Joliet is a city in Kendall and Will Counties in Illinois, located 40 miles southwest of Chicago.
It is the county seat of Will County with an estimated 2007 population of 145,800.
It continues to be Illinois' fastest growing city and one of the fastest growing cities in the United States.
Joliet is a growing city. New housing starts have averaged over 1,400 a year.
The new population numbers show that Joliet has become a destination city and now the entire
country is starting to notice.
More people moving into the City creates a broader tax base for residents-- and more new
homes built in Joliet creates more jobs. In addition to being a great place to live, Joliet
is also a great place to play. Millions of people visit Joliet each year to check out the city's
two casinos, NASCAR track, NHRA dragstrip, their beautiful baseball stadium, water park, library and museum.
Situated approximately 40 miles southwest of central Chicago, Joliet has long been a significant transportation hub. It lies on both sides of the Des Plaines River, a major waterway in Northern Illinois, and was one of the principal ports on the Illinois and Michigan Canal.
The phrase "Crossroads of Mid-America", found on the Joliet seal, is an allusion to the intersection of I-80 and I-55. Also, Joliet's Union Station is the final stop on the Metra lines from Chicago Union Station along the Heritage Corridor as well as the La Salle Street Station along the Rock Island District.
Joliet is known as the city of Steel & Stone, due to its rich history with the I&M Canal Passage,
now the Des Plaines River, that flows through the city and borders it's downtown area.
You will find many limestone buildings throughout Joliet.
The steel industry is also a large part of the city, being the birth place of barbed wire.
The Des Plaines River further shaped the city's history, providing it with three of only
four design styles of bridges made in the world. The city has a vertical lift bridge
at Black Road (center section lifting the railroad tracks vertically above the waterway),
an elliptical arc bridge at McDonough St. and Bascule Trunnion bridges at Ruby St., Cass and
Jefferson, opening in a uniform arc.
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