Joliet, Illinois
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Joliet ( ) is a city in
Will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...
and Kendall counties in the
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
, southwest of
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
. It is the
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
of Will County. At the 2020 census, the city was the third-largest in Illinois, with a population of 150,362.


History

In 1673,
Louis Jolliet Louis Jolliet (September 21, 1645after May 1700) was a French-Canadian explorer known for his discoveries in North America. In 1673, Jolliet and Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit Catholic priest and missionary, were the first non-Natives to explore and ...
, along with Father
Jacques Marquette Jacques Marquette S.J. (June 1, 1637 – May 18, 1675), sometimes known as Père Marquette or James Marquette, was a French Jesuit missionary who founded Michigan's first European settlement, Sault Sainte Marie, and later founded Saint Ign ...
, paddled up the Des Plaines River and camped on a huge earthwork mound, a few miles south of present-day Joliet. Maps from Jolliet's exploration of the area showed a large hill or mound down river from Chicago, labeled Mont Joliet. The mound has since been flattened due to
mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...
. In 1833, following the
Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the "British Band", crosse ...
, Charles Reed built a cabin along the west side of the
Des Plaines River The Des Plaines River () is a river that flows southward for U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed May 13, 2011 through southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois''American Her ...
. Across the river in 1834, James B. Campbell, treasurer of the canal commissioners, laid out the village of "Juliet", a corruption of "Joliet" that was also in use at the time. Just before the economic depression of 1837, Juliet incorporated as a village, but to cut tax expenses, Juliet residents soon petitioned the state to rescind that incorporation. In 1845, local residents changed the community's name from "Juliet" to "Joliet", reflecting the original name. Joliet was reincorporated as a city in 1852. Cornelius Covenhoven Van Horne was active in getting the city its first
charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...
, and because of this, he was elected Joliet's first
mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
. When the city later built a new bridge, it was named the Van Horne Bridge.


Geography

According to the 2010 census, Joliet has a total area of , of which (or 98.95%) are land and (or 1.05%) is covered by water. It has a sprawling, irregular shape that extends into nine different townships, more than any other Illinois city. They are: Joliet, Plainfield, Troy, New Lenox, Jackson, Channahon, and Lockport in Will County, and Na-Au-Say and Seward in Kendall County. Joliet developed along the Des Plaines River, and its downtown is located in the river valley. Joliet has a "west side" and " east side", referring to areas in relation to the river. With the construction of highways and suburban development to the west, many businesses moved from the downtown area to the expanding areas west of the river. Many stores relocated to the west side in new strip malls and shopping centers with more parking and easier access. These changes resulted in the decline of the downtown shopping district, which is still felt today. Today, Joliet has a "west side" and a "far west side" (which includes all city limits in Kendall County). This has given rise to a newly referenced "Central Joliet" portion of the city, which essentially is all land west of the Des Plaines River and east of
Interstate 55 Interstate 55 (I-55) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. The h ...
. This new reference may soon change the current meaning of "west side" to west of I-55.


Climate

Joliet has a hot summer
humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
''Dfa'') with hot, humid summers, and cold winters with moderate to heavy snowfall.


Demographics


2020 census

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.''


2010 Census

As of the
census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2010, 147,433 people, 48,019 households, and 34,900 families were residing in the city. The population density was . The 51,285 housing units averaged 796 per square mile (307.3/km2). The
racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...
of the city was 67.48% White, 15.98% African American, 0.32% Native American, 1.93% Asian, 11.34% from other races, and 2.95% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 27.84% of the population. Of the 48,019 households, 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.1% were married couples living together, 14% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.3% were not families. About 22.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.01, and the average family size was 3.56. In the city, the population is 30.8% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 31.6% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 8.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.8 males. For 2015, the
median income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of ...
for a household in the city was $60,976, and for a family was $69,386. Full-time, year-round working males had a median income of $51,082 versus $39,235 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...
for the city was $24,374. About 10.4% of families and 12.2% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 16.2% of those under age 18 and 8.4% of those age 65 or over. From April 1, 2010, to July 1, 2011, Joliet was the fastest-growing city in the
Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
and the 18th-fastest growing city in the United States among incorporated places with more than 100,000 people.


