Calling it “unprecedented,” U.S. Rep. George Sangmeister praised the speed with which a public and private partnership has been forged to advance the Joliet Arsenal redevelopment plan.
The Mokena Democrat’s comment came in response to Wednesday’s announcement by Gov. Jim Edgar that the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation of Chicago had awarded a $250,000 grant to aid in the conversion of the 23,500-acre arsenal from military to civilian use.
Edgar also announced from Springfield the creation of an 11-member Joliet Arsenal Coordinating Council to shepherd the complicated transfer of most of the abandoned, federally owned site to the U.S. Forest Service from the Army. Sangmeister is a member of that council, which is led by chairman George Ranney Jr., an attorney and environmentalist from Chicago.
“This bolsters our momentum and will help assure that the work done by the bipartisan group will not fall through the cracks,” said Sangmeister, adding that he applauded the efforts of both Edgar and the foundation.
“Putting together such a strong federal-state-private partnership so quickly is unprecedented for this type of project. It speaks volumes for the tremendous opportunity the Joliet Arsenal presents for northeastern Illinois and beyond.”
The Forest Service’s proposed plan for the site calls for restoration of what would be the largest tall-grass prairie ecosystem east of the Mississippi River.
Edgar said the MacArthur Foundation grant will help fund efforts to refine the arsenal land-use recommendations that were agreed on in April by members of an advisory commission appointed by Sangmeister.
That commission’s report calls for the preservation of more than 19,000 acres of the site, with the balance dedicated to industrial use, a county landfill and a national veterans cemetery for northeastern Illinois. More than 8 million people live within 60 miles of the site.
Edgar said the arsenal “represents the most exciting open space opportunity in Illinois.”
“And the MacArthur Foundation financial support could not come at a more critical time as we work to preserve this natural site and return a military facility to productive public use,” he added.
Edgar said the goal of the coordinating council is to work with private corporations and other organizations to build support for the transition. It would also coordinate planning on the site’s decommissioning, cleanup, redevelopment and long-term financial support.
The others named to the 11-member council are Ruth Fitzgerald, executive director of the Will County Center for Economic Development; Jack Kahn, president of the Museum of Science and Industry; Illinois Department of Conservation Director Brent Manning; state Sen. Thomas Dunn (D-Joliet); Governors State University President Paula Wolff; Openlands Project executive director Gerald Adelmann; Conservation Fund president John Turner; Dow Chemical Co. public affairs manager Gerald Caamano; and Gene Reineke and Allen Grosboll, executive assistants to Edgar for economic and environmental issues, respectively.
Two other agencies, the Washington-based Conservation Fund and the Openlands Project in Chicago, are also assisting in the effort to get agreement among the federal agencies and to gain congressional approval for the land transfer before year’s end.
