Will County News

  On Friday, September 16, 2022, Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the SAFE-T Act:

In an August 27, 2020 press release, Exelon Generation announced they plan to retire the Dresden and Byron Nuclear Plants in 2021.  The Dresden Nuclear Plant is located in Grundy County at the confluence of the Kankakee and Des Plaines Rivers.  Press release from Exelon: "CHICAGO — Exelon Generation announced today that it intends to retire its Byron Generating Station and Dresden Generating Station in fall 2021, resulting in the loss of four nuclear generation units that together supply clean, zero-emissions energy to more than four million homes and businesses in northern Illinois. Byron, located just outside Byron, Ill., will close in September 2021, and Dresden, located in Morris, Ill., will close in November 2021. Dresden is licensed to operate for another decade and Byron for another 20 years. Together, they employ more than 1,500 full-time employees and 2,000 supplemental workers during refueling outages, most from local union halls. The plants pay nearly $6...

Will County leaders joined Governor Pritzker in Will County to discuss COVID-19 mitigation measures in response to rising positivity rates:

Governor Pritzker has announced mitigation efforts will begin Wednesday, August 26th in Will and Kankakee County after 3 days of COVID-19 test positivity rates at or above 8%. Details of the restrictions are at this link .

Today, July 22, 2020, Illinois Governor Pritzker announced an extension of the eviction moratorium through August 22, 2020. Pritzker said, "I want to make sure we have support in place for those who are most vulnerable." Pritzker stated that through work with the General Assembly, two programs have been created to provide that support. The programs, one for renters and one for homeowners, will begin accepting applications for assistance. Each program will distribute $150 million dollars. Starting August 10th, applications will open for renters and August 28th for homeowners. Though the fall, recipients will receive grants of $5,000 for renters and $ 15,000 for homeowners.   Pritzker said he continues to explore partnerships to provide addition support for those who need to keep a roof over their family's heads. The discussion of the extension of the eviction moratorium begins at 12:15:

Governor Pritzker announced on July 21, 2020 the Rebuild Illinois plan, a " $21.3 billion plan to rebuild Illinois' roads and bridges over the next six years." The Year One Highlights of the plan include 1.2 Billion Dollars for the project to improve I-80 from Ridge Road to U.S. Route 30 in New Lenox.  This project includes construction of a new bridge over the Des Plaines River in Joliet.  The State's Year One Flyer indicates the I-80 project will be in the design phase.

Illinois Governor Pritzker, speaking at a press conference today, referenced the federal investigation into ComEd and the Illinois House Speaker and urged Illinois House Speak Michael Madigan to fully cooperate with the investigation and answer all questions as soon as possible. Pritzker said if allegations against the Speaker are true, he must resign (part regarding ComEd and Madigan starts at 21:10):

At a press conference today, Governor Pritzker discusses youth sports and school re-opening plans. Pritzker referenced the Illinois State Board of Education guidelines and stated: "Any district that intends to disregard this guidance is gambling with the lives of our children, teachers, and families...Districts that don't live up to public health guidelines and standards and don't make a genuine attempt to protect their communities from this virus could be held liable in the courts by community members who are ill affected." Discussion about youth sports and schools beginning about 9 minute mark. Watch the press conference here:

The Illinois Rental Property Owners Association announced support for a lawsuit challenging Governor Pritzker's eviction ban: Press release from the Illinois Rental Property Owners Association: LAWSUIT CHALLENGES GOV. PRITZKER’S EVICTION MORATORIUM The Illinois Rental Property Owners Association (IRPOA) announces our support of the lawsuit filed by IRPOA members JL Properties Group, Mark Dauenbaugh and Steven Cole, challenging Governor Pritzker’s legal authority to deny housing providers access to the courts. The Governor’s moratorium on evictions essentially ties the hands of housing providers to enforce our lease agreements. While we agree with the Governor’s intent of protecting renters affected by COVID-19, the Governor’s moratorium also applies to people who are not affected by COVID-19 but are choosing not to pay their rent. Furthermore, the Governor’s moratorium limits a housing provider’s ability to address lease violations that are related to behavior ...

Today, Governor Pritzker joined local elected officials to announce two new Amazon fulfillment centers, in Markham and Matteson, Illinois. Pritzker stated 2,000 jobs would be created at the two sites, bringing Amazon's total workforce in Illinois to 20,000.  Pritzker stated all jobs at the two new sites would start with at least a $15 an hour wage. View the entire press conference:

Congressman Adam Kinzinger's office issued a press release on April 30, 2020 announcing that the Illinois Republican Congressional Delegation had sent a letter to Governor Pritzker urging the Illinois Governor begin a phased reopening of "businesses critical to the state's economy". Read the letter sent by the Illinois Republican Congressional Delegation to Governor J.B. Pritzker here . Full press release from Congressman Kinzinger's office: "Washington, DC  – U.S.  Congressmen  Adam Kinzinger (IL-16),   Rodney Davis (IL-13),   John Shimkus (IL-15),   Darin LaHood (IL-18),  and  Mike Bost (IL-12)  sent a letter to Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker urging a plan that would begin a safe, phased reopening of businesses critical to the state’s economy. As  noted in their letter , the coronavirus pandemic has impacted different parts of the state in different ways, and a safe and sensible reopening plan must reflect those differences. ...