Joliet (Illinois)

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Joliet
Signpost on Route 66
Signpost on Route 66
Location in Illinois
Joliet (Illinois)
Joliet
Joliet
Basic data
Foundation : 1852
State : United States
State : Illinois
Counties : Will County
Kendall County
Coordinates : 41 ° 32 ′  N , 88 ° 7 ′  W Coordinates: 41 ° 32 ′  N , 88 ° 7 ′  W
Time zone : Central ( UTC − 6 / −5 )
Inhabitants :
-  Metropolitan Area :		 148,262 (as of 2016)
Chicago
Population density : 1,493.1 inhabitants per km 2
Area : 99.3 km 2  (approx. 38 mi 2 )
Height : 164 m
Postcodes : 60431-60436
Area code : +1 815
FIPS : 17-38570
GNIS ID : 411192
Website : www.cityofjoliet.info
Mayor : Arthur Schultz
Des Plaines River, Joliet, IL.JPG
Des Plaines River at Joliet

Joliet is a city in Will County and to a lesser extent in Kendall County in the northeast of the US -amerikanischen state of Illinois .

It belongs to the Chicago metropolitan area and is the fifth largest city in Illinois. It is also the county seat of Will County. The 2010 census showed a population of 147,501 (2016 estimate: approx. 148,000, US Census Bureau).

Joliet is the seat of the Joliet Diocese in Illinois .

history

Joliet was first settled in 1834 under the name "Juliet" . However, in 1845 the name was renamed in honor of the Canadian explorer Louis Joliet . In 1852 Joliet received city rights.

geography

Joliet is about 65 kilometers southwest of Chicago . The city covers an area of ​​99.3 km², of which 0.8 km² is water.

Demographics

According to the US Census Bureau census in 2000, there were 106,221 people in Joliet, divided into 36,182 households, of which 25,399 are families . The population density was 1077.6 per km². 69.3% of the population are of European origin and 18.2% are African American . 18.41% are Hispanic or Latino (whether of European, African, or indigenous American descent).

The median income per household is $ 47,761 and the per capita income is $ 19,390. 10.8% live below the poverty line.

Population development

year Residents¹
1980 77,956
1990 76,836
2000 106,849
2010 147.501
2016 148.262

¹ 1980–2010: census results; 2016: US Census Bureau estimate

traffic

Downtown Joliet

Just 65 km southwest of downtown Chicago, Joliet has long been a major transportation hub. The city lies on both sides of the Des Plaines River , one of the most important waterways in the Chicago metropolitan area, and has one of the most important ports on the Illinois-Michigan Canal . The Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway (EJ&E) Railway was built in the 1850s, and was soon joined by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway . Several federal highways ( 6 , 30 , 52 ) run through the city, including two of the oldest and most historic in the United States, the Lincoln Highway ( US 30 ) and Route 66 . The interchange of the later built parallel highways, Interstate 55 and Interstate 80 , is located on the western outskirts, in Channahon . For this reason, the saying “Crossroads of Mid-America” is in the city arms of Joliet.

Buildings

Rialto Square Theater in Joliet

Joliet is home to the Rialto Square Theater , renovated in the 1980s , which Al Capone loved to frequent. In the city there are two casinos on boats in the river, as the legal situation on the water is different than on land.

The State Prison Joliet is located on Collins Street, near the town center. It was built in 1858 and closed in 2002. It gained fame as a location for the film Blues Brothers and the TV series Prison Break . The Stateville Correctional Center , which was built as a replacement, is located in the neighboring town of Crest Hill .

The Joliet arsenal is also closed, and the area (which is already in the neighboring parish of Elwood ) is now used as a cemetery and prairie nature reserve.

education

In addition to the University of St. Francis , Joliet is also home to the Joliet Junior College , the oldest community college in the USA.

There are also three high schools in the city , two state and one church . The church was formed in 1991 as an amalgamation between two gender-separated schools. After the Second World War , the original state high school was supplemented by two more, one of which has since closed again in the wake of demographic change.

Sports

Joliet is home to the Chicagoland Speedway , which hosts NASCAR and Indy Racing League races every year. The city also has a baseball team, the Joliet JackHammers, who play in the second division. The Catholic high school has a particularly good football team, having won the Illinois Cup 12 times in the past 21 years, and having grown to two professional football players, Mike Alstott and Tom Thayer.

sons and daughters of the town

Web links

Commons : Joliet, Illinois  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files