Will County is one of the fastest growing commercial markets in the area. It has evolved into a major hub in the global distribution market and offers programs, services and incentives for commercial development to ensure continued expansion. Will County is centrally located drawing from a 7-county labor force of 4.7 million people and is the home of the largest inland port in North America, served by 5 Class 1 railroads, 3 intermodal facilities, 4 interstate highways, 3 navigable waterways and 1,500 miles of pipeline.
AMAZON – 10,000 Employed
VALLEY VIEW SCHOOL DISTRICT #365 – 3,274 Employed
PLAINFIELD SCHOOL DISTRICT #202 – 3,250 Employed
SILVER CROSS HOSPITAL – 2,967 Employed
ASCENSION SAINT JOSEPH – JOLIET- 2,764 Employed
WILL COUNTY GOVERNMENT – 2,202 Employed
WEATHERTECH – 1,548 Employed
JOLIET PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT #86 – 1,499 Employed
JOLIET JUNIOR COLLEGE – 1,400 Employed
GREENCORE – 1,200 Employed
SOUTHERN GLAZER’S WINE & SPIRITS – 1,105 Employed
STATEVILLE CORRECTIONAL CENTER – 1,052 Employed
CITGO LEMONT REFINERY – 1,050 Employed
JOLIET TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT #204 – 912 Employed
FEDEX GROUND – 900 Employed
GOVERNORS STATE UNIVERSITY – 892 Employed
CITY OF JOLIET – 867 Employed
ADVENT HEALTH BOLINGBROOK HOSPITAL – 862 Employed
G&W ELECTRIC COMPANY – 787 Employed
TRINITY SERVICES – 762 Employed
WALMART DISTRIBUTION – 750 Employed
ULTA BEAUTY – 745 Employed
UNIVERSITY OF ST. FRANCIS – 710 Employed
EXXONMOBIL JOLIET REFINERY – 672 Employed
DIAGEO GLOBAL SUPPLY – 650 Employed
LEWIS UNIVERSITY – 611 Employed
CONSTELLATION – Braidwood Station – 607 Employed
FEDERAL SIGNAL – 600 Employed
HARRAH’S JOLIET CASINO & HOTEL – 550 Employed
MAGID GLOVE – 529 Employed
KEHE FOODS – 505 Employed
GREAT KITCHENS – 500 Employed
CORNERSTONE SERVICES, INC. – 480 Employed
LINCOLNWAY SCHOOL DISTRICT #210 – 411 Employed
CADENCE PREMIER LOGISTICS – 408 Employed
CRETE-MONEE SCHOOL DISTRICT #201U – 361 Employed
HOLLYWOOD CASINO JOLIET – 350 Employed
The Diamond Point Commercial Center offers development land for sale on the edge of Will County in Diamond Illinois, a sought-after real estate market in the Chicagoland area. The property can support a variety of commercial uses including retail, restaurant, service, medical, office or hotel development in a very underserved market.
Located in northeastern Illinois Will County was once covered by prairies. Native Americans, including Potawatomi, trapped and farmed in the area. Europeans joined the fur trade in the late seventeenth century through the 1820s. As early as 1829 began settlement in Will County with one of the first permanent settlements, Walker’s Grove established by Jesse Walker in 1826 near what is now Plainfield. Early settlers included Judge Davidson, William Gougar, Lewis Kercheval, Cornelius Van Horne and Reason Zarley near Joliet. Armisted Runyon, William Gooding and Horace Morse settled near Lockport. Early settlers relied on agriculture, trade and milling to survive. To avoid long trips to Chicago for transactions settlers petitioned the State for separation. In 1836 Will County, named for politician Conrad Will, was formed using portions of Cook, Iroquois and northern Kankakee area. The Kankakee property later became part of Kankakee County. Joliet became a hub of commerce and industry in addition to agriculture in 1848 when the Illinois and Michigan Canal opened. It was a coal mining center for a time and later earned the nickname of Stone City when industry turned to limestone quarrying. Joliet limestone was used in construction of residences and other buildings in Chicago including the historic Water Tower.
Will County encompasses 849 miles and has had its current boundaries since 1852. The DuPage, Des Plaines and Kankakee Rivers run through the County and intersect at the western border. The Illinois and Michigan and Chicago Sanitary and Ship canals are also located in the County. The highways in the County include I-55, I-355, I-80, I-57, US Rt 6, US Rt 30, US Rt 45, US Rt 52; Illinois Rt 1, IL Rt 7, IL Rt 43, IL Rt 50, IL Rt 53, 5 IL Rt 9, IL Rt 102, IL Rt 113, IL Rt 126, IL Rt 129, IL Rt 171, and IL Rt 394. The Southwest Service, Rock Island District, Metra Electric Main Line, and Heritage Corridor offer Metra commuter rail service to Chicago. Will County is the largest inland port in North America with six Class Railroads including Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF), Union Pacific (UP), Chessie Seaboard X (CSX), Canadian National (CN), Norfolk Southern (NS), and Illinois Central (IC) and two modern intermodal facilities.
Will County is among the fastest-growing counties in the State of Illinois. The county seat was incorporated as Juliet in 1852 and has been since renamed to Joliet. Will County includes parts or all of the villages of Beecher, Bolingbrook, Braceville, Channahon, Coal City, Crete, Diamond, Elwood, Frankfort, Godley, Homer Glen, Lemont, Manhattan, Minooka, Mokena, Monee, New Lenox, Orland Park, Park Forest, Peotone, Plainfield, Rockdale, Romeoville, Sauk Village, Shorewood, Steger, Symerton, Tinley Park, University Park, and Woodridge as well as cities of Naperville, Aurora, Braidwood, Channahon, Crest Hill, Lockport, and Wilmington. Will County is divided into townships including Channahon, Crete, Custer, DuPage, Florence, Frankfort, Green Garden, Homer, Jackson, Joliet, Lockport, Manhattan, Monee, New Lenox, Peotone, Plainfield, Reed, Troy, Washington, Wesley, Wheatland, Will, Wilmington, Wilton. Will County is surrounded by are DuPage County, Cook County, Lake County, Indiana, Kankakee County, Grundy County, Kendall County and Kane County. There are thirty-six locations listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Will County and nearly 40,000 acres preserved as parks.
Like much of the Midwest, Will County has a varied climate. The Weather Channel indicates average temperatures ranged from a low of 13°F in January to a high of 85°F in July with a record low of -26°F in January 1985 and a record high of 104 °F in June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.58 inches to 4.34 inches.