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 Joe Knollenberg first ran for Congress so he could help his community and make Oakland County a better place to be. He has more than delivered on that goal. If you drive around the ninth district or talk to people on the street, it's hard to find someone who hasn't benefited from Joe's effective leadership in Congress.
Open a newspaper on any given day and you'll read about how Joe is fighting to protect our jobs and improve our economy. He stands up to those in Congress who want to impose harsh regulations on our auto industry. He told the Bush administration that they need to do more to protect our manufacturing jobs. And he has pushed for America to take a hard line against Japan's unfair trade practices so that the Big Three can compete on a level playing field.
Do you know a student at Oakland University, Oakland Community College, Michigan State, Wayne State, or Lawrence Tech? Well, Joe delivered $11 million to go directly toward improving those colleges, universities and for job training here in Oakland County. Education is one of Joe's top priorities. He believes it's the key to a strong future in Oakland County, and he has achieved real results in improving schools in his district and across Michigan.
Everyone knows someone who has suffered from cancer, who has seen a loved one struggle with mental illness, or who has grappled with the costs of health care. You can be sure that Joe knows just how important it is to find cures to diseases, research new treatments, and make health care more affordable. He delivered $4.5 million to Detroit's Karmanos Cancer Institute for cancer treatment and research, not to mention grants for the Mental Illness Research Association, Kids Kicking Cancer, and $7.45 million for research at the University of Michigan to find a way to eliminate the need for kidney dialysis.
 Remember when the Rouge River was polluted and stagnant? When Joe first came to Congress, he delivered $60 million in federal funds to clean up the pollution in the river. Take a walk along the shores of the Rouge River as it flows through Rochester Hills, Troy, Birmingham and Beverly Hills, or as it cuts across Farmington and Farmington Hills. You'll see that what once was devastatingly polluted is now clean and teeming with wildlife, thanks to Joe's work in Congress.
Joe's hard work is easy to see elsewhere in the area, too. Have you noticed that traffic light outside of Harrison High School in Farmington Hills? Did you see that Crooks Road was widened and repaved in Clawson, Royal Oak and Troy? Have you been inside the Ford Education Center at the Detroit Zoo? Get a chance to check out the newly-remodeled Detroit Science Center? Maybe you've flown into the Oakland International Airport. Joe fought for federal grants to make each of those projects possible.
Whether it's jobs or health care, education or the environment, Joe delivers for Oakland County. The results of his hard work are real and are all around us in Oakland County. But there's more to Joe's story than his work in Congress. His roots are in the farmlands of Illinois, as a businessman in Oakland County, as a husband and a father. Read on to learn more about Joe and how he came to be Oakland County's Congressman.
Next: Early years in Mattoon, Illinois >>
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