Religion

According to the official website for the city of Joliet:
Joliet's diverse faith community represents over 60 denominations and offers residents services at more than 150 churches, synagogues, and houses of worship. Along with their spiritual offerings, these houses of worship enrich the Joliet area by providing some of the area's finest examples of Romanesque, Gothic, Byzantine, and Renaissance architecture. The spiritual community in Joliet welcomes newcomers with open arms, offering regular worship services and religious education.
Joliet is home to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet, with Bishop
Ronald Aldon Hicks Ronald Aldon Hicks (born August 4, 1967) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has been serving as bishop for the Diocese of Joliet in Illinois since 2020. Hicks previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of ...
. Bishop
J. Peter Sartain James Peter Sartain (born June 6, 1952), better known as Peter Sartain, is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the fifth archbishop of the Archdiocese of Seattle in Washington State from 2010 to 2019. He previously ...
, former bishop of Joliet, was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as Archbishop of Seattle and Auxiliary Bishop Joseph M. Siegel was appointed by Pope Francis as Archbishop of Evansville. Joliet holds a very large Catholic population, and many Catholic institutions, including Joliet Catholic Academy. Joliet is also home to the House of Netjer and their physical building. The House is of the Kemetic Orthodoxy, a nationwide ancient Egyptian religious organization dedicated to the reconstruction of the traditional Egyptian (Kemetic) Polytheistic religion. The organization is headed by Egyptologist Tamara Siuda, who is the spiritual leader of the organization and its religious society.


Economy

Like many Midwestern and East Coast cities dependent on manufacturing industries, Joliet has experienced past economic troubles. , the rate of unemployment in Joliet was around 8.6%. The city is evolving from a steel and manufacturing suburb to a commuter suburb in the
Chicago metropolitan area The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and hi ...
. Some new migrants to the Chicago area are working in bordering Cook County (the nation's second-most populous county) and living in Joliet. The downtown area of Joliet has slowly attracted new businesses to the area. The main attractions in Joliet's city center are the Harrah's Casino,
Joliet Slammers The Joliet Slammers are a professional baseball team based in Joliet, Illinois, that play in the independent Frontier League. They play their home games at Duly Health and Care Field. They replaced the Joliet JackHammers of the Northern League ...
baseball ( DuPage Medical Group Field), Hollywood Casino, and the
Rialto Square Theatre The Rialto Square Theatre is a theater in Joliet, Illinois ( U.S.). Opening in 1926, it was originally designed and operated as a vaudeville movie palace, but it now houses mainly musicals, plays, concerts, and standup comedy. It is also available ...
, also known as the 'Jewel of Joliet', and has been called one of the world's 10 most beautiful theaters. The 1999 film '' Stir of Echoes'' starring
Kevin Bacon Kevin Norwood Bacon (born July 8, 1958) is an American actor. His films include the musical-drama film '' Footloose'' (1984), the controversial historical conspiracy legal thriller '' JFK'' (1991), the legal drama '' A Few Good Men'' (1992), t ...
had scenes shot on at the Rialto Square Theatre (the hypnotism scenes in which James saw the word "Dig" on the movie screen), at the corner of Scott Street and Washington, and at the old Menards that took over the
Wieboldt's Wieboldt Stores, Inc., also known as Wieboldt's, did business as a Chicago general retailer between 1883 and 1987. It was founded in 1883 by storekeeper William A. Wieboldt. The flagship location was at One North State Street Store in Chicago. H ...
building at Jefferson Square Mall. The Illinois Youth Center Joliet, a juvenile correctional facility of the
Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice The Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice (IDJJ) is the code department of the Illinois state government that acts as the state juvenile corrections agency. The department was formed on July 1, 2006. Previously, the Illinois Department of Corre ...
, opened in April 1959.


