Big Announcement

BELVIDERE (WIFR) -- Some are calling the announcement at the Belvidere, Chrysler plant the region's biggest single economic event in nearly half a century. 

It was an announcement so big that Chrysler made sure it came straight from the lips of the company's CEO Sergio Marchionne.

He said, "I'm delighted to announce today that we will soon be adding a third crew here at Belvidere. In total this means we'll be adding more than 1,800 jobs by the summer.”

Today's press event started an hour and ten minutes late, but the news was obviously worth the wait. By July of this year the Belvidere Plant will have a record 4,500 employees. Five hundred jobs are being added right away to work solely on the production of Chrysler’s brand new Dodge Dart.

Marchionne said, "It is no secret that this plant has always been one of the best assembly plants within Chrysler for performance and productivity. There was a recent study that was carried out by Harvard that measured the competitiveness of 34 plants across Europe and North America, and this is not just within the Fiat Chrysler World, but it's across our competitors and Belvidere ranked 3rd out of 34."

So just how much of the credit for Chrysler’s turnaround be given to it's CEO Sergio Marchionne we asked our auto expert and nationally syndicated radio host John McElroy that very question.

He said, "I would say 100 percent of the credit goes to Marchionne for turning Chrysler around. Not because he's the only one doing all the work but he's the only executive in the World when things were going bad at Chrysler who stepped up to the plate and said, 'Hey I'll take this company over and I'll turn it around."

State and Federal Aid

Certainly Chrysler got a lot of help turning it around. If you remember the taxpayers chipped in when the federal government agreed to a 12.5 billion dollar bailout package in 2009. Most of that money has since been paid back. The local plant has received some additional help getting its 600 million dollar expansion project off the ground. Illinois invested 62-million dollars in a tax incentive package.

The Belvidere Plant Production History

The Dodge Dart won't be the only Belvidere-made car to pass through local dealerships. Here’s a look at some of the other cars made since the plant was created in1965.

From 1965 to 1976 workers made the Plymouth Fury, Dodge Monaco, and Chrysler New Yorker.

A decade after that, the Plymouth Horizon and Dodge Omni.

From ‘88 to the early 90s, the Dodge Dynasty, Chrysler New Yorker, and the Imperial.

Just one car from ‘93 to ’05: the Dodge Neon

They made the Caliber through 2011.

The plant still makes both the Jeep Compass and Patriot. 

BELVIDERE, Ill. (AP) -- Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and the chief executive of Chrysler have announced that the automaker will add more than 1,800 jobs by this summer at its assembly plant in northern Illinois.

The new employees will be working at the plant's new body shop to produce the 2013 Dodge Dart. The model will be Chrysler's first competitive compact car in more than 15 years. Quinn said at a Thursday ceremony in Belvidere that manufacturing is a "key part" of the Illinois economy.

The new workers will be in addition to 2,700 current employees at the Belvidere facility. They also will work on the Jeep Compass and Patriot, which already are built in Belvidere.