Lawsuit Over Proposed Controversial Northpoint Project Heads To Court

JOLIET, IL — A lawsuit attempting to stop the construction of a controversial $2.6 billion logistics and light manufacturing hub in Joliet will be heard in court next year after a judge recently denied a motion by the developer to dismiss the case.

The complaint, brought by Openlands, the Sierra Club, and Say No To Northpoint, is scheduled to go to trial as opponents of the mega-building project attempt to stop construction near Noel Road and Route 53 after work began over the summer.

East Gate Logistics, which is hoping to build the industrial park, had petitioned a judge to dismiss the complaint by the three groups. The suit was filed in 2020 after Joliet residents who live close to the proposed site of the massive building project have complained about truck traffic, pollution, and environmental effects on the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, the groups said in a news release.

Residents who live near Noel Road and have had chain-link fences built near their property lines, previously told Patch that they feel like there is nothing they can do to stop the construction from moving forward.

While the proposed hub has promised to bring thousands of jobs to the region and provide economic development to the Southland, opponents have been vocal about the land swath of land that is involved.

Last November, Patch reported that Joliet's new agreement covered an additional 810 acres that NorthPoint owns between the UP Railroad tracks and Rowell Avenue, approximately 500 acres west of Route 53 and 300 acres east of Route 53. The additions will bring the project to 2,180 acres and 21 million square feet of space in Joliet.

But the suit that East Gate Logistics Park as the defendant in the case hopes to do just that. The controversial project came to Joliet after city council members approved the project, which had previously been rejected in Manhattan and the Village of Elwood. Only two Joliet city council members voted against the development. Project backers have made political contributions to Joliet Mayor Bob O'Dekirk and council members Larry Hug and Sherri Reardon, Patch previously reported.

The suit outlines how the City of Joliet unlawfully attempted to annex the property that has been proposed for the hub and, in turn, violated the people’s constitutional right to due process, the plaintiffs said in a news release. If allowed to proceed, the industrial park would degrade Midewin, which is the first national tallgrass prairie in the country, due to light and traffic pollution.

“Throughout this multi-year battle, NorthPoint and the City of Joliet have repeatedly attempted to stifle our voices, demean our position, and steamroll ahead despite well-reasoned and informed arguments from hundreds of community members and leaders,” said Stephanie Irvine, an organizer of Just Say No to NorthPoint and a plaintiff named in the 2020 lawsuit. “We have been resolute in our fight, and the judge’s decision to deny NorthPoint and Joliet’s dismissal request gives all of us a voice and an opportunity to truly be heard.”

Opponents of the project insist that the construction of the industrial park would be “catastrophic” and that adding truck and construction traffic would likely make an already dangerous traffic area more so. Environmentalists also maintain that the project would damage one of the nation’s rarest habitats and that “intrusive” noise, pollution, and construction vibration would make the area “inhospitable” to wildlife.

The plaintiffs said that the case is not about the issue of land development but that this project is potentially more damaging for local residents than others, which improves the quality of life. But opponents of the project say that this plan only worsens life for Joliet-area residents who would be affected by the ongoing construction.

“We have worked with business, civic, and community members on regional transportation and land use plans that allow for additional industrial development while working to minimize the negative impacts of truck traffic and diesel pollution on already overburdened communities,” Ann Baskerville, Conservation Organizer with Sierra Club Illinois, said.