.  It is also one of the largest one-space prairies in Northeastern Illinois. Midewin has a variety of trails open to the public.  There are several picnic areas.  There are flush toilets at the Midewin Welcome Center on Rt. 53 and port-a-potties along major trails.  Check out the Midewin Trail Map Page for more info.   On our hike, we did not see any drinking fountains or other source of water, so you should make sure you bring plenty of water with you. Willcountynews recently hiked out to Turtle Pond, parking at the Hoff Road Trailhead and walking down the Old Chicago Road to get to Turtle Pond.  Here's what we saw! Old Chicago Road in the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie Field of winter wheat in the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie Old fire hydrant in the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie on Old Chicago Road.  When the Prai...

The New York Times ran an article today profiling a Joliet resident who lives near the Midwest Generation  power plant.

I love old Farmhouses.  This is the beginning of an occasional series documenting many differing types of farmhouses throughout Will County.  We will begin with the American Foursquare.  American Four Square in rural Peotone Township, Will County, Illinois. According to the Will County Historic Preservation Rural Structure Survery : " The American Foursquare  was introduced around 1900 and continued to be popular until the 1920s.  It consists of a two to two-and-a-half story block with a roughly square floor plan with four rooms on each floor.  Roofs are hipped or pyramidal, with dormer windows (hipped and gable) on at least the  front elevation and sometimes the side and rear elevations. Foursquares usually have front porches, but they may also have bay windows (some extending both stories) and one story rear additions.   Many Foursquares were built from plans developed by local lumber companies or mail order sou...

November 6, 2012 Will County Election Results  has results for all county-wide races such as Will County Executive, Will County State's Attorney, and the Will County Board. For congressional results: Go here for Illinois 11th Congressional District results. For Illinois 2nd Congressional results, go here .

Will County Townships used to be dotted with one-room schoolhouses. For example, this 1909 plat of Manhattan Township maps the location of several one-room schoolhouses: 1909 Plat Map of Manhattan Township, Will County, Illinois Will County News was recently fortunate to be given a copy of a circa 1938 photo of a one-room schoolhouse in Manhattan Township.  It looks like this was a fairly small class.  I like the Will County Map hanging on the wall: Will County One-Room Schoolhouse

by ann baskerville Willcountynews interviewed State Senator AJ Wilhelmi , a Democrat who represents the 43rd State Senate District.  Wilhelmi is facing Republican Cedra Crenshaw in the November election. Issue 1:What is Wilhelmi most proud of achieving as a State Senator I asked Wilhelmi what 3 things he was most proud of accomplishing as a State Senator so far. First, Wilhelmi said he was proud to have "had the honor of sponsoring the " Let Them Rest in Peace Act " in 2006 which prohibits hate groups from harassing families who are burying their loved one who died while serving our country in the military.  The bill was necessary because groups were protesting US military policy by showing up at service members' funerals and causing a disruption to the grieving family, protesting at a "completely and totally inappropriate time," Wilhelmi said.  The bill passed with overwhelming support and as he stood on the floor of the State Senate as the bi...