Yesterday, Exelon announced the closure of two nuclear plants in Illinois. This comes after Governor JB Pritzker pushed a massive Green Energy bill that was laden with bailouts and unrealistic green energy mandates.
The State Senate adjourned in mid-June without voting on the bill. Senate President Don Harmon, an Oak Park Democrat, pointed to an ongoing disagreement between two of his party’s core constituencies: organized labor and the Green Lobby.
“The priorities of JB Pritzker and the majority party in this state are completely unacceptable. They serve powerful special interests with no regard for the people who elected them. Rather than negotiating an energy deal, they adjourned and went on vacation. Rather than visit the state’s power generating plants, they memorize Greta Thunberg’s talking points.
Now, hundreds of people will be out of work in these communities. It is a travesty and it was totally preventable. The Democrat leadership turned their back on workers and families.
Worst still, the Democrats don’t seem to understand that nuclear power is a zero-emission clean energy source. If they’re really trying to prevent a climate crisis, as they claim, they should be building new nuclear plants all over Illinois. Instead, they’re letting them close. Not only does Exelon support jobs and much-needed economic activity, but they are critical to providing reliable and resilient energy to ratepayers.”