Protests

Starting in spring 2025 and the rise of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, Will County residents began participating in nationwide protests against the policies of the Trump administration.

While the first of these protests in downtown Joliet was relatively small and disorganized, the crowds grew larger in June, before culminating at the No Kings protest on Oct. 18, when thousands of protesters lined the streets in Joliet and Joliet, joining over 7 million people marching across the country.

Immigration and the National Guard

The larger Chicago area became one of the centers of the national immigration conflict this fall, when the National Guard, including troops from Texas, was deployed to Illinois by President Donald Trump.

The Guard was called out to back up Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Department of Homeland Security personnel. While the majority of ICE activity has taken place in Chicago, multiple arrests were made in Joliet, including at the Will County Courthouse.

Similar arrests at courthouses around the state prompted the Cook County Circuit Court, and Will County and eventually the state of Illinois to ban such activity by federal officers at courthouses.

The National Guard deployment, which was stalled by multiple court rulings between October and November, was centered largely at an ICE facility in the northern Cook County suburb of Broadview, and in Elwood in Will County, where the deployed Texas and Illinois National Guard troops took up residence at the Army Reserve Training Facility for over a month.

Nearly six weeks after they arrived, the majority of the troops were retracted and returned home to Texas shortly before Thanksgiving with little fanfare or notice.

Tariffs

Various industries across Will County reported being impacted by the many on-again off-again tariffs put in place by the Trump administration.

From coffee shops to craft breweries to construction, businesses saw their supply costs go up and fluctuate, while trying not to pass those expenses onto customers.

The tariffs’ affect on farmers drew much of the national attention. Candidates running for an U.S Senate seat addressed what Illinois farmers were going through this year at a forum in Joliet.

Hollywood Casino

The biggest commercial development in Joliet in 2025 was the opening of the new $185 million Hollywood Casino Joliet.

The casino moved from the location along the Des Plaines River, where it first opened in 1992 as the Empress Casino, into the Rock Run Collection development at Interstates 55 and 80.

It was the first and still only commercial development to open in Rock Run Collection, which is billed as a regional destination site but so far only has the casino for people to visit.

But the August opening breathed new life into the Joliet casino scene, adding new restaurants, including one created by celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis, and entertainment venues.

City Square

Joliet City Square partially opened in time for the annual Light Up the Holidays Festival and Parade, giving the public a glimpse at the project expected to help change the future of downtown.

The $22 million project, which includes a modernized Chicago Street, was designed to inject new vitality downtown by creating an attractive gathering space for the public.

The square is expected to be completed and open by April 1, in time to be an attraction for tourists passing through town for the 100th Anniversary of historic Route 66..

Joliet Councilman Juan Moreno

Joliet Councilman Juan Moreno so far has survived a unique legal challenge to his eligibility to hold office, although the case will stretch into 2026.

The Will County State’s Attorney’s Office brought the challenge, contending Moreno had not lived in Joliet for the required one year before running for office in the April election in which he was the top vote getter.

An attempt to remove Moreno from office while the case winds through court failed. But, Moreno’s future also is clouded by nearly $22,000 in state electoral board fines that must be paid before he can run for office again.

More housing coming

The City of Lockport saw significant housing construction in 2025, with new units added in eight developments.

The city added 112 single-family houses and townhome units as well as well as apartments in The Springs of Lockport and The Port on State Street.

The 2025 construction officially completed work in Silo Bend, with additional units set to be added to Oak Valley, Lago Vista, Oak Creek, Parkside Estates, Sadie Ridge, and the springs in 2026. Next year will also see construction begin on the approved Redwood apartments.

In addition to the ongoing construction two additional housing developments are pending following discussions with the City Council and Planning and Zoning Commission in 2025.

Final development plans for the Flagstone Villas townhomes have already been approved, and the city council just approved plans for Serenity Landing between Briggs Street, Farrell Road, Bruce Road and Oak Street, which would include up to 633 units divided amongst apartments, townhomes, and single-family houses at its final meeting of the year.

In the final months of 2025, Plainfield also approved two new housing developments.