Largest employers

According to the city's 2017 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the largest employers in the city are:


Arts and culture


Landmarks

Among local landmarks are the Rialto Square Theatre, the Joliet Area Historical Museum and Route 66 Visitors Center as well as the
Chicagoland Speedway Chicagoland Speedway is a tri-oval speedway in Joliet, Illinois, southwest of Chicago. The speedway opened in 2001 and actively hosted NASCAR racing including the NASCAR Cup Series until 2019. Until 2010, the speedway has also hosted the Indy ...
(
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
) and the
Route 66 Raceway Route 66 Raceway is a motorsports facility located in Joliet, Illinois, United States, which consists of a dragstrip and a dirt oval racetrack. The facility is owned and operated by NASCAR and is located adjacent to Chicagoland Speedway. Hi ...
(
NHRA The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) is a drag racing governing body, which sets rules in drag racing and hosts events all over the United States and Canada. With over 40,000 drivers in its rosters, the NHRA claims to be the largest motorsp ...
). The
Joliet Prison Joliet or Jolliet may refer to: People * Louis Jolliet (1645–1700), French-Canadian explorer of North America * Oscar Joliet (1878–1969), Belgian scholar-priest and Catholic Auxiliary bishop of Ghent Places in the United States * Joliet, Ill ...
is located near Joliet's downtown district on Collins Street. The prison has been featured in both television shows and movies. One such television series filmed there was ''
Prison Break ''Prison Break'' is an American serial (radio and television), serial drama television show, television series created by Paul Scheuring for Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox. The series revolves around two brothers, Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purce ...
''. The prison was also used for the opening scenes in the 1980 movie, ''
The Blues Brothers The Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on ''Saturday Night Live''. Belushi and Aykroyd fronted the band, in character, respecti ...
'', which starred
John Belushi John Adam Belushi (January 24, 1949 – March 5, 1982) was an American comedian, actor, and musician, best known for being one of the seven original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''). Throughout his c ...
as "Joliet" Jake Blues and
Dan Aykroyd Daniel Edward Aykroyd ( ; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian actor, comedian, producer, musician and writer. He was an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" on ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1979). During his tenure on ''SNL'' ...
as Elwood Blues. The first
Dairy Queen Dairy Queen (DQ) is an American chain of soft serve ice cream and fast food restaurants owned by International Dairy Queen, Inc. (a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway since 1998) which also owns Orange Julius, and formerly owned Karmelkorn and ...
store opened in Joliet. The location is now occupied by Universal Church. The Rialto Square Theatre, a favorite haunt of
Al Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone (; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the ...
and filming location for scenes from Kevin Bacon's film ''Stir of Echoes'', is on Chicago Street, downtown. Near the theatre, the Joliet Area Historical Museum commemorates the history of Joliet, especially its heritage as a stopping point on
U.S. Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...
. Two
casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...
s originated as
riverboat casino A riverboat casino is a type of casino on a riverboat found in several states in the United States with frontage on the Mississippi River and its tributaries, or along the Gulf Coast. Several states authorized this type of casino in order to en ...
in Joliet: the Hollywood Casino near Channahon and a
Harrah's Harrah's Entertainment (later named Caesars Entertainment Corporation, previously The Promus Companies) was an American casino and hotel company founded in Reno, Nevada, and based in Paradise, Nevada, that operated over 50 properties and seven go ...
hotel and casino downtown. Joliet is the only city in Illinois to have two casinos. The Louis Joliet Mall is located near the intersection of
I-55 Interstate 55 (I-55) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. The h ...
and
U.S. Route 30 U.S. Route 30 or U.S. Highway 30 (US 30) is an east–west main route in the system of the United States Numbered Highways, with the highway traveling across the northern tier of the country. With a length of , it is the third longest ...
. The Auditorium Building is located at the northeast corner of Chicago and Clinton Streets. Designed by G. Julian Barnes and built of limestone in 1891, it was controversial as one of the first buildings to combine religious, civic, and commercial uses. Nonetheless, people such
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
visited and spoke at the building. The building was originally built for the Universalist Unitarian Church of Joliet, but the church sold the building in 1993, and it is no longer home to the congregation. The Jacob A. Henry Mansion, 20 South Eastern Avenue, is a three-story, red-brick, Second Empire/Italian Renaissance-style structure built on a Joliet limestone foundation in 1873 (completed in 1876). The structure is set on bedrock and the entire basement floor is made of Joliet limestone from the building owner's quarry. The walls of the structure are constructed of red Illinois sandstone and deep red brick specially fired in Ohio (wrapped individually and shipped by barge to Joliet). A commanding three-story tower is the focal point of the structure. The structure has steel trim with slate shingles on a mansard roof. The front and side porches are single slabs of limestone. The largest stone ever quarried lies in the sidewalk under the front entry gate. The stone is 9×22×20 ft. In 1885, an immense Byzantine dome was added to the south façade. The interior of the Jacob A. Henry Mansion has elaborate polished-walnut woodwork, massive, carved pocket doors, original wood mantles, and a solid-walnut staircase. The original owner, Mr. Henry, was a railroad magnate, building railroads in Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois. He had ownership in a local quarry and was a principal stockholder in Will County National Bank. The mansion won the architecture award at the American Centennial Celebration in Philadelphia in 1876. The structure is a local landmark, part of the East Side National Register District and individually listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
. The former
Joliet Arsenal Joliet Army Ammunition Plant (JOAAP, formerly known as the Joliet Arsenal) was a United States Army arsenal located in Will County, Illinois, near Elwood, Illinois, south of Joliet, Illinois. Opened in 1940 during World War II, the facility cons ...
(now the site of both the
Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery The Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery covers in Elwood, Illinois. It is located approximately southwest of Chicago, Illinois. When fully completed, it will provide 400,000 burial spaces. The cemetery was dedicated in 1999 by the United Stat ...
and the
Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie The Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie (MNTP) is a tallgrass prairie reserve and similarly preserved as United States National Grassland operated by the United States Forest Service. The first national tallgrass prairie ever designated in the U. ...
) is in nearby Elwood.


