Will County Board approves several procedural motions, opens public hearing on land‑use cases

The Will County Board at its March 20, 2025 session conducted routine business and approved several procedural motions before moving into an extended public hearing on land‑use cases.

Early in the meeting the board placed the certificate of publication on file and approved minutes from the Feb. 20 meeting; both motions carried. The clerk acknowledged elected officials in attendance including County Executive Jennifer Bertino Tarrant, County Clerk Annette Parker and Plainfield and Bolingbrook mayors among others. The board then voted to suspend a standing rule that, under the pre‑Feb. 20 rules, would have required staff to read all public‑portal emails aloud during the meeting; the suspension passed by roll call 18 in the affirmative and allowed the meeting to proceed without reading a large volume of submitted emails.

The board approved Resolution 25‑75, authorizing the county engineer to enter an agreement with the State of Illinois for acquisition of rock salt and other materials; that motion carried. Later, under new business, Chair Frankie Pretzel moved and the board voted to open a formal public hearing on all land‑use cases; the roll call was 21 in favor. The high‑attendance public hearing included zoning case ZC24‑066, a proposed surface limestone quarry that drew extensive testimony from the applicant, technical experts, municipal officials, school district representatives, union leaders and dozens of residents.

Actions at the March 20 meeting that were recorded on the public record include the certificate of publication placed on file (motion carried), approval of minutes (motion carried), passage of Resolution 25‑75 (motion carried), suspension of the prior rule regarding reading public‑portal emails (roll call 18‑0), and the motion to open public hearings for land‑use cases (roll call 21‑0). No final zoning decisions were made at the meeting; the land‑use matters remain in public hearing and will return for further staff and committee review before any final votes.

Ending: The board advanced its agenda while preserving time for a lengthy public hearing on land‑use cases; further committee and staff work on the quarry application and other items will determine the timing of future formal votes.