Joliet needs new July 4 fireworks site

Joliet is looking for a new place to hold a Fourth of July fireworks show again.

Independence Day fireworks were held at the same place since the 1950s until last year when they had to be moved from Memorial Stadium.

Now they need to be moved again, City Manager James Capparelli told the City Council on Monday.

“We continue to look for another place,” Capparelli said.

One option being considered is Plainfield South High School, which is in Joliet although part of the Plainfield School District.

The fireworks were switched to a new location for the first time in about 75 years when they were held at Joliet Junior College in 2021. But JJC will not be hosting the show this year, Capparelli said.

The fireworks were moved from Memorial Stadium after the Joliet Park District installed artificial turf on the softball fields behind the stadium. The softball fields were the actual launching area for the fireworks, and park officials said they posed a threat to the artificial turf.

Councilman Larry Hug said Plainfield school officials have said the show could be held at Plainfield South High School, which is located at Caton Farm and Ridge roads on the far West Side of the city.

“Plainfield South is on board,” Hug said. “They would be amenable to holding it for one year.”

The city in more recent years added a second fireworks show July 3 at Billie Limacher Bicentennial Park, which is scheduled to continue.

“We’re having trouble finding a second location,” Capparelli said.

The city last year took over the Fourth of July fireworks, which previously had been organized and funded through a volunteer committee. Capparelli said the volunteer fundraising efforts had been stymied by the COVID-19 pandemic.