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(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A house thought to be the oldest in Joliet is once again at risk of being torn down.
In October, the Joliet City Council approved a deal with Thornton’s that would have allowed the company to build a gas station on Joliet’s East Side at Jackson and Collins.
In return, Thorton’s would move the two-store limestone Casseday House that was built in 1851 and sits at the site of the future gas station.
The hitch was that Thorton would be allowed to have video gaming. But Joliet law requires businesses with video gaming to have a liquor license and gas stations are not allowed to have liquor licenses within the city.
Now, Joliet’s Mayor Bob O’DeKirk, who also serves as the city’s liquor commissioner, is recommending Thornton’s be turned down for a liquor license because it would open “a real can of worms.”
“We’ve already had in my office a number of other Joliet gas stations that are asking that they want the same deal that’s going to be given to the new station,” he said Friday.
That has put the fate of the Casseday House in question.
Historian Mary Beth Gannon has been among those leading the fight to save the structure.
“I’m surprised. I’m really stunned. I thought this was a done deal,” she said of the latest development.
Gannon adds: “I was so proud to help save it and I just can’t believe this is happening. I’m ready to cry.”
Mayor O’DeKirk says the decision is not solely up to him, that the Joliet City Council will make the final determination what happens. The council is to vote on the issue on Tuesday.