Quarry expansion in Wheatland Township wins Will County Board OK despite opposition from residents, government leaders

Chicago Tribune

21-03-2025

A scaled-down expansion of a quarry in Wheatland Township was approved by the Will County Board Thursday over the objections of Bolingbrook and Plainfield leaders and residents.
Artem Zakharov, owner of AZ Hard Rock, a surface limestone quarry in Bolingbrook, bought property in 2022 at the southeast corner of Essington Road and 127th Street to expand quarry operations. The land in unincorporated Will County is near both Bolingbrook and Plainfield and about 1.5 miles from Naperville.
Bolingbrook Mayor Mary Alexander-Basta, Plainfield Mayor John Argoudelis and Plainfield School District 202 Superintendent Glenn Wood were among those who opposed the proposal.
'They chose profits over people and that is very sad because it is the people who voted them into office,' Alexander-Basta said after the vote.
For months residents have been protesting the quarry expansion.
More than 1,900 residents signed a petition on change.org objecting to the mining plan. Nearly 200 emails were sent to the board, and hundreds of residents attended recent county board meetings.
Attorney Gary Davidson, who represents the quarry, said company officials listened to residents at prior public hearings, met with Plainfield and Bolingbrook officials, and read all correspondence sent to the county. They also set up air quality monitoring stations and measured vibrations at the existing quarry. The 30-foot-tall bern they plan to install is five times taller than required by the county and will screen quarry operations and reduce noise, they said.
Company officials said quarry operations are safe.
As a compromise to address residents' concerns, the expansion plan was amended and the scope reduced by about 80% since a Jan. 16 county board meeting, Davidson said.
The latest proposal asked the board to approve a special use permit for mining and quarrying with blasting or other explosives on about 120 acres of the property, east of Lily Cache Creek.
All other requests, including plans to change zoning from agricultural to industrial for about 90 acres to the northwest and a special use permit for concrete and asphalt mixing, were withdrawn from consideration.
'This is by definition a compromise,' said board member Frankie Pretzel, a New Lenox Republican, who supported the quarry.
He understands residents have passionate concerns about the quarry, he said, but he believes the owners are committed to making the project as aesthetically pleasing as possible. There are few industries so tightly monitored by federal and state regulations, Pretzel said. In addition to the beautiful homes that surround the area, the quarry already exists, he said.
That was not enough to convince hundreds of residents who filled the board's meeting room and overflow room in Joliet Thursday.
Opponents wore matching red shirts that read, 'Our Community, Our Future, No New Quarry,' and several children from Liberty Elementary School, Kennedy Middle School and Plainfield East High School were in attendance.
'We aren't here because we oppose progress,' resident Alex Deo said. 'I am here and we are here because we believe that progress should never come at the cost of our children's health.'
During the discussion, which lasted about five hours, Realtors mentioned the negative impact on property values of nearby homes and a mining expert testified that accidents due to fly rock, or debris that is ejected beyond the blast sites, can cause injuries or death. Residents said the expansion would be detrimental to their health and they would subjected to increased noise and dust from the blasting.
'Special use permits exist to protect the public, not to accommodate developers who fail to plan responsibly,' said Matt Eastman, director of community development for the village of Bolingbrook. 'The proposed buffer does not solve the problem. The applicant's proposed buffer does not eliminate the effects of blasting noise or dust.
'This is not a responsible development,' he said. 'This is a bad deal for Will County and its residents.'
In addition to several neighborhoods, the proposed site is near Liberty and Eichelberger elementary schools, Kennedy Middle School and Plainfield East High School.
'Are you voting for the economic benefits for a few or the safety and health of hundreds of kids and thousands of residents,' Wood said.
The quarry operators did not meet with District 202 officials, he said. An email announcing the updated plan is not a meeting to address concerns, he said.
Argoudelis said the village of Plainfield remains in opposition to the plan.
'Does it really make sense to locate an expanded quarry near hundreds of homes, thousands of humans and a school filled with children nine months a year,' he said. 'It does not. … While changes have been made to their plans giving us the appearance of compromise, the fact remains that this is still a greatly expanded quarry operation.'
Will County's Land Use Department reviewed the amended request and recommended the board deny the project.
The project's noise and vibrations will still impact nearby homes despite being reduced in size, county documents said. The Ready-Set-Ride therapeutic horse farm, a nonprofit group that provides therapy to children with special needs in Plainfield, is about 465 feet from the edge of the proposed quarry, and the Lakelands Subdivision is about 280 feet away.
'The occasional vibrations from the blasts would be seen as an inconvenience to the surrounding residents, golf course and equine school that abut the subject property,' county documents said.
Not all who attended the meeting were opposed to the mining expansion. Other Will County residents and representatives of local unions spoke in favor of it.
Josh Weger, executive director of the Illinois Economic Policy Institute, said the quarry would provide jobs that offer middle-class wages.
'These positions are more than just jobs. They are careers,' said Jeffrey A. Horne, vice president of International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150.
Anthony Deliberto, a miner from Lockport, said the operations are heavily regulated.
Board member Destinee Ortiz, a Romeoville Democrat who voted against the plan, said protecting jobs is not as important as the residents' homes, the schools and the therapeutic horse farm nearby.
'Approving this project would go against the greater good,' she said.