Joliet Junior College is planning a new campus in Morris. The JJC Board of Trustees recently approved land negotiations for a future Grundy County Campus. The new campus will be located on 20 acres of land in Morris, Illinois, at the intersection of Rt. 47 and Granville Avenue. The campus is not expected to open until 2028.

“The planning and design phase will continue through March 2027,” Joliet Junior College President Clyne Namuo said. “Construction will begin in summer 2027 and be completed for occupancy in fall 2028.” 

JJC serves a large number of students from Grundy County, so a campus closer to home would benefit the area, according to JJC leadership. 

“That area [Grundy] is extremely underserved,” JJC Board of Trustees Chairman James Budzinski said. “We did have a small, underutilized presence in Morris, but it was not set to really serve the type of curriculum and courses we’d like to see out there. It was limited in what the opportunities were. The number of students that come out of that area into JJC is very large; we see huge growth in that area.”

The new campus will build on existing general education programs and is expected to focus on industry and workforce development.

“I really see this as an expansion of our existing programs,” Namuo said, “not moving from one location to another.”

JJC started exploring a Grundy County expansion in 2023. 

“As our job growth numbers indicate, we have a lot of new jobs and we work closely and need the workforce training that JJC provides,” said Nancy Norton, CEO of the Grundy Economic Development Council. “We have almost an eight percent job growth, which outpaces not only the state, but also the nation.”

With plans for the new building underway, the administration is excited for the new opportunities the Grundy County campus can provide.

“A building is just a building,” Namuo said. “It’s the people who work with our students every day who make the experience extraordinary.”