Neighbors ask council to delay JCA sports complex zoning after traffic and notice complaints

Residents from surrounding streets told the City Council Monday they were surprised by a proposed sports complex planned for 1201 Wyoming Avenue (the former Our Lady of Angels property) and asked the council to delay any zoning action until broader neighborhood outreach and a full traffic review were completed.

Jory Guerra, who said she has lived at 1304 Clara Avenue for 37 years, told the council that only a handful of houses received mailed notice and that many neighbors first learned about the proposal after a sign went up on the property. Guerra said cut‑through traffic from Joliet Catholic Academy (JCA) students already strains neighborhood streets and that past traffic counts were taken at off‑season times and therefore understate peak school traffic. “This complex that they are proposing to build will hold between 5,500 and 7,000 people,” Guerra said, adding that even a fraction of those attendees would meaningfully increase neighborhood traffic and safety risks.

Guerra asked that the city stop the zoning item from moving to the zoning board until a neighborhood meeting with full notification is held and until traffic counts on local streets (including Ingalls and Wyoming) are completed in representative school periods.

City staff and council members acknowledged the request and said that the special‑use process includes mailed notice to addresses within a 600‑foot radius; staff said one household on Clara Avenue did receive the mailed notice. Council members encouraged petitioner outreach and said staff could request additional traffic analysis if warranted at the zoning stage.

Why it matters: A sports complex of the scale described would create vehicle and pedestrian traffic near predominantly residential blocks. Neighbors said earlier outreach was inadequate and asked for fuller notice and study before zoning decisions advance.