 During the 1990s , Joliet was one of the fastest @-@ growing cities in the state , and in 2000 its residential and commercial construction were at record @-@ setting levels , according to Schultz . Schultz also credited gambling revenues with having enabled the city to halt tax increases for a decade and to build a new police station and three new firehouses . In 1999 , the Joliet City Council approved the construction of the Chicagoland Speedway on 930 acres ( 3 @.@ 76 km2 ) of land next to the Route 66 Raceway . Between 2000 and 2002 Joliet was the tenth fastest @-@ growing city in the United States . Under Schultz , the city ended nearly 150 years as a prison town with the closure of the Joliet Correctional Center and focused its economy on entertainment and tourism . 