Sports

Joliet is home to three high schools that bear its name: Joliet Central, Joliet West, and
Joliet Catholic Academy Joliet Catholic Academy (Joliet Catholic or JCA) is a coed Catholic high school in Joliet, Illinois. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet. One of the oldest Catholic high schools in the Chicago area, Joliet Catholic is perhaps bes ...
(JCA), in addition to the closed Joliet East, each of which has sports programs. JCA has been a major football powerhouse for many years and has won more state football titles than any other team in the state, with 14 as of 2018. Joliet also is home to a minor-league baseball team, the
Joliet Slammers The Joliet Slammers are a professional baseball team based in Joliet, Illinois, that play in the independent Frontier League. They play their home games at Duly Health and Care Field. They replaced the Joliet JackHammers of the Northern League ...
of the independent
Frontier League The Frontier League is a professional independent baseball league with teams in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Eastern Canada. Formed in 1993, it is the oldest currently running independent league in the United States. The le ...
. Since the beginning of the 2011 season, they have played their home games at DuPage Medical Group Field. The Slammers replace the former
Joliet JackHammers The Joliet JackHammers were a professional baseball team based in Joliet, Illinois, in the United States. The JackHammers were a member of the Northern League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is ...
of the Northern League. The Joliet Slammers won the 2011 Frontier League Championship in their first season as a team.
Chicagoland Speedway Chicagoland Speedway is a tri-oval speedway in Joliet, Illinois, southwest of Chicago. The speedway opened in 2001 and actively hosted NASCAR racing including the NASCAR Cup Series until 2019. Until 2010, the speedway has also hosted the Indy ...
hosts annual events from
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
. During major races, the large influx of fans means that the number of people in the city is double that of the official figure. Next door to the Speedway, the
Route 66 Raceway Route 66 Raceway is a motorsports facility located in Joliet, Illinois, United States, which consists of a dragstrip and a dirt oval racetrack. The facility is owned and operated by NASCAR and is located adjacent to Chicagoland Speedway. Hi ...
features
National Hot Rod Association The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) is a drag racing governing body, which sets rules in drag racing and hosts events all over the United States and Canada. With over 40,000 drivers in its rosters, the NHRA claims to be the largest motorspo ...
events on its drag strip. Joliet Central has become actively involved in Route 66 by building an
alternative fuel vehicle An alternative fuel vehicle is a motor vehicle that runs on alternative fuel rather than traditional petroleum fuels (petrol or petrodiesel). The term also refers to any technology (e.g. electric car, hybrid electric vehicles, solar-powered ...
.
Autobahn Country Club Autobahn Country Club is an auto racing road course located in Joliet, Illinois, operated as a country club, while also hosting many outside events. Autobahn was the first purpose-built motorsports country club in the United States, and has inspir ...
, also located in Joliet, has held the
SCCA World Challenge The GT World Challenge America is a North American auto racing series launched in 1990 by the Sports Car Club of America. It has been managed by the Stephane Ratel Organisation since 2018, and has been sanctioned by the United States Auto Club ...
,
Atlantic Championship The Atlantic Championship is a formula race car series with races throughout North America. It has been called Champ Car Atlantics (after its former name), Toyota Atlantics (due to the series' previous history of using Toyota-powered engines) ...
, and Star Mazda Championship races since 2009.


