Will County Gazette

At its April 18 meeting, the Joliet City Council discussed the ever-changing future of the old courthouse, a historical and once-significant building in the community.

A final determination of what to do still hangs in the balance.

Council Member Cesar Guerrero brought up the topic during their council discussion session, meaning the items they brought up were not subject to any final decisions or official motions. He felt that it was time for the council to discuss possibly redeveloping the building and allowing some organizations to make presentations for proposed projects for consideration. Guerrero felt that such a large property in such a central location downtown should be considered because any improvements to the area would not be complete without the changes to that building.

“We did open a dialog in terms of trying to get that back off the ground in terms of having a facility there that would be County and City,” City manager James Capparelli said. “There is a covenant that runs with the land that says that land must be used for governmental purposes only. So you cannot have a private entity investing in that unless it's a government private. You know, I just don't I just can't see it from there. But the covenant does say that it has to be used for governmental purposes only.”

The old courthouse building has long been a discussion point in the community, with some labeling it as the ugliest courthouse in America because it was built in the Brutalist style, a March WJOL report said. But many others have been calling for the protection of the historic building that was constructed in 1969, and they are trying to get it to be the first Brutalist structure from Illinois on the National Register of Historic Locations. The building is technically owned by Will County, which decided long ago that the structure would be demolished, but no demolition date has ever been set.

Mayor Bob O’Dekirk said he does not think the City of Joliet has authority over the building because the County owns it and has set it for demolition. Joliet officials have worked with the County and other authorities before to determine what to do with the property. The City of Joliet is still trying to work with the County to potentially redevelop the building into a joint City-County building to host their operations, but the newest County executives have not been communicative with the City’s efforts on the courthouse.