2021 in Joliet: the past year captured in photos

JOLIET, IL – Much has happened around the town of Joliet over the past year as Joliet Patch has posted thousands of photos depicting daily life in Will County’s larger community.

I came back and selected a photo from each month to capture 2021 in photos.

Some of my photos accompanied stories of human interest. Other photos captured major emergencies that required a strong presence of Joliet police and Joliet paramedics / firefighters.

Some were huge political events, like Governor JB Pritzker’s press conference in Joliet in May. Others, as you’ll see, were just photos showing a slice of everyday life in Joliet.

Here is your monthly feedback on the year of Joliet:

JANUARY

Man shot 3 times by Joliet police undergoes surgery: a relative

A man who lived with his mother in a house in the 1200 block of Nicholson Street on the west side of Joliet was shot at least three times by a Joliet police officer, and he was undergoing surgery at AMITA Health Saint Joseph medical center, according to his cousin. At the scene of Thursday’s late morning shooting, the woman told Joliet Patch: “We hear he pulled out a BB gun and fired air… that’s what we are saying. said the police. “

FEBRUARY

Hundreds of teachers in Joliet get vaccinated against the coronavirus: photos

Volunteers on leave from the Joliet Fire Department have taken over the grounds of Joliet West High School, where they will give thousands of educators in the Joliet region the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. About 300 school employees in school district 204 in the township of Joliet, Rockdale, Laraway and Elwood waited their turn to receive their doses of vaccine on Tuesday afternoon.

Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Carey told Joliet Patch he plans to administer the coronavirus vaccines for several weeks. “We’re moving faster than we thought, so we’re trying to get more teachers today,†Carey remarked.

MARCH

Brian Urlacher backs Joe Clement for Joliet advice: Photos

Brian Urlacher, one of the all-time greats of the Chicago Bears, kept his promise to attend the charity fundraiser of Joliet City Council candidate Joe Clement at the IBEW Local 176 banquet hall on the main road near Interstate 55. “It’s for a good cause and Joe is a good guy,†Urlacher told Joliet Patch. “Come out and vote for Joe. I think he has a lot of great ideas and I think he will do a lot of good for the community on city council.”

With 12 candidates in the April election, Clement won the second-highest number of votes, winning a four-year term on the Council.

APRIL

ACE: Joliet’s iconic Drive-In opens its doors for the 73rd year

Restaurants around Illinois come and go. Some don’t last a full year. Joliet’s ACE Drive-In has been at 1207 Plainfield Road since 1949, and during the first week of April, for the first time in 2021, ACE opened for the season. The parking lot remained busy during lunchtime as Pierson brothers Tom and Rich occupied themselves in the kitchen of the ACE Drive-In baking fries, making Italian beef sandwiches and barbecuing.

“It’s stable,†Tom Pierson told the publisher of Joliet Patch.

CAN

Pritzker: Joliet obtains the Lion Electric automobile manufacturing plant

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker came to Joliet on May 7 to reveal positive news on economic development: Electric lion, a Canadian company in Quebec, will open its first automobile manufacturing plant in the United States in Joliet.

In the long term, Lion Electric plans to hire approximately 1,400 people to build electric cars at the Youngs Road site in Joliet. “It’s one of the best places in the world if you’re a manufacturer, if you’re someone who wants to be at the crossroads of America, making sure you’re in the distribution center of the world,†Pritzker told everyone. “Being here in Will County is the place to be.”

JUNE

Joliet bulldozers Man’s House in College Park: “I lost everything”

Two years and four months after the town of Joliet declared the ownership of Carl E. Johnson in the College Park subdivision near Houbolt Road a public nuisance, a demolition crane arrived at 906 Menlo Court and razed the house of Johnson on June 15.

“I lost everything, everything I owned, from pictures of my kids to Christmas pictures, just like a tornado came, just like a tornado came,” repeated Johnson, 62. “Why didn’t they give me time, knowing that I am disabled? They should have allowed me to fix my roof.”

JULY

The Joliet Canal jet ski enthusiast is back: video

Mysterious jet ski racer Joliet Patch first wrote in early March he returned to the dirty waters of the canal for fun on July 30.

He was splashing and having fun by the Jefferson Street Bridge, across from Joliet Police Station and City Hall. He said his name was Van and he was 59 years old. “I bet you thought I must have been someone like 20 or 25,†he smiles.

AUGUST

Fire at Speedway Auto Parts: “We were very lucky”

Speedway Auto Parts has been on the east side of Joliet for over 50 years and the Aug. 17 fire at the auto salvage yard has left company owner Sean Krause grateful the blaze was no worse. An estimated 200 to 300 crashed cars were damaged in the blaze, which started shortly before 7 p.m. Speedway is at 1301 Herkimer St., just off Collins Street and next to the sprawling concrete fortress known as Old Joliet Prison.

SEPTEMBER

Steve Sherwood no longer preaches near Walmart in Joliet

For many years, people around Joliet could find Steve Sherwood sitting outside the Walmart Supercenter on West Jefferson Street preaching the good news of the Bible, parking his long bike nearby. But it came to an abrupt end a few weeks ago.

Sherwood told Joliet Patch that a store manager in Joliet told him he was no longer welcome to occupy the metal benches outside the giant retailer at 2424 W. Jefferson St. Sherwood admitted that he was no longer welcome to occupy the metal benches outside the giant retailer at 2424 W. Usually wasn’t at Walmart to buy store merchandise.

OCTOBER

Niko overcomes oven woes: 1,010 Greek chickens sold

Niko’s Pizzeria at 20 Ohio St. set its one-day record on Oct. 27, selling 1,010 Greek chicken dinners, but around 2 p.m. a disaster struck in the kitchen. Niko’s generally reliable oven broke down. A full hour passed before it was fixed. “Once you fall behind, it’s hard to catch up because there is a large amount of orders,†owner Nikos Lippas told Patch. “We had a little problem with the oven, it kept breaking down. It’s fixed, and we’re going full blast, but we’re an hour late.”

NOVEMBER

Van plows in Tastee Bites restaurant on Jefferson Street

The Joliet Police Department said no tickets were issued following the Nov. 10 accident involving a van in the Tastee Bites restaurant. A 54-year-old woman from Darien “stepped on the gas pedal as she entered her moving van, causing the sidewalk to jump and hit the front of Tastee Bites,” according to police reports from Joliet. “The vehicle came to a stop about 10 feet inside the store.”

DECEMBER

Sue Regis Glass Art Makes Illinois State Holiday Gift Guide

For the first time ever, the town of Joliet has a small business recognized with the annual Illinois Made Holiday Gift from the Illinois Office of Tourism. Only 20 small businesses from across the state were shortlisted for this honor – and Sue Regis Glass Art was one of the winners.

“I think that puts Joliet more on the map,†Regis told Joliet Patch. “It’s nice to have something positive in the news, especially for downtown Joliet.”