Controversial Joliet Development Underway: 'We Can't Stop It'

JOLIET, IL — Amanda Klimek and her husband bought a ranch-style house on Noel Road six years ago. They have a backyard swimming pool. Their lives were peaceful, but not anymore, thanks to city of Joliet officials, she said.

This week, more than a dozen large earth-moving vehicles began turning over dirt in front of their subdivision in Jackson Township near Route 53. This is NorthPoint, a controversial mega development that Elwood rejected, but the Joliet City Council later approved in 2020.

After years of litigation, construction is underway, and there's no stopping NorthPoint, now.

"No warning. No notices on the door, no nothing," Amanda Klimek told Joliet Patch's editor during Wednesday's interview. "It's loud. It's dusty. A lot of people are upset about it, and a lot of people have already moved out."

WJOL news radio station's Scott Slocum broke this week's news regarding NorthPoint's start of construction on the far south edge of Joliet near Elwood.

The Klimeks live right off Route 53, about a mile down the road from the empty Chicago Speedway NASCAR racetrack, which hasn't been used since 2019.

"Despite Route 53 being here, we don't get a lot of traffic," she said. "We all live here to get our peace and quiet. Now, we're kind of stuck. We'll have to see what happens."

Joliet Patch also interviewed Dave DiDesiderio who has lived on Noel Road for 23 years.

He estimated there are 15 to 20 pieces of construction equipment, working behind the chain-link fence erected at the back of his yard along his property line. The contractors are supposed to work from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, but some days, they start a little early, he said.

"We can't stop it," DiDesiderio remarked Wednesday. "This is kind of spot zoning. It was planned and it was voted on. I hate to say for sure that anything dirty was going on, but what are you going to do?"

DiDesiderio said he holds no animosity at all toward the contractors who are developing the land for NorthPoint.

"They've got a job to do," he said. "I can't be mad at them people."

Because of Illinois' high taxes, "eventually, I will get out of Illinois," the Noel Road landowner said.

As for NorthPoint, "Do you think it's going to improve the value of my house?" DiDesiderio asked.

Facts About NorthPoint: Only Joliet City Council members Bettye Gavin and Mike Turk voted against it. NorthPoint Joliet was endorsed by U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, Congressman Bobby Rush, Congresswoman Robin Kelly and Congressman Adam Kinzinger.

NorthPoint's amended annexation agreement with Joliet would allow for the construction of Compass Global Logistics Hub – a $2.6 billion logistics and light manufacturing park that will create thousands of jobs and bring economic opportunity to the Southland.

Last November, Patch reported that Joliet's new agreement covered an additional 810 acres that NorthPoint owns between the UP Railroad tracks and Rowell Avenue, approximately 500 acres west of Route 53 and 300 acres east of Route 53. The additions will bring the project to 2,180 acres and 21 million square feet of space in Joliet.

Campaign Donations

Joliet Mayor Bob O'Dekirk received a $10,000 donation in 2021 to his Citizens for O'Dekirk political action committee from East Gate Logistics, which is NorthPoint Development.

Joliet Councilman Larry Hug got a $5,000 political campaign donation last year from East Gate Logistics. In 2019, newly elected Joliet Councilwoman Sherri Reardon received a $1,000 donation from East Gate Logistics Park Chicago, LLC.

Just Say No To NorthPoint

The grassroots coalition with 4,100 Facebook followers states, "We are the original grassroots efforts started in 2017 to oppose Northpoint and protect our community through fact-based research, legal efforts with environmental and workers’ rights groups, and outreach. Kansas City-based industrial warehouse developer, Northpoint Development, has been working on a plan to usurp 2200 ACRES of prime farmland and replace it with a massive industrial warehouse."