FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 3, 2021
CONTACT: John W. Kieken, 708-302-5332
NorthPoint Gets More Sweetener Than Dunkin’
If you want Joliet to approve a Dunkin’ Donuts, traffic studies are mandatory. However, Joliet is about to approve a 4,000-acre industrial warehouse complex without any such studies. Apparently, all Dunkin’ really needed was a closed-loop drive-thru, and traffic studies would no longer be required.
Attorneys hired by John Kieken, a founder of Stop NorthPoint LLC, filed a complaint today in the Will County courthouse against the City of Joliet seeking injunctive and declaratory relief for the denial of his Illinois Freedom of Information Act request for a traffic study on the NorthPoint project. Kieken is represented by Robert Fioretti, Richard Linden, and Peter Bustamante.
On the heels of exposing plans for an Illiana-Lite Expressway as part of NorthPoint’s massive boondoggle, another email obtained by Freedom of Information requests by Kieken and Stop NorthPoint reveals IDOT does not believe the area can handle additional traffic.
Even as no traffic studies have been provided by Joliet, no less than the IDOT District 1 Engineer has stated emphatically that Route 53 simply cannot support a 20-million-square-foot development; and this is BEFORE NorthPoint announced the expansion of their project by nearly 1,000 acres last October. Now that the massive project is approaching 4,000 acres, it’s estimated to contain 40 million square feet, which is twice the traffic IDOT said this area cannot handle.
While discussing Compass Business Park, IDOT District 1 Engineer Anthony Quigley on June 19, 2020 said,
“… IL 53 would not be able to support a 20 million SF development…”
He made additional comments regarding impacts to the general area,
“… The intersection at Lorenzo Road is getting over burdened with trucks. The interchange at I80 is even worse. It will be at least 5 years before the interchange at I80 is completed”
This not only directly contradicts repeated assertions by both NorthPoint and Joliet that the “closed loop” would alleviate traffic in the area, it supports CenterPoint’s objection that it would drastically overburden local roads and intersections.
IDOT was well aware of the closed loop proposal when having these discussions and presumably took into consideration the ~20,000 cars/day a project of this magnitude would dump onto Rt 53.
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Click here to read the complaint
Joliet plans to vote on the newly expanded NorthPoint boondoggle at the City Council Hearing on December 21 at 6:30 PM. Your attendance at this hearing is critical.
1 Comment
JBC · December 3, 2021 at 5:36 pm
It continues to amaze me that the only people with their heads in the sand about the destructive nature of this development is the developer and Joliet leadership.