Will

Formed January 12, 1836 (62^nd county)

Will County (696,362), Joliet (150,378)

A Modern concrete courthouse in Joliet was built in 1968.  It replaced a classic 1884 facility.  The current courthouse is on a square at Chicago, Washington, Ottawa, and Jefferson streets.  United States Highway 6 is one block east of the site.  J. C. Cochrane provided the building designs.  Veteran Memorials are on the grounds.  A new Courthouse is planned for 2020.  Will County was created on January 12, 1836 from parts of Cook, Iroquois, and Vermilion counties as the 62^nd county.  Joliet has been the only county seat.  A salt industry businessman, Conrad Will, is the namesake of the county.  French Explorer Louis Jolliet is the source for the county seat. 

Will County government consists of a sheriff, an attorney, a coroner, a clerk, a treasurer, and an assessor (executive).  It has 22 Board Members (legislative.)  Thirty-seven Circuit Court Judges and a court clerk serve Will County (judicial.) The county is in northeast Illinois directly southwest of Chicago, Illinois.  The county center is 2.9 miles East of Joliet in Ingalls Park.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Du Page and Cook counties and Indiana and Kankakee, Grundy, Kendall, and Kane counties.  The Illinois River sources join together in this county. 

The area of the county is 835 square miles.  It is 13 out of 102 in the state.  It ranks 4 out of 102 in population in the state.  It has a density of 834.0 persons per square mile making it 5 out of 102 in the state.  Will County has 85.2% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 55 crosses northeast to southwest in the county from Cook County to Grundy County.  Interstate Highway 57 goes north to south from Cook to Kankakee counties.  Interstate Highway 80 travels east to west from Cook County to Grundy County.  United States Highway 6 parallels Interstate Highway 80 from Cook to Grundy counties.  United States Highway 30 goes east to west from Cook County to Kendall County.  United States Highway 45 enters from the north Cook County and exits to the south Kankakee County.  United States Highway 52 comes from Kendall County, west, and joins with United States Highway 45 into Kankakee County, south.  The county is shaped like an upside down pistol.  Joliet is located in the northwest quarter of the county and extends into Kendall County.  Joliet is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 21.6% of the county population.  The county seat is pronounced JOE-LEE-ET.  This county is in the Chicago-Naperville-Joliet Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Woodridge