Parks and recreation


Golf courses

Four golf courses are located in the city of Joliet: Inwood Golf Course, Woodruff Golf Course, Wedgewood Golf Course, and Joliet Country Club.


Family entertainment

Joliet has a water park on Route 6 called Splash Station. It features the Midwest's only six-person slide. The Pilcher Park Nature Center, located in Pilcher Park, hosts many youth and educational programs. Pilcher Park, one of Joliet's oldest parks, is home to over of land that provide a habitat for abundant wildlife and outdoor recreation. Pilcher Park also contains Native American Indian remains and was the site of a Potowatami Indian village. A burial mound is just south of the entrance on Gougar Road, on the south side of the bridge, and a marked burial plot is inside the park grounds. Hammel Woods is also located in Joliet with miles of hiking trails and even a seven-acre dog park. Louis Joliet Mall located on Route 30 in Joliet hosts a large Cinemark theatre


Bicycle trails

Several miles of bike trails wind through Joliet. The Rock Run and Joliet Junction Trails are roughly north–south routes that begin at the Theodore Marsh in Crest Hill, Illinois, and have southern termini on the I&M Canal State Trail. These three paths can be used as a 16-mile loop through western Joliet. The I and M Canal State Trail stretches about 60 miles to Peru, Illinois, for longer bike rides.


Education

As of 2009, almost all public-school students in Joliet attend schools in Joliet Public Schools District 86, Joliet Township High School District 204, Troy Community Consolidated School District 30-C, and
Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202 Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202 is a public school district located in Illinois. There are four high schools, seven middle schools, seventeen elementary schools, one early learning center, and one alternative school in the ...
.


Colleges and universities

*
Joliet Junior College Joliet Junior College (JJC) is a public community college in Joliet, Illinois. Founded in 1901, it was the first public community college founded in the United States. In Spring 2014, the college enrolled 16,375 students. Every year, 48,000 stu ...
, the nation's first public
community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior sec ...
* University of St. Francis


High schools

School districts serving Joliet include Joliet Township High School District 204,
Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202 Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202 is a public school district located in Illinois. There are four high schools, seven middle schools, seventeen elementary schools, one early learning center, and one alternative school in the ...
,
Oswego Community Unit School District 308 Community Unit School District 308 is a public school district located in Oswego, Kendall County, Illinois. The Superintendent of Schools is John Sparlin. The district headquarters is in Oswego, Illinois Oswego is a village in Kendall and Wi ...
, and
Minooka Community High School District 111 Minooka is a village in Grundy, Kendall, and Will counties, Illinois, United States. The population was 10,924 at the 2010 census, up from 3,971 at the 2000 census. The village is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. The Chicago, Rock Island ...
. Joliet area High Schools include
Joliet Catholic Academy Joliet Catholic Academy (Joliet Catholic or JCA) is a coed Catholic high school in Joliet, Illinois. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet. One of the oldest Catholic high schools in the Chicago area, Joliet Catholic is perhaps bes ...
,
Joliet Central High School Joliet Central High School is a public secondary school located in Joliet, Illinois. Central is part of Joliet Township High Schools, along with Joliet West and Joliet East (now defunct). Before the opening of Joliet East and West, the school wa ...
, and
Joliet West High School Joliet West High School, along with Joliet Central, comprises district 204 Joliet Township High School district in Joliet, Illinois. West's mascot is the Tiger. Construction and expansion The school was originally constructed in 1964, one ye ...
.


