FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 25, 2019
Contact:
Charles B. Pelkie Jr.
(815) 740-4613 Office
(779) 702-6337 Mobile
County Clerk Lauren Staley Ferry announces Prairie Activity & Recreation Center
will become an Early Voting location in 2020 elections
Center to serve voters on weekends, evenings during Early Voting
JOLIET – Will County Clerk Lauren Staley Ferry is pleased to announce the Plainfield Park District has agreed to allow its Prairie Activity & Recreation Center (PARC) to serve as one of the newest Early Voting locations in Will County.
The Prairie Activity & Recreation Center is located at 24550 W. Renwick Rd. in Plainfield. It will serve citizens during the two-week Early Voting timeframe prescribed by the Illinois State Board of Elections, which starts on March 2, 2020 and continues through March 15, 2020.
The Center will serve voters on both evening and weekend hours during portions of the two-week period.
The County Clerk worked with Plainfield Park District Executive Director Carlo J. Capalbo on the Early Voting agreement. In advance of the March 17 Primary Election, Election Workers will conduct Early Voting for citizens throughout Will County in the Center’s community room during the following hours:
· 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. between Monday, March 2 and Friday, March 6;
· 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, March 7;
· 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, March 8 and Sunday, March 15;
· 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. between Monday, March 9 and Friday, March 13;
· 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 14.
Early Voting hours for the November 2020 Presidential Election at the Prairie Activity & Recreation Center will be finalized in the Spring/Summer of 2020.
“My goal as the Will County Clerk is to make voting convenient and accessible in as many communities as possible,” Staley Ferry said. “I am confident that offering Early Voting at PARC will reduce wait times for voters throughout Northwestern Will County. Equally as important, it will relieve Early Voting congestion for citizens who choose to cast their ballots at Plainfield Village Hall, which up until now was the only Early Voting site in Plainfield.”
Capalbo said, “We always envisioned the Prairie Activity & Recreation Center being a centrally located gathering spot for residents to come work out, take a fitness class, or bring their kids to play. It’s exciting to see the facility’s versatility serve the community in a new way.”
The Prairie Activity & Recreation Center, PARC, is a 40,000-square-foot recreation center located in Bott Park in Plainfield. PARC includes a 4,000-square-foot fitness center, elevated track, large gym, preschool space, and multi-purpose room. It is the first recreation center in the State of Illinois and the U.S. to receive Passive House Certification for its use of energy-efficient construction materials and rooftop solar panels for production of its own electricity.
Staley Ferry recently announced that she brought the Spanish Community Center on board as a new Early Voting location for Joliet’s East Side. She also secured an agreement with the Village of Shorewood to serve as an Early Voting site during the 2019 Consolidated Election as well as for both 2020 elections.
The County Clerk is planning in the coming weeks to announce another new Early Voting location for voters in Eastern Will County.
Will County Clerk Lauren Staley Ferry (left) is joined by Plainfield Park Board President Mimi Poling and Vice President Bill Thoman outside the Prairie Activity & Recreation Center (PARC). The County Clerk and her team worked with the Plainfield Park District to bring PARC on board as a new Early Voting location in the 2020 elections.
