Joliet Man Charged with Child Porn

Concern Builds about JOLIET WITHOUT THANAS

With the Joliet community still pondering the resignation of City Manager Tom Thanas, many from "other bodies" are coming forth expressing great concern about what this means for Joliet's future.  Long time Joliet Junior College Board member Bob Wunderlich says it was Thanas himself who made the new J-J-C building going up in Downtown Joliet possible.

As for Will County Executive Larry Walsh, he's worried about the long running effort to set up Joliet to remain the Will County seat for decades to come.  He says one thing that's needed is a major upgrade in technology, such as city-wide WIFI for the court system. 

It was about a half-dozen years ago that efforts first began between Joliet and Will County on the county seat issue.  Question is, will Thanas' departure make it go even slower?

5-24  12 Noon

Unemployment Picture AGAIN Shows Improvement

The unemployment picture has improved across the board for the second straight month.  In Will County, the rate dropped from 10 percent flat in March to nine-point-seven in April, and stood at nine-point-one in April of last year.

In looking at the cities....

Joliet's unemployment dropped from 13-three in March to 12-seven in April, and came in at 11-point-seven one year ago.

In Plainfield, unemployment fell from eight-point-one in March to seven-point-nine in April, and stood at seven-point-three in April of 2012.

For Lockport, the jobless rate showed nine-and-a-half in March, and fell to nine-point-four in April.  The rate in April of last year was nine-point-three.

In Bolingbrook, unemployment came in at eight-point-nine in March and eight-point-eight in April, with a mark of eight-point-six one year ago.

For Romeoville, umemployment improved from 10-point-four percent in March to 10-point-one percent in Apirl, and stood at nine percent flat in April of last year.

And in Homer Glen, the rate improved from eight-point-one in March to seven-point-seven in April, after coming in at eight percent flat in April of 2012.

5-24  11 AM

Planting Season Finally Looking Up in Will Co

The planting season IS INDEED "moving forward" and "catching up" for Will County farmers.  Local Farm Bureau manager Mark Schneidewind says Southern Illinois is still way behind in many areas, but up here the corn is about 98 to 99 percent done.  And the soybeans, they're moving along too.

The one SCARY PART so far, was Thursday night's cold temperatures.

But overall, Will County and Northern Illinois remain very blessed this planting season, compared to Central and Southern Illinois.

5-24  1 PM

U of I Faculty Says EITHER Pension Bill would Bring Lawsuit

More trouble is brewing for pension reform.  Faculty at the University of Illinois say they don't like the either of the pension proposals on the table.  The Campus Faculty Association believes both the Senate and the House bills are unconstitutional because they require workers to accept a reduction in pension benefits.  The association plans to file suit against the state if either of the bills becomes law.

5-24  5:30 AM

Hurtado Explains His Actions with Plainfield Park Dist

Peter Hurtado was elected Plainfield Park District President just this year. He joined 1340 WJOL Thursday to discuss the outrage in Plainfield over the appointment of Garrett Peck as Interim Executive Director, even though the Park District had an Executive Director in Greg Bott for over 30 years who was getting ready to retire on July 1st, and a replacement in Cameron Bettin who already has a signed contract for the Executive Director position. Hurtado says that there should be no controversy as Garrett Peck is not only qualified he is more qualified then when former Executive Director Bott started as the Director over 30 years ago.

Hurtado also told WJOL that there was one overall reason that move was made... TAXES!

He also said that while the Plainfield Park District is not a business; it should be run within a business model.

When asked if he would like to see Garrett Peck as the Executive Director he said that he alredy likes what he sees from Peck and if it was up to him it would be a no brainier.

When asked about the controversy Hurtado said that most of it comes from people who have a personal financial stake in the Park District and the he is simply a man trying to do right by the taxpayers.

Hurtado said that he is looking for the next Executive Director to be someone who will make the tough cuts and make the tough decision on behalf of the Plainfield Park District and that he feels that man is Garrett Peck.


5-24  5 AM

Local's Relative is Okla Tornado Hero

Jennifer Simonds is a Kindergarten teacher at Plaza Tower Elementary School in Moore, Oklahoma. Simonds was teaching her kindergarten class that day as if it was any other but it wasn't any other day as a deadly EF-5 tornado was getting ready to move through the town leaving over $1 billion worth of damage and 24 people dead. Simonds tells WJOL that this was her second year teaching in Moore and told Kevin Kollins that it was around 1:30 when things started to get bad.

Then at 2:45, with students still in the hallways getting inpatient is when it hit.

Simonds then describes what happened once the tornado stopped.

Simonds then explains to Kevin Kolins what happened next.

Even after all the destruction Simonds and her students escaped with their lives with only one suffering injuries. Simonds husband and her dog who also live Moore five miles from the school were left unscathed.
 

5-24  5:15 AM