Elementary and middle schools

Elementary and middle school districts serving Joliet include: * Joliet Public Schools District 86 * Troy Community Consolidated School District 30-C (Also serves neighboring communities of
Plainfield, Illinois Plainfield is a village in Will and Kendall counties, Illinois, United States. The population was 44,762 at the 2020 census. The village includes land in Will County's Plainfield and Wheatland townships, as well as Na-Au-Say and Oswego tow ...
and
Shorewood, Illinois Shorewood is a village in Troy Township, Will County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,686 at the 2000 census, and estimated to be 15,615 as of 2010. Geography Shorewood is located at (41.5181961, -88.2150390). The village is app ...
)


Career training

Since the early 1980s, the
Job Corps Job Corps is a program administered by the United States Department of Labor that offers free education and vocational training to young men and women ages 16 to 24. Mission and purpose Job Corps' mission is to help young people ages 16 throug ...
of the
U.S. Department of Labor The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is one of the United States federal executive departments, executive departments of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government. It is responsible for the administration of fede ...
has operated the Joliet Job Corps Center on the campus of the former
Joliet East High School Joliet or Jolliet may refer to: People * Louis Jolliet (1645–1700), French-Canadian explorer of North America * Oscar Joliet (1878–1969), Belgian scholar-priest and Catholic Auxiliary bishop of Ghent Places in the United States * Joliet, Illi ...
.


Infrastructure


Transportation

Situated about southwest of central Chicago, Joliet has long been a significant transportation hub. It lies on both sides of the Des Plaines River, a major waterway in
Northern Illinois Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the U.S. state of Illinois. The region is by far the most populous of Illinois with nearly 9.7 million residents as of 2010. Economics Northern Illinois is dominated by t ...
, and was one of the principal ports on the
Illinois and Michigan Canal The Illinois and Michigan Canal connected the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. In Illinois, it ran from the Chicago River in Bridgeport, Chicago to the Illinois River at LaSalle-Peru. The canal crossed the Chicago Por ...
. The Chicago & Rock Island Railroad and
Michigan Central The Michigan Central Railroad (reporting mark MC) was originally incorporated in 1846 to establish rail service between Detroit, Michigan, and St. Joseph, Michigan. The railroad later operated in the states of Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois in ...
came through in the 1850s, and the
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison, Kansas, Atchison and Top ...
and
Chicago & Alton Railroad The Alton Railroad was the final name of a railroad linking Chicago to Alton, Illinois; St. Louis, Missouri; and Kansas City, Missouri. Its predecessor, the Chicago and Alton Railroad , was purchased by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1931 a ...
soon followed, with the
Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway The Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway was a Class I railroad, operating between Waukegan, Illinois and Gary, Indiana. The railroad served as a link between Class I railroads traveling to and from Chicago, although it operated almost entirely wit ...
and
Milwaukee Road The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), often referred to as the "Milwaukee Road" , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States, Midwest and Pacific Northwest, Northwest of the United States fr ...
lines built around the turn of the century. U.S. Highways 6 (the Grand Army of the Republic Highway), 30 (the Lincoln Highway), 45, 52, and 66 (Route 66) all ran through the city. In the 1960s, Interstate 55 and
Interstate 80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...
made their way through Joliet, linking up near Channahon just west of the city limits. The phrase "Crossroads of Mid-America", found on the Joliet seal, is an allusion to the intersection of I-80 and I-55.
Joliet Transportation Center The Joliet Transportation Center is a multimodal mass transit center linking passenger bus routes, two Metra commuter trains, and Amtrak passenger trains in the city of Joliet, Illinois. It has replaced Joliet Union Station as the commuter and pa ...
is the final stop on the
Metra Metra is the commuter rail system in the Chicago metropolitan area serving the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs via the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and other railroads. The system operates 242 stations on 11 rail lines. I ...
rail lines from Chicago for the
Heritage Corridor The Heritage Corridor (HC) is a Metra commuter rail line in Chicago, Illinois, and its southwestern suburbs, terminating in Joliet, Illinois. While Metra does not refer to its lines by colors, the Heritage Corridor appears on Metra timetables as ...
route from
Chicago Union Station Chicago Union Station is an intercity and commuter rail terminal located in the Near West Side neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. The station is Amtrak's flagship station in the Midwest. While serving long-distance passenger trains, it is also ...
and the
Rock Island District The Rock Island District (RI) is a Metra commuter rail line from Chicago, Illinois, southwest to Joliet, Illinois, Joliet. Metra does not refer to its lines by color, but the timetable accents for the Rock Island District line are "Rocket Red" i ...
route from
LaSalle Street Station LaSalle Street Station is a commuter rail terminal at 414 South LaSalle Street in downtown Chicago. First used as a rail terminal in 1852, it was a major intercity rail terminal for the New York Central Railroad until 1968, and for the Chicago, ...
. A third line, the STAR Line, would have also terminated at the station, but the project was shelved as of 2012. PACE provides local bus service six days a week (no service on Sundays) with buses leaving from a terminal in downtown Joliet once an hour.
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
serves
Joliet Union Station Joliet Union Station was a train station in Joliet, Illinois that served Amtrak long-distance and Metra commuter trains. It was replaced by the new Joliet Transportation Center in 2018, a train station that was constructed adjacent to the Union ...
daily via its
Lincoln Service The ''Lincoln Service'' is a higher-speed rail service operated by Amtrak that runs between Chicago, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri. The train is a part of the '' Illinois Service'' and is partially funded by the Illinois Department of Tra ...
and
Texas Eagle The ''Texas Eagle'' is a daily passenger train route operated by Amtrak between Chicago and San Antonio in the central and western United States. Prior to 1988, the train was known as the ''Eagle''. Trains #21 (southbound) and 22 (northbound) ...
routes. Service consists of four Lincoln Service round-trips between
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
and
St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
, and one Texas Eagle round-trip between
San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...
and Chicago. Three days a week, the ''Eagle'' continues on to
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
.