The village board voted on Nov. 3 to approve a new development including 565 homes and 8,000 square-feet of commercial space adjacent to the Wallin Woods subdivision, a project which has been under consideration in various forms since 1994.

One month later, the board unanimously approved plans for The Nook, a four-building, 288-unit apartment complex located on 8.8 acres of land west of Wood Farm Road and north of Lockport Street.

The plan is unique because it is set to include smaller, studio apartments, and the developer is working with Plainfield School District 202 to create a plan for a rental assistance program instead of the usual district impact fees for the development. That could potentially benefit teachers and create more affordable housing.

Still, access to housing, affordable housing, is a national issue that resonates with Will County residents and business leaders alike, who say housing needs are not being met.

The last Taste of Joliet

Fest-goers did not know it at the time, but the Taste of Joliet held in June was the last.

Joliet Park District officials announced in December that after 20 years of what has become the city’s biggest summer festival, the event would end.

“I think it’s just 20 years of doing the same event the same way,” park district Executive Director Brad Staab said. “We thought it was time to take a breather.”

Staab said the park district would come back in 2027 with a new event but one on a smaller scale than the Taste, which cost $1.1 million to stage this year and made a $500 profit.

Trial over 2023 murder of Muslim child

The most high-profile and one of the most tragic murder cases in Will County history went to trial in February.

A jury found Joseph Czuba, 73, a former Plainfield Township landlord, guilty of the 2023 hate crime murder of 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi and the attempted murder of his mother, Hanan Shaheen.

Prosecutors said Czuba stabbed Wadee 26 times and attacked Hanan with a knife because of his hatred toward Muslims.

Will County Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak sentenced Czuba to serve 53 years in prison for his crimes.

Even after Czuba’s sentencing, some of his family demanded to know more of what specifically drove him to killing Wadee. What kind of media outlets exactly was Czuba listening to or watching that allegedly drove him to commit the acts.

They’ll never get that answer from Czuba, who declined to speak at his sentencing hearing. He died in prison in July from natural causes.

Civil rights advocates have pointed to an environment they contend allowed Czuba’s crimes to happen. Specifically, the media coverage of the 2023 Israel-Hamas war and former U.S. President Joe Biden’s unfounded claims that babies were beheaded by Palestinians.

“That’s what [Czuba] was reacting to: these unfounded claims – watching CNN around the clock, the way that the media covered the conflict, showing only one side of what was happening,” said Ahmed Rehab, executive director of the Council on American–Islamic Relations in Chicago.

In response to the incident, Biden condemned what he called a “horrific act of hate” and called on Americans to “reject Islamophobia and all forms of bigotry and hatred.”

Police misconduct cases

This year, Will County reached an $2.5 million settlement with the family of Gregory Walker, 65, of Crest Hill, who took hostages at a bank in 2022 but was shot by Will County Sheriff Lt. John Allen after surrendering to authorities.

During the investigation of the incident, Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow’s Office decided to put the case before a grand jury to decide whether Allen should face charges.

The grand jury declined charges against Allen. Will County Sheriff Mike Kelley fired Allen following an internal investigation that did not begin until this year but Allen has appealed Kelley’s decision.

In December 2024, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s Office delivered a blistering report on the Joliet Police Department following a three-year civil rights investigation.

Raoul’s office found the department had a pattern of unlawful policing enabled by the department’s “broken accountability systems.”

But this year, Joliet Police Chief Bill Evans recommended the firing of a Joliet police detective facing a domestic battery charge and the firing of a lieutenant for policy violations but offered no specifics on those violations.

Also this year, Joliet’s Board of Fire and Police Commissioners upheld Evans recommended firing of another police officer who is facing a lawsuit over a 2024 crash.

Still, the year ended with two more federal lawsuits against the city.

One lawsuit is from former Joliet Police Sgt. Javier Esqueda, who claims he faced retaliation for leaking the squad video of Eric Lurry’s controversial in-custody death.

Another lawsuit is from the family of David Malito, 39, who contend a Joliet police officer caused his death. A forensic pathologist had found Malito died from cocaine intoxication.