[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 192 (Thursday, December 17, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E3053]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




CONGRATULATING THE JOLIET ARSENAL DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY FOR BEING NAMED 
           THE 2009 BASE REDEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY OF THE YEAR

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                       HON. DEBORAH L. HALVORSON

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 16, 2009

  Mrs. HALVORSON. Madam Speaker, today I rise to recognize the Joliet 
Arsenal Development Authority (JADA) for being named the 2009 Base 
Redevelopment Community of the Year by the Association of Defense 
Communities. I join the Association of Defense Communities in honoring 
JADA for bringing permanent jobs and revenue to the community in an 
environmentally friendly manner.
  JADA was created in 1995, after Congress passed legislation allowing 
the former Army munitions facility in Joliet, IL, to be redeveloped 
with a transfer of ownership. The site has been developed into the 
largest intermodal facility in the Nation. An intermodal involves the 
transportation of freight in a container or vehicle, using multiple 
modes of transportation without any handling of the freight itself when 
changing modes. The development of the 3,000-acre site has already 
created 2,000 permanent jobs with approximately $150 million in annual 
wages. A portion of the site will be devoted to a state-of-the-art 
facility engineering training facility for the development of a range 
of engineering skills. There remains enormous potential to create many 
additional high-paying manufacturing and engineering jobs at this site.
  Throughout the process of this redevelopment, special attention has 
been devoted to mitigating the environmental impacts of ammunitions 
waste on the site. A dozen public and private agencies worked to clean 
up the site and provide quality groundwater and soil. They finished 
this important work last year, three years ahead of schedule.
  Will County and the Joliet area have greatly benefited from the 
efforts of the Joliet Arsenal Development Authority. It comes as no 
surprise JADA is being recognized on the national stage as a leader in 
redevelopment.

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