Joliet Patch Tops 90,000 Facebook Followers: Editor John Ferak Won't Let 1 Topic Dominate News Coverage

JOLIET, IL — This month marked another readership growth milestone for Joliet Patch as our number of Facebook followers topped 90,000 people. When I first returned to the area in the summer of 2017, more than eight years ago, it wasn't unusual to be out in the field working on a news story and the person I was interviewing would ask, "now what's the Joliet Patch? Where can I find a copy of your newspaper?"

I tend to make my decisions, both short-term and long-term, on what story topics will resonate with readers, by utilizing Patch analytics that monitor our story pageviews in real time and in overall data traffic.

And as silly as this sounds, one of my top goals for overseeing Joliet Patch news coverage is to bring you story coverage that is consistently inconsistent. That's right. And what I mean by that is that I try not to let one particular news topic dominate our coverage for days and weeks on end.

One day, you might read an important Joliet area restaurant story. The next day, you might read about a new civil lawsuit filed at Will County's Courthouse. The day after that, the top story might be about an empty building on West Jefferson Street that is being rehabbed or torn down to make way for redevelopment. The day after that you might read an investigative story focused on taxpayer spending or ongoing lawsuit expenses at Joliet's City Hall.

And when time allows, I try to bring you an occasional in-depth human-interest feature on key people in the community or long-standing businesses around Joliet.

Some of this year's examples include:

March's profile on The Original Walt's Ice Cream, at 1314 W. Jefferson St., operated by co-owners Mike and Bill Dillon, a Joliet fixture since first opening back in 1926.

April's story showcasing the rich history of Joliet's cheesemaking giant, Chellino Cheese Company, on the city's east side.

May's feature on legendary world-champion powerlifter Francis "Rudy" Ruettiger, who opened Rudy's Gym back in 1974 on Joliet's Richmond Street and has operated out of 400 Earl Road in Shorewood the past 29 years and counting.

June's story highlighting Jeff Reid and his Double J Sports Bar marking its 25th year anniversary.

There are some news organizations that allow their reporters to pick a seat in the audience and spend countless hours every week attending City Council meetings or endless courtroom hearings inside the Will County Courthouse, but that is not my approach and that certainly is not the most productive use of my time in trying to best serve you, our regular readers.

Instead, I try to spend as much of my time out and about in the community, meeting with people in person, driving around the community observing the east side, downtown, near west side and the far west side into the Kendall County portion of Joliet.

It's important that Joliet Patch readers receive a wide variety of news coverage on topics they should care about: major developments, noteworthy additions or subtractions of businesses and retail, changes in restaurants and bars, and obviously breaking news including major crimes, fires or serious injury crashes, as well as in-depth coverage from Joliet's City Hall — with exclusive stories being the key.

Looking back on my coverage so far in October, the following samples of exclusive stories illustrates the wide variety of stories I try to bring you every single week at Joliet Patch:

Oct. 1: 113 MPH On Essington Road? Joliet Man May Lose His Chevy Silverado: Forfeiture Filing

Thomas LaChance, a 36-year-old Joliet motorist who was driving 113 mph along Essington Road on Aug. 26, according to Joliet police reports, may now lose his Chevrolet Silverado 3500 to the Will County State's Attorney's Office under the state's civil forfeiture laws.

Oct. 2: Data Center Campus For Joliet, 24 Proposed Buildings On 800 Acres Of Farmland

Joliet Patch has learned that an enormous data center campus — one of the largest ever proposed in the entire Chicago region — has been proposed for the city of Joliet, and the project could consist of 24 buildings. The proposed Joliet Data Center Campus would be built on roughly 800 acres of farmland east of the Chicagoland Speedway NASCAR racetrack, which will be returning to the NASCAR circuit next year after not being utilized in recent years.

Oct. 2: Hot Coffee Tossed On Joliet Gas Station Employee Who Suffers 2nd-Degree Burns: Prosecutors

A 41-year-old woman from Berwyn who spent two days in the Will County Jail in connection with allegations of throwing hot coffee on an employee at Joliet's BP Gas Station at 1415 Plainfield Road regained her freedom, thanks to Will County Associate Judge Derek Ewanic. The victim in the case suffered second-degree burns and needed to be taken by a Joliet Fire Department ambulance to St. Joe's hospital, according to court files.

