2 County Government Buildings To Close, Coronavirus To Blame

JOLIET, IL — As more people in Will County are getting sick from the coronavirus and some are dying, Will County government officials announced Thursday that the downtown Joliet Will County Government Office Building and the Will County Recorder's Office won't be open to visitors starting next week.

The Will County Health Department, on Thursday, also announced that 1,343 more people have been diagnosed with the coronavirus since Tuesday, Nov. 10.

There were eight more coronavirus deaths, including a young man in his 30s.

The other Will County deaths included a woman in her 50s, two men in their 60s, one man in his 70s, one woman in her 70s, a woman in her 80s and a woman at least 100 years old.

By Thursday afternoon, the Will County Recorder's Office of Karen Stukel issued a news bulletin announcing that her county building in Joliet will be closed effective Monday.

Instead of visiting her offices on North Scott Street, the county recorder asked that people reach out via phone or email or visit her website here.

The Will County Government Office Building on North Chicago Street will also be off-limits to residents starting Monday because of the rapid rise in coronavirus cases.

“The number of positive cases for COVID-19 has risen dramatically,” interim Will County Executive Denise Winfrey said Thursday's separate news release. “The health and wellness of our county employees and our residents is of utmost importance. We want to do everything we can to protect people which includes encouraging the public to wear a mask at all times, wash your hands often, and to maintain social distance. Closing our office building to the public is a responsible move to help limit the spread of this highly infectious virus.

“We must all take these statistics seriously and not let down our guard,” Winfrey added.