The Will County Board voted 14-5 Thursday to permit a group home so up to four seniors and a caregiver can live independently together in a single-family house at 20029 Graceland Lane in Frankfort Township.
Group care homes are usually allowed for people with disabilities who live together in a family like environment, and a staff provides care, education and activities. The goal is to have them live as independently as possible.
Because age is not considered a disability, the county board had to consider a special use permit for the group home.
The existing single-family home will be for seniors who may experience some limitations, but want to age in place in their community or who don’t want to live alone, county officials said. A caregiver will be on site at all times to assist the four seniors who live there.
Each resident would have to be evaluated by a physician to determine if they could live in the home, and the Illinois Department of Public Health will conduct an on-site review of the home, said Patrick Woytek, who represented the proposed group home.
The three-bedroom home is about 1,200 square feet and was built in 1983.
Board member Vince Logan, a Republican from Joliet, said while the home is small, he wants the group home to work out because it is important for seniors to maintain their independence.
“I have all the faith that this is going to work out, and I hope we see a lot more of these popping up because when you take someone’s independence away, you strip them of their value, their worth,” Logan said.
Board member Jim Richmond, a Republican from Mokena, said he was concerned about the residents’ well-being because the home is small, lacks a fire suppression system and is not compliant with the American with Disabilities Act. Richmond was one of five board members to vote against the special-use permit.
The group home is not compatible with the neighborhood, and the space is inadequate for the seniors, said Julie Berkowicz, a Republican from Naperville, who also voted against the permit. She said there is expected to be one staff member at any given time and questioned what happens if there is a medical emergency.
Board member Janet Diaz, a Democrat from Joliet, said she used to work in home health care and hospice. The seniors need to be ambulatory to live in this group home and would be fine getting out in case of emergencies.
“I would happily put a family member here,” Diaz said.
Solar farms
The Will County Board Thursday also signed off on two solar energy facilities in Monee Township.
The projects, Dralle Sun, LLC and Dralle Sun 2 LLC by 22C Development, are planned for vacant land near Frankfort, University Park and Monee. They are also about 2.5 miles from the proposed south suburban airport.
The 7-megawatt solar farm, Dralle Sun, will be built on about 60 acres on the north side of Dralle Road, a quarter mile east of Ridgeland Avenue near Interstate 57.
The Illinois State Historic Preservation Office said the area has a high probability of containing significant prehistoric or historic archeological resources and requested an archeological reconnaissance survey.
A 5-megawatt solar farm, Dralle Sun 2, would be located nearby on nearly 40 acres at the southeast intersection of South Ridgeland Avenue and West Dralle Road.
Michael Schwartz, the director of community and economic development, wrote to the county board that the land for both facilities are identified in the village’s comprehensive plan and future land use map as an industrial use.
The Frankfort Plan Commission/Zoning Board of Appeals voted in February against the village filing an objection. They are requesting the property owner dedicates right of way along both sides of Dralle Road for a potential bridge over I-57 and request annexation to the village of Frankfort.
Alex Farkes, a representative for the solar projects, said the areas along the highways have been good sites for solar farms with residents or municipalities not objecting to their locations.
Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.