Will County News

  Demolition has begun on the old Will County Courthouse:  https://youtube.com/shorts/xBEiN-rRVtA?si=r-BtH4sdIjLyAaIv The new Will County Courthouse opened in late 2020.  Video of the new courthouse under construction:    Despite efforts by preservationists to save the building, the County voted to demolish the old courthouse.   Preservationists argued the building represented one of the best local examples of brutalist architecture, and that a public-private partnership should be utilized to redevelop the courthouse building for new uses. Will County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant and Joliet Mayor Terry D'Arcy announced in June of 2023 that they were discussing the possibility of developing a government campus on the site of the old courthouse for Will County and City of Joliet government services. 

The Mayor of Manhattan, Illinois has signed an executive order   after a bus carrying migrants from Texas arrived at the Manhattan Metra station on December 21, 2023.  The bus eventually went on to Joliet since there were no more trains to Chicago available in Manhattan at the time the bus arrived.  The Village of Manhattan will discuss this issue at its next Village Board meeting in 2024.  Will County's Emergency Management Agency issued a statement on its efforts to coordinate response to the issue among the municipalities of Will County and the State of Illinois.   The Mayor of Lockport also signed an executive order on Dec. 22, 2023.  Manhattan Executive Order Related to Buses Carrying Migrants From Texas

  Lockport Mayor Steve Streit signed an executive order on December 22, 2023 related to incidents in which unscheduled buses carrying migrants arrived in Lockport.  The order finds that "incidents have occurred in the City of Lockport as well as other suburban communities in which buses have discharged or unloaded passengers within the city without sufficient clothing, resource, food, and other sustaining items without means to obtain shelter;" and that "the unloading of passengers in inclement or severe weather conditions without a coordinated plan poses a significant threat to the health, safety, and welfare of said passengers". The order establishes rules and regulations for the City of Lockport regarding unscheduled intercity buses, including a requirement of "background check information for all proposed passengers (including 3rd party contractors or individuals assisting in the transportation of passengers) over the age of eighteen (18) years."  The...

  After reports of buses from Texas dropping off asylum-seekers at Metro stations in Will County, the Will County Emergency Management Agency released the following press release : "The Will County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) is working to provide information and coordinate with municipalities and state agencies as the Chicagoland region is experiencing an increase in buses transporting asylum-seekers from the State of Texas. “Our municipalities have seen an increase in buses from Texas disembarking passengers at Metra stations and other locations throughout the county,” said Will County EMA Director Allison Anderson. “We are working to coordinate information between public safety agencies, the State of Illinois, and the City of Chicago. Our priority is ensuring humane transportation of asylum-seekers to the official Chicago landing zone.” An official landing zone for asylum-seekers is being operated by the City of Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communicatio...