Billie Limacher Bicentennial Park To Close

The first casualty in the Joliet budget presented Monday night to the City Council is the Billie Limacher Bicentennial Park, it will close.

Joliet Interim City Manager Jim Hock say while some outdoor rentals may be booked, staff will be shifted to other positions within the city.

The 300-million dollar budget has no pay cuts for employees, but 5% of job vacancies will not be filled.

Gaming revenue took a big hit thanks to COVID with 50% in lost revenue. Normally Joliet would see up to $16-million and this year it’s down to $8-million. The budget shortfall would have been anywhere between 5 and 7 million dollars but will be made up with federal funds from the CARES Act.

Hock says, in order to keep bond ratings high, Joliet will not use any savings to balance the budget.