Joliet Offers $12.3M In Incentives To Will County For New Courthouse
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Will County and the City of Joliet have come to an agreement which will keep the county courthouse in downtown Joliet, including more than $12 million in incentives from Joliet.
A new $150-170 million dollar courthouse building will be built on the block just west of the current courthouse on Jefferson Street. Officials say the current courthouse built in 1969 has become cramped and unsafe.
"We have defendants, probation officers, state's attorneys, lawyers, judges – all traveling in the same elevator. That's not safe," said Will County board member Ragan Freitag.
Will County Chief Judge Richard Schoenstedt says the courthouse was built to handle "only a handful of defendants in custody" every day, but now there are almost 100 defendants a day being moved into and out of the courthouse on the same elevator with judges, state's attorneys, lawyers and others.
"The back hallways are only about 4 ½ feet wide, where the shackled custodies have to go around the back of the courtrooms to get to their respective courtrooms, and they have to pass – potentially – jurors, judges, witnesses, clerks. It's just not safe or secure," he added.
Will County's population has tripled since the existing courthouse was built.
"Our county has indeed experienced significant growth in the past 46 years, and this courthouse is Ground Zero for those growing pains," Freitag said
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Officials hope to break ground on the building in 2017 or 2018 with completion by 2021.
Under the tentative agreement, the City of Joliet will pay $500,000 a year for 20 years to the county, and will waive nearly $2.5M in construction and permit fees for a total of $12,300,000 toward the project.
Joliet Councilman John Gerl is excited the courthouse will not be leaving downtown Joliet.
"This really is, I want to say, the cherry on top of the ice cream," he said.
Will County Board Speaker Jim Moustis says the county will sell $150 million in bonds to come up with the money, and will pay them back through existing taxes.
"We will build something we can afford. We will not raise taxes to do it," he said.
About 500 to 600 construction jobs are estimated to be generated through the construction project.
