A patient of mine recently wrote and published his second book. These two volumes are titled TRUE CRIME and MORE TRUE CRIME. In them, Bob, a retired evidence technician/detective from two local police departments, writes vignettes about different incidents and crimes he investigated in his role as a police officer in a medium sized city police department and as a deputy sheriff for the county force. He also discusses various characters he encountered over the years, including criminals, cops and plain old people. And last, he tries to give a snapshot, or series of snapshots of life as he saw it in this small city which exists in the shadow of a world class metropolis, Chicago, Illinois.

I read the second book in one night, and as I read, I thought, Bob has lived an interesting life and seen a lot of interesting things. Not necessarily dramatic or exciting things, but interesting. Funny and touching and odd and beautiful, and interesting. And the common denominator to all of his stories is the setting: Joliet, Illinois and its surrounding towns.

Joliet is an interesting town. It seems like there are two Joliets to me. The first was when I was young, and there were department stores in the downtown section. Sears and J.C. Penney's, Montgomery Wards, and the Boston Store were just some of the bigger shopping destinations in the main section of town. A beautiful old building housed the Will County Courthouse, as Joliet is and was the seat of government for Will County. There were some office buildings, at least three theaters (the Rialto still exists today but the Mode and the Princess are part of the long gone past), and an A&P food store. The First National Bank of Joliet was an anchor in the community.

Chicago Street was the main drag, a nice walk with plenty of shops to break up the hike. The White Store, Turk's Furniture, and Kline's were all along the walk from Jefferson Street (where Ward's and the Boston Store were) to the north end (where Penney's and Sears' both were). It was a happening street.

Then it and the downtown virtually died.

Sears and Penney's moved out to the big enclosed malls, as did Ward's and the Boston Store. Kline's and the White Store closed their doors. The old Courthouse building was torn down to make way for a modern behemoth which was startlingly ugly in its contours and appearance. The bank remained, as did the Rialto Theater, but the latter was in disrepair, and the former had branches offering all the services of the downtown offices. The commuter train station still anchored the corner of Scott and Jefferson Streets, but the interior was all but unused as commuters bought their tickets either at a single window or on the train itself. The Mode and Princess Theaters both closed their doors, the Princess ending a period where it showed x-rated fare. The downtown area became unsafe and unused, after business hours.

Joliet has some great points to recommend it as a commercial location. First, it is at the intersection of the old Rock Island (now the Metra commuter lines) and the Amtrack lines. You can still hop on the Empire Builder for a cross country jaunt if so desired at the Joliet station. It is also at the intersection of Highways 55 (a major north-south route going all the way from Chicago to New Orleans) and 80 (one of several major east-west routes). And it is located on the Des Plaines River, which connects Lake Michigan and the Sanitary and Shipping Canals (and ultimately the Atlantic Ocean) to the mighty Mississippi and the Gulf Of Mexico. These things don't change. The river is still an important shipping route and the highways still connect all parts of the country through Joliet. I-80 actually wasn't there when I was born; it was completed when I was a small child, and I actually got to run one of the pile drivers once when my dad took me down by the construction area (or was it a crane? The memory is there but I'm not certain anymore). And the railways still pass through the center of the city and connect to points beyond.

Joliet is also known for its prisons. The Joliet Correctional Institute still stands on North Collins Street, a monument to what penal institutions used to be like. Unused today for holding prisoners, it has provided the backdrop to movies like the Blues Brothers and to the popular TV show Prison Break. There is a youth correctional facility on the west side of town, off of McDonough Street, and of course, maximum security Stateville, where prisoners like Richard Speck and John Wayne Gacy were held before being put to death. Stateville used to be off in the "distance" somewhere, but now it's practically in our back yards, or so it seems.
It is also known for its many steeples. The pointed landmarks dot the horizon as one approaches the city from east or west. At least three separate churches are right in the downtown area, and there are many more in the immediate outlying areas. The steeples provide character which is not dwarfed by larger buildings as they are in Chicago.

Joliet is surrounded by smaller towns and villages, which were originally essentially bedroom communities for Joliet. Now the whole city is a bedroom community, it seems, for Chicago. Rockdale is perhaps the town with the oddest character, being mostly bars at one point. It's a nice little community with a few of its own factories and a lot of bars. Also near Joliet are Crest Hill, where yours truly owns and operates a dental practice, Shorewood, Plainfield, Lockport, New Lenox, Channahon, and Minooka. Several other communities lie in close proximity, like Wilmington and Coal City, Romeoville and Bolingbrook, Mokena and Frankfort, and Elwood. Lots of places to lay your head down.

Today Joliet is completely different. The Rialto Theater still stands, majestic in its restored glory on Chicago Street, but little else from the old days endures. Turk's Furniture still has a warehouse/outlet downtown in their old store, and the First National Bank building still houses the bank's successor (Harris Bank). The churches still decorate the horizon with their steeples (though one is for sale - only 1.3 million dollars), and the train station has also been restored. Now the downtown is anchored by a casino (Harrah's) with adjoining hotel and a minor league ballpark (Silver Cross Field). The ballpark is home to the Joliet Jackhammers, an entry into the independent Northern League (franchises in Kansas City, Fargo, St. Paul, and far flung places like Calgary, Winnipeg and Edmonton in Canada. Closer to home there are also franchises in Schaumburg, Illinois, and Gary Indiana. The park is a beautiful small field with very nice seating areas and good family fun. Kline's is owned by a local businessman and houses a restaurant/nightclub called the Sapphire Lounge and office space. The White Store is being used as a warehouse for Turk Furniture.

It's coming back.

The next step of the plan, I've read, is to attract residents back to live in the city center. That may be a hard sell, though there are excellent commuting options and several restaurants and entertainment venues. I've read that they're trying to entice a food store to open somewhere in the city. And there are several opportunities for office employment at the very least, with the several law and accounting offices and the courthouse and businesses that depend on that facility. There are also plenty of state and local government offices in the area.

Maybe it will work. Joliet could be a nice city if it does.