Former Will County Courthouse gets temporary reprieve from demolition
Nearly half the Will County Board members Thursday expressed some interest in investigating alternative uses for the former Will County Courthouse in Joliet before the building is demolished, voting to have the board’s Executive Committee continue discussion.
Eight board members called for a special meeting Thursday to vote on a nonbinding resolution calling for considering reusing the courthouse at 14 W. Jefferson St.
The board did not vote on the resolution but voted 10-9 to remand the discussion to the Executive Committee. Two members were absent.
Board member Dan Butler, a Republican from Frankfort, said he would like an ad hoc committee to explore whether the 1969 courthouse should be renovated rather than demolished. He said the committee should come up with a resolution within three months.
The former courthouse closed in 2020 once the new courthouse opened a block away.
About 18 months ago a group of concerned residents, architects, developers, historians and preservationists formed the Courthouse Preservation Partnership asking the board to consider alternatives to demolition.
The board, which approved demolishing the courthouse in 2019, now has bipartisan support to explore alternative uses.
But both Republicans and Democrats are also against reusing the building and support demolition.
Some members expressed frustration the board is still talking about it.
Among the nine members voting against more discussion were County Board Chair Judy Ogalla, a Republican from Monee, and Republican Leader Steve Balich, of Homer Glen. They both sit on the Executive Committee.
Balich said the board did not make its decision lightly and voted in 2019 to demolish after learning renovation would be too costly. The property is also held in
a public trust and must be for public use, he said.
Democrat Leader Jackie Traynere, of Bolingbrook, who voted in favor of considering alternatives, said she didn’t think other uses for the building were given due diligence. She said the board needs a legal opinion on whether the county can apply for historical tax credits to remodel it.
“I just feel we haven’t done our homework,” Traynere said. “At the time, we had no public group that had been in formation coming to us asking us to save the building. … Now there are people in the public that are interested.”
Board member Frankie Pretzel, a Republican from New Lenox, wanted to know how long the board will let the building remain abandoned before it takes action.
Officials said it costs the county between $8,500 and $10,000 a month to have the building sit vacant, not including the cost of repairing vandalism.
The county has received eight bids to demolish the courthouse, county executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant said. The board has not voted on those bids.
The city of Joliet’s Historic Preservation Commission is studying whether to recommend the building be named a local landmark, which would pause demolition until the Joliet City Council makes a decision.
Other residents and historic preservationists continue to push for preservation.
“Reuse transforms vacant spaces into useful and interesting places to work, live and visit,” said Bonnie McDonald, president and CEO of Landmarks Illinois.
“It increases foot traffic that benefits local businesses. And reuse inspires others to invest in their own properties, which benefits taxpayers as well.”
McDonald said more construction jobs are created with renovation than new construction because it is more labor intensive than material intensive. It is also more environmentally friendly, she said.