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1
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, On February 29, 2012, Midwest Generation
3announced that it would retire its two Chicago power plants as
4the result of an agreement with the City of Chicago and Mayor
5Rahm Emanuel, which was reached in consultation with community
6groups and aldermen; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Residents in communities neighboring these
8facilities, including Pilsen and Little Village, have long been
9concerned about the health impacts of emissions from these
10facilities; and
 
11    WHEREAS, A broad and diverse coalition of community, labor,
12health, faith, youth, and environmental organizations formed
13the Chicago Clean Power Coalition to advocate for a resolution
14to these concerns; and
 
15    WHEREAS, the Clean Power Coalition partners include the
16following organizations: 8th Day Center for Justice, 49th Ward
17Green Corps, Action Now, Aerotecture International Inc.,
18American Renewable Energy & Power, LLC, American Medical
19Student Association-UIC, Blacks in Green, Bridgeport Alliance,
20Buddhist Peace Fellowship, CAPOW! Citizens Act to Protect Our
21Water, Chicago Youth Climate Coalition, Citizen
22Action/Illinois, Citizens Against Ruining the Environment,

 

 

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1Citizens Committee for a Clean Blue Island, Collective
2Consciousness Movement, Consolidated Printing, David Weiner &
3Associates, Design Makes Change, Doctors Council SEIU,
4Eco-Justice Collaborative, Energy Action Coalition,
5Environment Illinois, Environmental Law & Policy Center, Faith
6in Place, Gaia Movement USA, Green Guy Solutions, Green
7Sanctuary Group, Beverly Unitarian Church, Greenpeace, Growing
8Station Community Garden, KenJiva Energy Systems, Illinois
9Solar Energy Association, Illinois Student Environmental
10Coalition, Little Village Environmental Justice Organization,
11Loyola University's Student Environmental Alliance, Natural
12Resources Defense Council, Nuclear Energy Information Service,
13Oikos: The Religion and Environment Initiative, Peace
14Productions, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Pilsen
15Alliance, Pilsen Environmental Rights & Reform Organization,
16Progressive Democrats of America, Protestants for the Common
17Good, Rainforest Action Network Chicago, Ravenswood Community
18Council, Resource Center, Respiratory Health Association of
19Metropolitan Chicago, Sierra Club, Southeast Environmental
20Task Force, Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation,
21SolAir Works, Inc., SAIC Student Environmental Activism Group,
22Students for a Just and Stable Future at the University of
23Chicago, Team 15 United, Topless America, Union of Concerned
24Scientists, Community Action Program at the UIC College of
25Medicine, Urban Sustain, Wellington Avenue UCC, and Windy City
26Green Power; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, The timing of the decision to retire these
2facilities, and the schedule for the retirement of these
3facilities, was the result of a process initiated by Mayor
4Emanuel on his first day in office; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Midwest Generation and the City of Chicago have
6entered into an agreement finding that the timetable for the
7retirement of these facilities achieves the objectives of the
8proposed Chicago Clean Power Ordinance; and
 
9    WHEREAS, The closure of these facilities will put the
10neighborhoods in which these facilities are located on a more
11sustainable path to economic development; and
 
12    WHEREAS, The process undertaken by Midwest Generation and
13the City of Chicago included community, public health, and
14environmental groups, which agreed not pursue certain pending
15litigation against Midwest Generation; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Once operations at these facilities cease,
17Midwest Generation will maintain the facilities in a safe and
18prudent manner as redevelopment opportunities and funding are
19explored; therefore, be it
 
20    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL

 

 

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1ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2CONCURRING HEREIN, that we recognize Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the
3community residents and organizations of Pilsen and Little
4Village in Chicago, the Chicago Clean Power Coalition, and
5Midwest Generation for their work and leadership in reaching
6the agreed resolution to retire coal-fired power plants at the
7Fisk and Crawford stations in accordance with the goals and
8objectives of the proposed Chicago Clean Power Ordinance; and
9be it further
 
10    RESOLVED, That we support the continued efforts to clean up
11these facilities, to determine clean, new uses for these
12facilities, and to transition these facilities to uses that
13improve the quality of life in these communities; and be it
14further
 
15    RESOLVED, That we urge the Governor and the agencies of the
16State of Illinois to support efforts to retire these
17facilities, to clean up these facilities, and to transition
18these facilities into uses that improve the quality of life in
19the communities in which they are located; and be it further
 
20    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
21presented to the Governor, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the Little
22Village Environmental Justice Organization, the Pilsen
23Alliance, the Pilsen Environmental Rights and Reform

 

 

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1Organization, and the members of the Chicago Clean Power
2Coalition.