Biohazard Cleanup Near Autumn Fields Joliet, IL

Joliet is the county seat of Will County, Illinois, sitting on the Des Plaines River about 40 miles southwest of Chicago.

The city is named for French-Canadian explorer Louis Jolliet, who explored the area in the fall of 1673; the settlement was originally called 'Juliet,' a corruption of his name.

Joliet was first settled in 1833, laid out as a town in 1834, and incorporated in 1852; in 1836 it became the county seat of the newly created Will County.

With 150,362 residents in the 2020 census, Joliet is the third-most populous city in Illinois.

Joliet has about 51,000 households, and roughly 74% of its homes are owner-occupied.

Joliet was long nicknamed the 'Stone City' because of its limestone quarries, and local boosters note that Joliet limestone was used in the Chicago Water Tower, built in 1869.

Joliet was the first major city outside Chicago on historic U.S. Route 66, and its downtown still trades on its Route 66 heritage.

The Rialto Square Theatre, which opened on May 24, 1926, is known as the 'Jewel of Joliet' and has been ranked among the ten most beautiful theaters in the world.

The old Joliet Correctional Center was the largest prison in Illinois when it was built; it closed in 2002 and became famous through its appearances in movies and songs.

Joliet Junior College, founded in 1901 by J. Stanley Brown and University of Chicago president William Rainey Harper, was the first public community college in the United States, and its first class had just six students.