Full Text of HR0682 96th General Assembly
HR0682 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 |
| Representatives wish to recognize the accomplishments of local | 4 |
| organizations and their dedication to serving their community; | 5 |
| and
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| WHEREAS, The Joliet Arsenal Development Authority is the | 7 |
| recipient of the 2009 Base Redevelopment Community of the Year | 8 |
| National Award; and
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| WHEREAS, The federal government transferred the Joliet | 10 |
| Army Ammunition Plant for remediation in 1995; the former | 11 |
| Joliet Arsenal, located 40 miles southwest of Chicago, was | 12 |
| subdivided for both public and private use; and
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| WHEREAS, By that time, the former Joliet Arsenal was a | 14 |
| rusting array of mostly vacant manufacturing facilities, which | 15 |
| were sprawled across 36 square miles of land; and
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| WHEREAS, A combination of large-scale economic and | 17 |
| ecosystem restoration benefits accrued at the former Arsenal, | 18 |
| providing a model for the cleanup and reuse of large old | 19 |
| industrial properties across the nation; and | 20 |
| WHEREAS, The Joliet Arsenal Development Authority was |
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| established in 1996 for the adaptive reuse and transformation | 2 |
| of 3,000 acres in order to create quality job opportunities and | 3 |
| foster economic development in the Will County area; and
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| WHEREAS, Since then, the Joliet Arsenal Development | 5 |
| Authority has successfully transformed the former Joliet | 6 |
| Arsenal into a manufacturing and logistics business park; | 7 |
| redevelopment of the 3,000 acres conveyed to the authority has | 8 |
| resulted in Illinois' largest public-private project and has | 9 |
| attracted more than $1 billion in private investment, as well | 10 |
| as $100 million in federal, State, and local grants; and
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| WHEREAS, The Joliet Arsenal Development Authority's three | 12 |
| major accomplishments include the CenterPoint Intermodal | 13 |
| Center, the ProLogis Park Arsenal, and the Operating Engineers | 14 |
| Apprenticeship & Skill Improvement Training Facility; and
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| WHEREAS, The development has benefited from a | 16 |
| collaborative effort to clean up the property, which was | 17 |
| heavily contaminated with chemical waste produced by the | 18 |
| manufacture of explosives and the assembly of 4 billion pounds | 19 |
| of munitions; a dozen public agencies, together with numerous | 20 |
| private organizations, finished the remediation of the site’s | 21 |
| soil and groundwater in 2008, 3 years ahead of schedule; and | 22 |
| WHEREAS, As of 2009, new development has generated more |
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| than 2,000 permanent jobs; over 1,800 construction jobs, | 2 |
| totaling an approximate $150 million in wages, have also been | 3 |
| added to the local economy; these numbers will continue to grow | 4 |
| with the continued redevelopment of the former Joliet Arsenal; | 5 |
| therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 7 |
| NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 8 |
| recognize the efforts of the Joliet Arsenal Development | 9 |
| Authority for its years of dedicated service toward the | 10 |
| redevelopment of the former Joliet Arsenal; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 12 |
| presented to the Joliet Arsenal Development Authority as a | 13 |
| symbol of our esteem and respect.
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