Will County Gazette

Put the Rev. Frank Walton's name on the growing list of influential figures now calling on Gov. J.B. Pritzker to act on the NorthPoint project, a development some have projected could mean thousands of jobs for the Joliet community.

“The bottom line there is just a need for this to happen,” Walton told the Will County Gazette. “There is no reason why it can't or shouldn't. There is nothing logical about it and it is at the point in order for this thing to stay in the game. It’s just paramount to have something that just attracts people rather than sending them away.”

Walton’s endorsement of the $1.9 billion project comes after a group of locally elected officials recently sent Pritzker a letter in which they publicly threw their support behind the project. Among those signing were Joliet Mayor Bob O’DeKirk, Will County executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant, U.S. Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin and U.S. Reps. Bobby Rush (D-Chicago), Robin Kelly (D-Matteson), Bill Foster (D-Aurora) and Marie Newman (D-Oak Lawn).

“With the City of Joliet’s approval, the next step for the project is to coordinate with state and local officials to ensure the development produces the greatest net benefit, including improving road safety and efficient flow of commerce, for the local region and state,” the letter read.

In hopes of being able to expedite the process, the group also requested a meeting with the governor. Rush previously called on Pritzker to sign a bill that would allow for construction to begin, which he insists could mean upwards of ten thousand jobs for the Joliet area.

Walton has the same vision.

“We just need the governor to move on this ... we have to get past everything else,” he said. ”It is important to these people so they can get back to work. We call it the bridge to the future. One bridge can make a difference for 10,000 people, 10,000 jobs. Tell me a bridge you've heard about that will get 10,000 jobs.”

Opponents of the project, such as Stop NorthPoint, are encouraging the governor to protect Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery and Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie from the project's environmental impact. A group known as Warehouse Workers for Justice also recently held a rally to urge Pritzker to not intervene.