Joliet Mayor Robert O’Dekirk cast a tie-breaking vote Tuesday giving NorthPoint Development the green light for a 103-acre light industrial development on the south end of the city near where the company has proposed a larger industrial development between Elwood and Manhattan.
The approval drew a mixed reaction from the packed council chambers. Union representatives who supported the project because of the construction jobs it would create applauded the council vote, while opponents booed and vowed to vote out council members who supported the project in the next election.
Council members Larry Hug, Pat Mudron, Sherri Reardon and Jan Quillman voted to approve rezoning to allow the project. Council members Mike Turk, Don Dickinson, Bettye Gavin and Terry Morris opposed it.
NorthPoint has not submitted specific plans for the property near Ridge and Breen roads, but officials have offered two conceptual plans. In one plan, buildings would range in size from 27,000 square feet to 201,500 square feet and only allow the use of delivery trucks or box trucks. In another plan, three buildings would range in size from 109,200 square feet to 414,500 square feet.
Approximately 150 people packed council chambers to express their views about the proposed development. Supporters lauded the construction jobs the development would bring to the area. Several opponents argued the project would bring more truck traffic and noise to the area and said the council’s move opens a new door into NorthPoint’s plans for a larger development on land nearby.
In 2018, Elwood residents turned out in large numbers in opposition to NorthPoint’s plans to annex 675 acres into Elwood for its proposed 2,200 acre Compass Business Park. Residents raised concerns about the additional truck traffic and the impact it would have on local roads, highways and the environment. In April of 2018, the annexation was dropped and Elwood Village President Doug Jenco issued a news release stating there was not enough support on the village board to approve the request.
The Kansas City-based developer applied to Will County for approval of its project shortly after Elwood’s action, but there has been no movement on the proposal. After the company’s submission, Will County Board member Jim Moustis, R-Frankfort, urged the company to withdraw its application until the company could address the “serious concerns raised by local families.”
NorthPoint officials Tuesday declined to discuss future plans.
“We’re very pleased with the council’s approval,” NorthPoint’s spokesman Scott Burnham said following the Joliet council’s vote. “We look forward to the opportunity to work with the city of Joliet.”
Before the vote, O’Dekirk said he had spoken with the mayor in Edgerton, Kansas about the NorthPoint industrial campus there. O’Dekirk reported Edgerton’s mayor described NorthPoint as “good corporate citizens” and the company goes “above and beyond.”
O’Dekirk also suggested council members, particularly members of the council’s economic development committee, travel to Edgerton to see NorthPoint’s 2,300 acre development and speak to Edgerton officials about their experiences with NorthPoint.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen tonight,” O’Dekirk said before the vote. “If there are any future dealings with NorthPoint, because it’s a controversial issue, I do think it would be wise … if we have members of the council … go down to Kansas and see for themselves what’s happening and talk to the elected officials and people on the ground.”
Alice Fabbre is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
