The 20-Day Countdown On Illinois' Energy Future Begins! Part 1: "Is It Really The Jobs, Stupid?"
http://neis.org/press-release-the-20-day-countdown-on-illinois-energy-future-begins-part-1-is-it-really-the-jobs-stupid/
PRESS RELEASE: THE 20-DAY COUNTDOWN ON ILLINOIS ENERGY FUTURE BEGINS! PART 1: IS IT REALLY THE JOBS, STUPID?
MAY 13, 2015 DAVID
THE 20-DAY COUNTDOWN ON ILLINOIS ENERGY FUTURE BEGINS!
PART 1: IS IT REALLY THE JOBS, STUPID?
CHICAGO-- (NOTE: With 20 days left for the Illinois Legislature to decide the future direction of Illinois energy services, NEIS is initiating a series of releases over the next three weeks designed to address some of the myths, misconceptions, and ignored aspects of the debate.)
Three separate and distinct pieces of legislation (three in each legislative chamber for a total of six) have been submitted. Two have been submitted by industry giants Exelon (HB 3293; SB1585) and ComEd (HB 3328 Amendment 00; SB1879), and essentially recommend Illinois meet its 21st Century electric service needs with the status quo. The third (HB2607; SB1485) submitted by a loose coalition of business, environmental, institutional and community organizations and supported by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel calls for a major push to advance the implementation of energy efficiency and renewable energy resources. The latter piece of legislation enjoys a substantial lead in legislative co-sponsor support.
The first of these issues needing more intense scrutiny deals with the notion that this is a jobs issue.
If this were really a jobs issue, this debate would have ended as soon as the Exelon bill appeared, observes David Kraft, director of the Chicago-based Nuclear Energy Information Service. Even for a math-challenged entity like the Illinois Legislature, which seems to display legendary incompetence in passing budgets and dealing with pension payments, the number 32,000 is still recognized as being larger than 2,300, Kraft notes.
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