Will County News

Citing changes including a reduced number of incoming priests, an aging population of priests, and costs associated with maintaining historic church buildings, Joliet Bishop announced a "targeted restructuring decision" for parishes in Joliet.  The decision grouped parishes and then determined which buildings would remain as worship sites and which building would close.  For the grouping consisting of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, St. Joseph (in Joliet rather than Rockdale)  St. Bernard, St. Mary Magdalene, and St. Anthony, it was determined: -Our Lady of Mount Carmel will remain in its current structure. -The remaining parishes will be merged into one with two worship sites, St. Mary Magdalene and St. Joseph. -St. Bernard and St. Anthony will close.  A view of St. Joseph Church in downtown Joliet:  https://youtube.com/shorts/6aLZFJvxVDU?si=ESw5nbVcM7Xg_IdT For the grouping consisting of  St. Paul the Apostle, St. Jude, St. Patrick, Sacred Heart and...

  The Will County Emergency Management Agency reported on Jan. 17, 2024 on its Facebook page that the warm water siphon from the Dresden Nuclear Power Plant Cooling Pond has been activated.  The siphon moves warmer water from the cooling pond to the Kankakee River to "reduce risk factors associated with ice jams." The release of warm water from the cooling ponds is regulated by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, since fish are impacted by water temperature.  The Will County Emergency Management Agency also posted on January 17, 2024 that: "The City of Wilmington IL and the Will County Emergency Management Agency are advising residents of potential flash flood conditions due to ongoing ice jams on the Kankakee River. A Flash Flood Watch is in effect until temperatures rise above freezing and the river ice has fully melted. "  

  Gotion, Inc., which recently announced it will open an electric battery manufacturing facility at the old Kmart warehouse location in Manteno, Illinois, will hold two job fairs at Kankakee Community College on January 17 and 18th, 2024.   Go to the College's website here for more info.

 The Joliet City Council passed an ordinance regulating unscheduled intercity bus drop offs at their first Council meeting of 2024.   The ordinance was drafted after buses carrying asylum seekers attempted to drop off passengers at several suburban communities in Will County during the last weeks of December 2023.  The ordinance establishes rules related to drop offs and establishes penalties.  You can read the ordinance and watch Council debate on the ordinance here .