Full Text of HR0899 98th General Assembly
HR0899 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The Calumet region's first steel mill began | 3 | | operating in 1875 and for many decades prospered the community | 4 | | under the banner of International Harvester's mighty Wisconsin | 5 | | Steel Works, which crafted steel moldings for heavy vehicles | 6 | | that provided a strong and reliable economic engine for the | 7 | | national economy; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Wisconsin Steel Works ran powerful and steady for | 9 | | more than a century until the decline of the domestic steel | 10 | | market in the early 1980s; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, The mill operated in an era that was unaware of | 12 | | environmental impacts on the land; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, The later-found burden of contamination prevented | 14 | | redevelopment of the vast swath of land set in the heart of | 15 | | southeast Chicago's South Deering community; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Navistar, Inc. (formerly International Harvester) | 17 | | pursued and entered into a 1996 agreement with the United | 18 | | States Department of Commerce to assume corporate | 19 | | responsibility for the comprehensive remediation of the site | 20 | | under the guidance of the Illinois Environmental Protection | 21 | | Agency's Site Remediation Program; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Navistar's environmental project team conducted | 2 | | multiple years of environmental testing, analysis, assessment, | 3 | | planning, and implementation in support of the comprehensive | 4 | | remedial action; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, On December 20, 2013, the Illinois Environmental | 6 | | Protection Agency granted the 13th and final No Further | 7 | | Remediation letter for the respective tracts of the former | 8 | | Wisconsin Steel Works site; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, The remediated site has been sold for | 10 | | redevelopment and now hosts multiple businesses that newly | 11 | | contribute to the economic prosperity of southeast Chicago; | 12 | | therefore, be it
| 13 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 14 | | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 15 | | we recognize Navistar, Inc. for its initiative in assuming | 16 | | responsibility for the site environmental remediation project; | 17 | | and be it further
| 18 | | RESOLVED, That we commend Navistar and its project team - | 19 | | environmental consultant ARCADIS and environmental | 20 | | communications specialist EnviroCom - for steadfast | 21 | | commitment, engineering excellence, and well-attuned |
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| 1 | | stakeholder engagement which resulted in the remarkable | 2 | | success of the project; and be it further | 3 | | RESOLVED, That we commend the staff of the Illinois | 4 | | Environmental Protection Agency Site Remediation Program for | 5 | | outstanding civil service; and be it further | 6 | | RESOLVED, That we state our belief that the environmental | 7 | | cleanup of the Former Wisconsin Steel Works site exemplifies a | 8 | | high benchmark in Illinois for the collaboration of corporate | 9 | | citizenship, federal guidance, State programming, city | 10 | | interaction, applied technical excellence, and fully-connected | 11 | | community relations; and be it further | 12 | | RESOLVED, That we state our belief that the environmental | 13 | | remediation project offers not only a fitting epilogue for the | 14 | | once mighty Wisconsin Steel Works, but, in great measure, | 15 | | presents the hope and promise of a bright future for the | 16 | | southeast Chicago community that lives to thrive again.
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