Airports

The
Joliet Regional Airport Joliet Regional Airport is a public use airport located four nautical miles (7 km) west of the central business district of Joliet, a city in Will County, Illinois, United States. It is owned by the Joliet Park District. The airport is ...
is located off Jefferson Street near Interstate 55.
Lewis University Airport Lewis University Airport is a public use airport located 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Chicago, in the village of Romeoville in Will County, Illinois, United States. The Joliet Regional Port District assumed ownership of the airport in 198 ...
is located to the north in the nearby village of
Romeoville Romeoville is a village in Will County, Illinois, United States. The village is located southwest of Chicago on the Des Plaines River. Per the 2020 census, the population was 39,863. It is located in the southwest suburban area of Chicago near I ...
and is owned by the
Joliet Regional Port District The Joliet Regional Port District is a special-purpose district in Will County, Illinois. The District includes all territory in DuPage, Lockport, Joliet, Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'' ...
.


Major highways

Major highways in Joliet include: Interstate Highways
Interstate 55 Interstate 55 (I-55) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. The h ...

Interstate 80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...

US Highways
US 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...

US 52 U.S. Route 52 (US 52) is a major United States highway in the central United States that extends from the northern to southeastern region of the United States. Contrary to most other even-numbered U.S. Highways, US 52 primarily follows ...

US 30 U.S. Route 30 or U.S. Highway 30 (US 30) is an east–west main route in the system of the United States Numbered Highways, with the highway traveling across the northern tier of the country. With a length of , it is the third longest ...

US 6 U.S. Route 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system. While it currently runs east-northeast from Bishop, California, to ...

