Silver Cross in the News
Building trades back Silver Cross
The Herald News - October 30, 2007
From staff reports
JOLIET -- Representing 25,000 local union workers, the Will & Grundy Counties Building Trades
Council today gave its endorsement to Silver Cross Hospital's plan to construct a replacement
hospital in New Lenox.
Tom White, president of the Will & Grundy Counties Building Trades Council, expressed the labor
council's support in a letter to the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board.
"On behalf of the 25,000 union workers in Will and Grundy Counties, I'm proud to endorse Silver
Cross Hospital's plan to construct a replacement facility," White said in a press release issued
Monday afternoon. "This project has the potential to create hundreds of union jobs that will
benefit workers across our region for years to come."
Surprise announcement
In July, Silver Cross officials stunned the community by announcing they would seek state approval
for a 289-bed hospital near New Lenox's Interstate 355 interchange to replace its 110-year-old
facility on Joliet's East Side.
The hospital's board unanimously chose the option to build the $400 million replacement hospital
after carefully considering other plans for its Joliet facility, CEO Paul Pawlak said.
"Modification of our current campus would be extremely difficult and would not deliver the best
solution to meet the growing health care needs of the community," Pawlak said at the time.
The 600,000-square-foot facility is slated to open in 2011 and will be built on 70 acres on the
south side of U.S. 6, directly west of Cedar Crossings, a proposed mall on the west side of Cedar
Road. The hospital facility will feature 310-square-foot rooms, all of which are private and
family-friendly; 39 private emergency treatment rooms; 11 surgical suites; two CT scanners;
and two MRIs.
Pawlak said Silver Cross is hoping the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board will approve
the facility before spring.
Construction and beyond
Silver Cross Hospital has estimated that construction of the new hospital will create more than
600 union jobs. Hospital officials say the project has the potential to create even more jobs for
local labor union members, with demolition of the existing buildings and construction of new
housing, retail or other redevelopment projects at the hospital's current site in Joliet.
"I am thrilled that the Will & Grundy Counties Building Trades Council has given us their endorsement
today," Pawlak stated in the same press release. "Having the support of our local labor unions will
be absolutely critical to secure state approval for our proposal to construct a state-of-the-art
regional hospital that will serve all of our patients for the next 100 years and beyond."
The Will & Grundy Counties Building Trades Council represents 29 labor unions throughout Will
and Grundy counties.
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