Sunnyland, IL

Sunnyland is a small Will County CDP pressed between Joliet and Crest Hill, with U.S. 30 running along its southern edge and I-55 about a mile and a half northwest. It is easy to mistake the place for a neighborhood of one of its larger neighbors, but the census keeps Sunnyland on its own line. The local practical story is drainage: Will County has funded Sunnyland drainage improvements, a reminder that low, built-up suburban ground has its own maintenance needs. Sunnyland is a tiny northwest-county pocket where Joliet access, Crest Hill borders, and water management tell more of the story than a formal downtown ever could.