Oct. 8: Joliet Catholic-Mount Carmel Football Game Honors Memory Of Kevin Hansen

This will be the second year for the Joliet Catholic-Mount Carmel game, now known as the Gridiron Classic In Memory of Kevin Hansen, and the first time the game has been played at Joliet's Memorial Stadium. Kevin Hansen's godson Anthony will flip the coin in the center of the football field at the start of Friday night's game.

Oct. 9: $43,000 In Raises, Promotions For Joliet's New Deputy City Clerk Since 2021 Hiring

According to Joliet's salary data, Nicole Hughes is now making an annual salary of $105,000 — which is $15,750 higher than what Pauline Ames was making after several years on the job as Joliet's deputy city clerk.

Oct. 9: Wilmington's Carl Ellis Remains Jailed After Knocking Woman Out, Destroying His Ankle Bracelet: Prosecutors

Carl Ellis, a 32-year-old from Wilmington, learned that he will remain in the Will County Jail in connection with his latest alleged crime wave, in which he destroyed his electronic monitoring device, harming a woman by knocking her out cold and then taking the woman's 1-year-old child away from her, according to court files. The child was eventually found safe.

Oct. 15: $136,000 Stolen At Joliet Walmart: Ex-Manager Evades Will Co. Courthouse For Over 1 Year Now

Melissa Vanderwall, the now-fired shift manager at the Jefferson Street Joliet Walmart store accused of stealing bags of money containing $136,000 during a work shift in November 2022, has remained a Will County fugitive for more than a year now, according to a Joliet Patch investigation.

Since 2022, Patch has produced several stories about Vanderwall's criminal case. During the past year, nothing had happened at the Will County Courthouse in regard to Vanderwall's felony theft case.

Oct. 16: Frank Thomas In Joliet: Huge Turnout At Goodfellas Cigar Lounge: 16 Photos

More than 200 people patronized the newest business to open on West Jefferson Street, Goodfellas Cigar Lounge, to meet one of the greatest Chicago sports athletes of our lifetime, Chicago White Sox Hall of Fame first baseman Frank Thomas.

Oct. 16: Priest At Holy Family Catholic Church Sexually Assaulted Woman Inside Hammel Woods: Lawsuit

The Diocese of Joliet and Father Nestor Sanchez, a Catholic priest who has served in recent years at Saints Peter and Paul in Naperville and as pastor in small-town parishes including Paxton and Gibson City, are now facing a sexual harassment lawsuit filed in connection with Father Sanchez's assignment at Holy Family Parish on Route 59 in Shorewood.

The lawsuit was filed by a woman who lives in DuPage County and is using the identity of Jane Doe. She was employed by the Diocese of Joliet at Holy Family Catholic Church in Shorewood.

Oct. 17: 'The Original Niko's Pizzeria Is Back': Former Owner Returns, Vowing To Bring Back 'Greatness' It's been two years and three months since the founder and original owner of Niko's Pizzeria — Nikos Lippas — sold his downtown Joliet takeout and delivery restaurant business at 20 Ohio Street. Starting in 2024, he branched out and acquired two long-standing banquet halls on Joliet's west side. But starting next week, Niko's Pizzeria will return to its former glory, Lippas boldly predicted during his interview with Joliet Patch.

Oct. 21: Joliet's Newest Subdivision Underway: 'Homes From The Upper $300,000s'

Eleven months after Joliet Patch first broke the news regarding plans to build a large subdivision on the far western edge of Joliet, the new Vista Ridge subdivision along Caton Farm Road is starting to come to life. Construction of the model home is underway and the main roads leading into the new subdivision are completed.

Oct. 22: Essington Road's New Breakfast, Lunch Restaurant: Omelets, Pancakes, Skillets, Burgers, 4 Kinds Of Steak

On Wednesday, Joliet Patch interviewed the new owner and staff for the Juybe's Breakfast and Lunch. Joliet's newest sit-down restaurant opened Tuesday at 1121 Essington Road, which is part of the Essington Shoppes business plaza.

Juybe's is now open seven days a week, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. The restaurant property was empty for more than a year. It previously served as both Angie's Pancake House and Loco's Mexican Restaurant and Cantina, when Mario De La Torre was its owner.