Will County

Most visitor centers at Will County forest preserves will be closed for the Independence Day holiday.

Owner of Sidelines Sports Bar contests Joliet's new ordinance, but the City Council voted 5-3 to end packaged liquor sales at midnight for taverns.

The family of Terhan Foster Gordon, missing since Friday, asked the Joliet City Council for help in forming a search party to find him.

Joliet Mayor Terry D'Arcy says city needs to loosen residency rules to attract employees.

Half-price dog park permits for the Forest Preserve District of Will County are available for purchase starting Tuesday, July 1. The permits can be used at all six forest preserve dog parks through the end of this year.

Jason Held has been an assistant girls basketball coach for six years and will take over as the head coach this season

If you're looking for an experience that harkens back to summers past, take a road trip to these vintage drive-in restaurants and enjoy a burger, shake, root beer and more.

Live music, food vendors and fireworks are part of the July 3 celebration at Billie Limacher Bicentennial Park in Joliet.

A Joliet man has been charged with driving under the influence in a Plainfield Township crash that injured a Will County sheriff’s deputy.

From food trucks and live music to family-friendly festivities, here is a roundup of places to enjoy the Fourth of July across Will and Grundy counties.

A man reported missing in Joliet was last seen driving a silver Pontiac G5 sedan with Mississippi license plate number of JAD610.

Joliet firefighters would be able to live as far as 50 miles away from the city while getting pay increases for the next four years, according to a proposed contract.

The first mosquitoes testing positive for West Nile virus this year in Will County were found in Joliet.

Jeremy Fears Jr., a Joliet West alum and current Michigan State basketball star, threw out the ceremonial first pitch Friday at the Chicago White Sox game against the San Francisco Giants. Fears is a part of local NIL initiative funded by the White Sox.

A Country Club Hills man was arrested in Joliet after he was accused of possessing a ghost gun with an extended magazine that was loaded with 32 rounds, prosecutors said.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood of Naperville has one fewer potential Republican challenger to worry about in 2026.

Earthmover Credit Union recently awarded four Teen Investment Program College Scholarships totaling $4,000 to four local high school students.

The Herald-News presents this week’s Pets of the Week. Read the description of each pet to find out about it, including where it can be adopted in Will County.

Illinois State Police have announced an increase in traffic safety checks throughout northern Illinois counties for the month of July.

PDM Plumbing, Heating & Cooling’s website said it can “repair, maintain and install every brand of plumbing, drains, heating and air conditioning equipment.”

The Jefferson Street bridge in downtown Joliet is slated to be reopened on Monday. Ruby Street bridge will close next.

The village of Plainfield welcomed residents and visitors from all over to its downtown area for the annual Plainfield Fest held Friday through Sunday. The event is organized by the Plainfield Riverfront Foundation.

Kiddie Academy of New Lenox recently celebrated its new ownership with a ribbon cutting.

Internode Greenery & Home in Joliet and the Fit Foundation in Crest Hill, were part of a series of four-minute videos the Illinois Retails Merchants Association is showcasing.

Fry the Coop chicken restaurant recently opened in Joliet, joining nine other locations in Illinois.

CITGO’s Lemont Refinery donated funds to the Will County Sheriff’s Office that will go to support the department’s K-9 Unit.

A monumentat Van Horn Woods East Playground in Plainfield will preserve the memory of 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi, who was stabbed to death Oct. 14, 2023, in an anti-Palestinian, anti-Muslim hate crime in Plainfield.

Double “J” Sports Bar, located at 1001 Essington Road in Joliet, hosts karaoke on Monday nights and Ladies Night on Thursdays.

The awarded gala will be one of the first events Hollywood Casino Joliet will host next year in its new event center.

The Bolingbrook Village Board this week amended an ordinance regulating the use of electric bicycles (E-Bike) and electric scooters within the Village.

The Joliet owner of a firearm that was used in the shooting of a 5-year-old child has charged with unlawful possession of a weapon by felon. The child is "doing well" after several surgeries, a police official said.

O’Larry Asun Spot, a halal restaurant featuring West African dishes, could open by early August.

A Joliet teen has been charged with shooting another teen in the leg during an attempted robbery and then chasing after the victim while firing more shots, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors are seeking to keep a Bolingbrook man in jail in a case where he’s charged with the 2023 murder of a man, a teenaged girl and a child, all of whom were shot during a home invasion. 

The Lockport City Council is expected to vote on plans for two new residential developments at its meeting on July 2.

Plainfield Pride, a local LGBTQ+ advocacy group, says it has seen an uptick in support in 2025 despite hostile political climate.

EZ Wok in Shorewood is under new ownership. The restaurant is known as having a "convenient location and affordable prices."

Tim Placher of Joliet, organizer of the “Nashville on the Hill” series at Bishops Hill Winery, said the first season was extremely popular with patrons.

Many Illinois communities are adding back a 1% grocery tax that will otherwise expire on Jan. 1. Is your town among them?

State lawmakers in Will County spoke at a Joliet casino about the recent passage of the largest budget in state history and the possibility of making adjustments to the budget later this year.

A Will County lawsuit claims the New Lenox Police Department engaged in “policing-for-profit” when their officers wrongfully seized a 2010 Jeep Wrangler belonging to a man innocent of wrongdoing.

A former Joliet Township trustee must still face 16 felony charges accusing him of pandemic relief fraud and other financial crimes after a judge denied a pretrial motion that alleged prosecutorial misconduct. 

Jeremiah Fears, who spent the first two years of his high school career playing for Joliet West, was a star for Oklahoma last year and will now play alongside Zion Williamson and Trey Murphy. Fears was selected seventh overall in Wednesday's NBA Draft by the New Orleans Pelicans.

A woman was arrested after she was accused of failing to call 911 following an incident where an 8-year-old child allegedly shot a 5-year-old child, police said.

A 153-acre housing development consisting of 322 single-family houses and 83 townhouses is being built at the corner of Lockport Street and Wallin Drive in Plainfield. Work on the development, aptly named Keller Farm, began in 2024.

Plainfield Fest will feature live music, food vendors, craft vendors, petting zoo and a carnival.

A former Bolingbrook police sergeant convicted of killing his third wife was in a wheelchair when he was brought to the Will County Courthouse in Joliet for a psychological evaluation.

Will County has received an award for budgetary quality and transparency from the Government Finance Officers Association.

A Chinese national from California is facing a theft charge in Will County after he was accused of stealing cash from a woman who was the victim of an email scam, police said.

A Will County judge allowed for the pretrial release of a man charged with unlawful possession of a weapon by felon in the investigation of a June 12 shooting at a Joliet apartment complex.