Will County officials recently backed plans to buy a bank building, signaling their intent to keep courthouse operations in downtown Joliet.
County Executive Larry Walsh recently signed an agreement to buy the First Midwest Bank Building, located at the corner of Ottawa and Jefferson streets for just over $4 million. County and bank officials are expected to close on the purchase later this summer.
“This has been years in the making,” said Nick Palmer, Walsh’s chief of staff,” and it signals the county’s commitment to take another step forward.”
The bank, which has four floors and is 52,444 square feet, is expected to be part of the county’s plans to build a new courthouse facility in downtown Joliet. County officials, however, note it likely will be four or five years before any construction work begins on a new courthouse.
In the meantime, the bank building will be used as a temporary home for the investigations division of the Will County sheriff’s office and possibly a temporary location for other county offices, Palmer said.
Under the agreement, First Midwest Bank also will be allowed to lease back the first floor of the building for the next 2 1/2 years until it finds a new location. Bank president Jim Roolf said the bank plans to relocate elsewhere in downtown Joliet but said a final site has not yet been selected.
“For us, (the bank) is another building block in our overall master plan in terms of moving forward with a judicial complex,” said Will County Board member Denise Winfrey, who heads up the county board’s capital improvements committee.
In addition to relocating some offices into the bank, county officials anticipate relocating the coroner’s office and the recorder of deeds office into the former Social Security Building on Scott Street, which the county also recently purchased.
Palmer noted relocating those offices frees up space in the Emco Building, located at 57 N. Ottawa Street in Joliet across from the courthouse. The Emco building houses the Will County state’s attorney’s office and could eventually house the public defender’s office, Palmer said.
Though at least two new buildings are needed — a courthouse and a sheriff’s facility — county officials are quick to note they must still settle the issue of how construction costs will be covered.
State lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow the county to implement a fee on all new court cases filed within the county. And though the fee could generate up to $2 million a year that could be earmarked for a new courthouse, county officials say that won’t be enough to cover a courthouse, which some estimate could cost upwards of $150 million.
“There’s still a big shortfall of money that we need to build this courthouse and that’s going to need to be identified,” Palmer said.
Some county officials have discussed the potential of a public safety tax while others have suggested using funds generated through the RTA tax. County board members also are expected to discuss the possibility of satellite court facilities to better serve residents.
Members of the county board’s capital improvement committee are expected to finalize plans for a review of judicial space needs at their June 3 meeting. The county plans to work with Wight Consulting to lay out options for a future judicial complex.
