Will County News

The U.S. Forest Service will be holding an Open House on Wednesday April 3, 2013 for community members to come and learn more about the proposal to establish a bison herd on Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie.  Staff and partners from the National Forest Foundation will be available to explain more about the proposal, the environmental assessment process, and answer questions.   The Open House will be held between the hours of 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. at the   Midewin Welcome Center-- 30239 S. State Route Illinois 53, Wilmington, IL. The Forest Service at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie (Midewin) is proposing to establish a small herd of bison on the Prairie and will be preparing an environmental assessment for Bison Herd Establishment in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).  In partnership with the National Forest Foundation (NFF), Midewin is proposing to develop a bison grazing area on approximately 1,200 acres. ...

On February 25th, 2013, people living in and near the proposed path of the Illiana Expressway B3 met in the Will Town Hall to form a new group which hopes to draw members from Lowell, Indiana to Wilmington, Illinois and beyond.  The new group--No Illiana 4 Us--has a wide range of concerns about the proposed tollway: sprawl, pollution and lowered air quality, land taken off local tax roles, quick take eminent domain, how the tollway will affect North-South travel, what roads will be closed, school bus routes, and more. Before the meeting started, people milled about and shared concerns: "Have you heard when they're going to start buying?"  "Have they been to your farm?"  When asked if he would "buy a farm down south" if the State took his land for the Illiana, one farmer replied: "if I go down south, they want $3,000 more an acre than what I'll get for my farm, I'll just quit." Group Outreach Coordinator Anthony Rayson stated the g...

A group opposed to a possible for-profit immigrant detention center in Joliet, Illinois is hosting a fundraiser Friday, March 8th in Joliet.  The event held by the "Concerned Citizens of Joliet" will be held at Azteca de Oro Hall, 1013 Collins Street in Joliet and will go from 6 p.m. to midnight.  ICE--U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement--wants to build an immigrant detention center for illegal immigrants awaiting deportation near Chicago, Illinois and Joliet has been mentioned as a possible location.  The private corporation--Corrections Corporation of America, CCA--would build and manage the facility under a government contract.  Tickets are $5 per person and $15 per family. Co-Sponsors and Supporters of the event include: ICIRR (Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights)(La Coalición para los Derechos de Inmigrantes y Refugiados Del Estado de Illinois) Diocese of Joliet Office For Human Dignity (La oficina “Por La Dignidad Humana” de la ...

Be sure to tune in to American Pickers tonight--March 4, 2012---at 8 P.M..  The pickers will be searching for antique treasures in Picker Mike Wolfe's hometown of Joliet, Illinois.  Mike is from Joliet and got his start picking and learning about bikes and other antiques in Joliet where he picked items and resold them.

Can the Illinois Department of Transportation use eminent domain to force landowners to sell their land to the State for the Peotone Airport?  That question will come before a judge in Will County Court tomorrow, February 26, 2013 at 9:30 a.m. in Joliet, Illinois.   The Illinois Department of Transportation's  right to use eminent domain at Peotone prior to an FAA record of decision is being challenged in Will County court by a Chicago law firm, Ryan and Ryan.   Ryan and Ryan are representing Carolyn and Richard Barbour, landowners in the proposed airport's footprint.  The lawsuit argues the State does not have the right to use eminent domain to gain ownership of the Barbour's land because IDOT has not received Federal Aviation Administration "FAA" approval to create and construct the Peotone Airport.   Susan Shea, Director of Aeronautics for IDOT, will be required to testify. For more on the "Peotone Airport", visit Peotone Airport News .

By Ann Baskerville JOLIET--Hundreds packed the Our Lady of Mount Caramel Parish Hall on Joliet's East Side tonight to begin organizing efforts against a possible immigrant detention center in Joliet, Illinois. Town Hall Meeting on the Joliet Immigrant Prison A priest and a representative from the Diocese of Joliet quoted scripture while citizens who organized a successful campaign against a private, for-profit immigrant detention center in Crete , Illinois told the crowd, "We are with you" and "Si, se puede" to a standing ovation. Signs against the Crete and Joliet Immigrant Detention Centers Pastor Craig Purchase spoke out against an immigrant detention center, saying: "we in the black community should not tolerate this issue."  Purchase said at one point he did not hold the position he had now because he had not yet put himself in the shoes of an undocumented person.  Purchase said when you really understand this issue, it's a "...

Anthony Rudis:  A Conservationist Anthony Rudis was proud of his heritage, strong in his faith, and committed to protecting the environment. He shared the values he honed through a century of learning and caring. He was proud to say he had planted a rainforest for Peotone—planting thousands of trees on the land he furiously protected from the state’s plan for a third airport at Peotone. His multi-decade opposition to the proposed airport was, he said, based on a single, simple fact: “There is no need.” In 2004, Rudis and his late wife, Mary, donated 90 acres of land at Egyptian Trail and Eagle Lake Road in eastern Will County to Loyola University in Chicago for field study in biology and environmental studies. He gave the land with no conditions, he said.   He often hosted tours of the farm, telling visitors that the thousands of tree planted as part of his conservation plans purified the air.  In 2001, the couple was named the Conservation Farm ...