As president of the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission, I want to express support for your editorial (Aug. 16) “Move quickly on Joliet Arsenal plan.” NIPC’s adopted plans for the region recognize the importance of the arsenal site with respect to natural resources and recreational opportunities.
We support the land use plan developed by the Joliet Arsenal Citizen Planning Commission (the Sangmeister commission), as well as the U.S. Forest Service’s proposal to take title to the site. There should be legislation to insure proper clean-up of the site.
We strongly encourage and support every effort to carry out the proposed plan and to preserve large areas of the Joliet Arsenal site as public open space. The rapid pace of urban expansion in our region and severe limits on local financial resources create an urgency to preserve our remaining open space.
