Will Joliet help fund Daybreak Center?

Catholic Charities wants financial support from Joliet for the Daybreak Center, so City Council members had a question.

How many residents at the homeless shelter are from Joliet?

More than 60 percent, Glenn Van Cura, executive director for Catholic Charities, said at the City Council meeting on Tuesday.

In 2018, Daybreak provided shelter for 8,260 Will County residents, and 5,105 of those were from Joliet.

Some come from outside Will County but not many, Van Cura said later. The Diocese of Joliet covers seven counties.

"We certainly don't get many from Kankakee, Iroquois or Ford [counties]," Van Cura said.

Daybreak has a $500,000 deficit aggravated by a cut in federal funding, he said. But Van Cura did not put a number on the request other than to mention that the homeless shelter received $240,000 a year from the city until the funding was cut off in 2011.

Some council members at the meeting expressed support for Daybreak without making a commitment.

Council member Larry Hug, who generally opposes city funding for outside organizations and is notable for his annual opposition to the $500,000 subsidy Joliet gives the Rialto Square Theatre, later was asked about Daybreak. He said he is not a definite no but is doubtful.

"Certainly it's a little bit different than something for entertainment," Hug said. "These are people who are down and out. The difficult part is there's no way the city can give $500,000 to a single entity. I guess we do for one, but I voted against it."

If the city funds Daybreak, Hug said, other worthy organizations are likely to expect help.

From China to Joliet

The 2020 Old Joliet Prison season is just about here.

Prison tours start March 16.

International interest is strong, said Greg Peerbolte, director of the Joliet Area Historical Museum. The museum conducts the tours.

Tourists from the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Switzerland and the Netherlands have all signed up for tours later this year, Peerbolte said.

The museum has high hopes for China, too.

"We have two partners that we're working with from China," Peerbolte said. "They bought up 200 tickets to market directly to China's tourism population."

Why China?

Peerbolte said the old TV series "Prison Break," parts of which were filmed at the former Joliet Correctional Center on Collins Street, has become a hit in China.

Letter of Support

Interim City Manager Martin Shanahan told the City Council that Joliet has a letter of support from Sen. Richard Durbin, Sen. Tammy Duckworth and Rep. Bill Foster, D-Naperville, in the matter of the downtown floodplain.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has designated part of downtown and surrounding neighborhoods a floodplain much to the dismay of city officials, who have insisted for years that the area never floods.

Joliet would like to see the designation lifted.