Will County is named for Dr. Conrad Will, who was a member of the Constitutional Convention and a member of the Illinois Legislature until his death in 1835.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – DuPage County and Cook County
E – Cook County and Lake County, Indiana
S – Kankakee County
W – Grundy County and Kendall County
Created: January 12, 1836
County Seat:
Joliet 1836 – present
County Courthouse – Joliet
Location: 50 West Jefferson Street / South Ottawa Street
Built: 2017 – 2020
Style: Modern
Architect: Wright & Company
Contractor: Gilbane Building Company
Description: The building faces north and is a ten story concrete and glass structure. The rectangular shaped building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Joliet. The projecting wall on the north side is glass panels. Along the east side of the north front is a two story projecting section. A low four story wing extends north also faced with glass panels. The roof line is flat. In the interior there is a first story lobby rising to the second story. Hallways along the north side run east-west with the courtrooms along the south side. The building has 38 County Circuit Court courtrooms. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 12th Judicial District.
Old County Courthouse (demolished) – Joliet
Location: 14 West Jefferson Street / South Ottawa Street
Built: 1967 – 1969
Style: Modern
Architect: Otto Stark of C F Murphy Associates and Healy Moore & Associates
Contractor: Gawley Construction Company
Description: The building faced north and was a four story concrete and glass structure. The reinforced concrete building featured first story 45 degree buttresses which supported the upper stories. There was a projection from the main building on the east and west sides. The second story windows were small with larger windows on the third story and larger windows on the fourth story. The roof line was flat. The building was demolished in 2024.
History: The county was created in 1836 and Joliet was selected as the county seat. The first court met in the Old Wilson Store in 1836. The first courthouse was built in 1837 and the second courthouse was built in 1873. The third courthouse was designed by John Cochrane and constructed by Sanger & Moody in 1884 to 1887. The fourth courthouse was constructed in 1967 to 1969 and was demolished in 2024. The fifth and present courthouse was constructed in 2017 to 2020 at a cost of $215,000,000.
County Courthouse – Joliet
County Circuit Court courtroom
County Circuit Court courtroom
Former County Courthouse (demolished) – Joliet
Photos taken 2008 and 2025
Images 20*