Will County Gazette

The Will County Board is moving forward with plans to demolish the vacant county courthouse in downtown Joliet, despite efforts by area preservation groups to save the building.

Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant, County Executive of Will County, gave an update during the board's Jan. 19 meeting.

“The demolition of the vacant courthouse will continue,” Bertino-Tarrant said, according to a story by the Chicago Tribune. “As the project moves forward Will County will be working with our partners in Joliet to establish a long-term plan to redevelop the property for continued public use.”

Engineering firm Kluber Inc. has been hired to perform the demolition, at a cost of $173,750, the Tribune reported. That will include assessing the scope of services needed to demolish the four-story concrete building, which has stood for more than 50 years. The old courthouse has sat vacant since November 2020, when a new, 10-story courthouse opened. 

The village has allocated $2.5 million toward its demolition in fiscal 2023, including asbestos abatement work that began in October but recently completed, the story stated.

Despite the county’s intention to raze the building, Landmarks Illinois and the Joliet-based Courthouse Preservation Partnership are working to save it, and the organizations recently issued a request for developers and architectural firms to submit ideas by March 10 to preserve or repurpose the old courthouse, the Tribune reported.