HR0682 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0682 LRB096 14978 GRL 29897 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to recognize the accomplishments of local organizations and their dedication to serving their community; and

WHEREAS, The Joliet Arsenal Development Authority is the recipient of the 2009 Base Redevelopment Community of the Year National Award; and

WHEREAS, The federal government transferred the Joliet Army Ammunition Plant for remediation in 1995; the former Joliet Arsenal, located 40 miles southwest of Chicago, was subdivided for both public and private use; and

WHEREAS, By that time, the former Joliet Arsenal was a rusting array of mostly vacant manufacturing facilities, which were sprawled across 36 square miles of land; and

WHEREAS, A combination of large-scale economic and ecosystem restoration benefits accrued at the former Arsenal, providing a model for the cleanup and reuse of large old industrial properties across the nation; and

WHEREAS, The Joliet Arsenal Development Authority was established in 1996 for the adaptive reuse and transformation of 3,000 acres in order to create quality job opportunities and foster economic development in the Will County area; and

WHEREAS, Since then, the Joliet Arsenal Development Authority has successfully transformed the former Joliet Arsenal into a manufacturing and logistics business park; redevelopment of the 3,000 acres conveyed to the authority has resulted in Illinois' largest public-private project and has attracted more than $1 billion in private investment, as well as $100 million in federal, State, and local grants; and

WHEREAS, The Joliet Arsenal Development Authority's three major accomplishments include the CenterPoint Intermodal Center, the ProLogis Park Arsenal, and the Operating Engineers Apprenticeship & Skill Improvement Training Facility; and

WHEREAS, The development has benefited from a collaborative effort to clean up the property, which was heavily contaminated with chemical waste produced by the manufacture of explosives and the assembly of 4 billion pounds of munitions; a dozen public agencies, together with numerous private organizations, finished the remediation of the site’s soil and groundwater in 2008, 3 years ahead of schedule; and

WHEREAS, As of 2009, new development has generated more than 2,000 permanent jobs; over 1,800 construction jobs, totaling an approximate $150 million in wages, have also been added to the local economy; these numbers will continue to grow with the continued redevelopment of the former Joliet Arsenal; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we recognize the efforts of the Joliet Arsenal Development Authority for its years of dedicated service toward the redevelopment of the former Joliet Arsenal; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the Joliet Arsenal Development Authority as a symbol of our esteem and respect.