Bob Okon

5 days ago | shawlocal.com | Bob Okon

The state plans to shut down the Cass Street bridge in downtown Joliet for 16 months starting in late summer. The drawbridge would be closed for all of 2026, the year the city wants to showcase downtown and welcome tourists during the 100th anniversary year for historic Route 66. The bridge has been reduced to one lane since August, when the Illinois Department of Transportation said corroded steel made it necessary to reduce traffic on the structure.

5 days ago | shawlocal.com | Bob Okon

A Tru by Hilton hotel is under construction outside the Louis Joliet Mall in Joliet. The City Council on Tuesday approved a liquor license for the hotel. Raymond Management is building the hotel at 3051 Ring Road. A news release from Raymond Management said the hotel will include 98 rooms. Raymond Management said the hotel will include a fitness center, a business center with high-speed Wi-Fi, and socialization areas. The hotel is expected to open this summer.

6 days ago | shawlocal.com | Bob Okon

Police, local residents and families of those killed on the job joined a ceremony in Joliet on Thursday to pay honor to law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty. The annual Law Enforcement Memorial Day included moments of reflection for families who came to the ceremony for their loved ones.

1 week ago | shawlocal.com | Bob Okon

The 7 Brew company plans to build two drive-thru coffee shops in Joliet. A representative from the company said redevelopment will start May 19 at a Jefferson Street location. The construction date was given at a Monday meeting of the Joliet City Council Public Service Committee. The committee was in the process of reviewing a drive-thru permit for a second 7 Brew to be built on Plainfield Road.

1 week ago | shawlocal.com | Bob Okon

Jeffrey Grimes, when he was 18, took a trip to Mexico, where a language barrier led to his career as a Spanish teacher. It wasn’t a direct route. But Grimes is happy to say now that he is teaching the right language and at the right place. Grimes, in an interview at his classroom at Joliet Central High School, said he had not planned to become a teacher. “Somebody saw something I didn’t see in myself,” Grimes said. “I didn’t go to school to be a teacher.