The Joliet City Council will decide this week whether to spend $50,000 to buy two blighted homes at 833 South Richards Street and 837 South Richards Street for demolition purposes. Interim City Manager Marty Shanahan indicated the measure has the support of fellow city officials. “The two parcels total five units and the city has already been granted an injunction for demolition,” Shanahan noted in a memo to the council. “However, to ease the encumbrance on the property owner and to continue the mission of the Blight Reduction Program, the city has offered to purchase the properties for a price totaling $50,000…” Please click here for John Ferak’s story in the Patch.