May 05, 2010

The Revenge of the Polluter Bailout

The General Assembly is really bending over backward in an attempt to bail out a chronic polluter by making you buy the electricity they generate burning tires that could be recycled.

IEPA has notified the Ford Heights tire incinerator of numerous violations of clean air laws. Now some state legislators want to reward their chronic violations with financial support - from you.

First, they tried to classify tire incinerators as "renewable" energy, so they utilities buying the power they generate could count it against the clean energy they have to buy every year.

See how your legislators voted here. Look at the May 4th vote for your Senator - thank them if they voted No.

That didn't pass the laugh test with most legislators. So, backers of the polluter made up a new definition - "reusable energy" - for tire incineration. What's in a name? Well, SB 380 would give "reusable energy" sources access to renewable energy grants that you pay for on your monthly electric bill. They also would get to sell their power to you, through your utility.

That scheme passed the Illinois House - barely - with 61 votes. Last night, it failed in the Illinois Senate, by a wide margin, but that hasn't stopped them from trying again. The same proposal is on the Senate's agenda again for action tonight or tomorrow.

I know bad ideas never die, but surely Springfield has better things to do with their time than bailing out those who routinely break our clean air laws. Let's hope the Senate rejects them again. This is getting to be like a bad horror movie.

See how your legislators voted here.

1 comment:

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