Illinois Highways
Route 7
Route 53
Route 59
Route 171


Hospitals

Joliet currently has one hospital within its city limits: Presence Saint Joseph Medical Center (also known as St. Joe's), located on the west side.
Silver Cross Hospital Silver Cross Hospital is a 302-bed acute care/general hospital that was founded in 1895. The hospital was located in Joliet, Illinois, before it relocated to its new campus on February 26, 2012, in New Lenox, Illinois. References

1895 est ...
, now located in neighboring
New Lenox New Lenox is a village in central Will County, Illinois, United States. It is a southwestern suburb of Chicago and an eastern suburb of Joliet. The village population was 27,214 as of 2020. New Lenox has schools like Lincoln-Way West High School ...
, was located on Joliet's east side. These were the only two hospitals in the history of the existence of
Will County Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...
until AMITA Bolingbrook Adventist Hospital opened in January 2008. In September 2008, Silver Cross Hospital broke ground for a new facility on Maple Road (
U.S. Route 6 U.S. Route 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system. While it currently runs east-northeast from Bishop, California, to P ...
) in New Lenox, immediately west of
Interstate 355 Interstate 355 (I-355), also known as the Veterans Memorial Tollway, is an Interstate Highway and tollway in the western and southwest suburbs of Chicago in the U.S. state of Illinois. Like most other toll roads in the northeastern portion of th ...
. All patients were transferred to the new hospital on February 26, 2012, and the old facility was completely vacated and later demolished.


Notable people


In popular culture

In the 1973 Academy Award-winning film, ''
The Sting ''The Sting'' is a 1973 American caper film set in September 1936, involving a complicated plot by two professional grifters (Paul Newman and Robert Redford) to con a mob boss ( Robert Shaw).'' Variety'' film review; December 12, 1973, pag ...
'', the protagonist Johnny Hooker is from Joliet and the film begins with a title card reading "Joliet, Illinois / September 1936." In ''
The Blues Brothers The Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on ''Saturday Night Live''. Belushi and Aykroyd fronted the band, in character, respecti ...
'',
John Belushi John Adam Belushi (January 24, 1949 – March 5, 1982) was an American comedian, actor, and musician, best known for being one of the seven original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''). Throughout his c ...
's
Jake Blues The Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on ''Saturday Night Live''. Belushi and Aykroyd fronted the band, in character, respective ...
is nicknamed "Joliet Jake" as he was imprisoned at the now closed
Joliet Correctional Center Joliet Correctional Center (originally known as Illinois State Penitentiary, colloquially as Joliet Prison, Joliet Penitentiary, the Old Joliet Prison, and the Collins Street Prison) was a prison in Joliet, Illinois, United States, from 1858 to ...
. The Joliet Prison has been a site for many other films and television shows, such as the film ''
Let's Go to Prison ''Let's Go to Prison'' is a 2006 American comedy film directed by Bob Odenkirk and starring Dax Shepard, Will Arnett and Chi McBride. The film was loosely based on the non-fiction book, '' You Are Going to Prison'' by Jim Hogshire. It was relea ...
'', and the opening season of Fox's ''Prison Break'' was filmed predominately at the Joliet Prison, at which time part of the prison was still in use. It is one of the settings in
Alice Munro Alice Ann Munro (; ; born 10 July 1931) is a Canadian short story writer who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013. Munro's work has been described as revolutionizing the architecture of short stories, especially in its tendency to move f ...
's "Illinois", a short story in her collection ''
The View from Castle Rock ''The View from Castle Rock'' is a book of short stories by Canadian author Alice Munro, recipient of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature, which was published in 2006 by McClelland and Stewart. It is a collection of historical and autobiographica ...
''.


See also

*
List of cities in Illinois Illinois is a U.S. state, state located in the Midwestern United States. According to the 2020 United States census Illinois is the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 6th most populous state with inhabitants but the List of U.S ...
* List of Midwestern cities by size *
List of United States cities by population This is a list of the most populous municipal corporation, incorporated places of the United States. As defined by the United States Census Bureau, an "Place (United States Census Bureau)#Incorporated place, incorporated place" includes a va ...
*
List of U.S. states' largest cities by population This is a list of the five most populous incorporated cities and Capital in all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and the 5 inhabited territories of the United States. List Census-designated places on the list Note 1: The only ...


References


External links

* *
The History of Joliet, Illinois


{{Authority control 1834 establishments in Illinois Cities in Illinois Cities in Kendall County, Illinois Cities in Will County, Illinois County seats in Illinois Populated places established in 1834 Majority-minority cities and towns in Will County, Illinois Majority-minority cities and towns in Kendall County, Illinois