Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of SJR0072
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Full Text of SJR0072  97th General Assembly

SJ0072eng 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY


  

 


 
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1
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 72
2
(As Amended by Senate Amendment No. 2)

 
3    WHEREAS, On February 29, 2012, Midwest Generation
4announced that it would retire its two Chicago power plants as
5the result of an agreement with the City of Chicago and Mayor
6Rahm Emanuel, which was reached in consultation with community
7groups and aldermen; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Residents in communities neighboring these
9facilities, including Pilsen and Little Village, joined with a
10broad and diverse coalition of community, labor, health, faith,
11youth, and environmental organizations to form the Chicago
12Clean Power Coalition to advocate for the eventual retirement
13of these facilities as a part of a national transition to new
14energy sources; 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,
23Citizens Committee for a Clean Blue Island, Collective

 

 

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1Consciousness Movement, Consolidated Printing, David Weiner &
2Associates, Design Makes Change, Doctors Council SEIU,
3Eco-Justice Collaborative, Energy Action Coalition,
4Environment Illinois, Environmental Law & Policy Center, Faith
5in Place, Gaia Movement USA, Green Guy Solutions, Green
6Sanctuary Group, Beverly Unitarian Church, Greenpeace, Growing
7Station Community Garden, KenJiva Energy Systems, Illinois
8Solar Energy Association, Illinois Student Environmental
9Coalition, Little Village Environmental Justice Organization,
10Loyola University's Student Environmental Alliance, Natural
11Resources Defense Council, Nuclear Energy Information Service,
12Oikos: The Religion and Environment Initiative, Peace
13Productions, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Pilsen
14Alliance, Pilsen Environmental Rights & Reform Organization,
15Progressive Democrats of America, Protestants for the Common
16Good, Rainforest Action Network Chicago, Ravenswood Community
17Council, Resource Center, Respiratory Health Association of
18Metropolitan Chicago, Sierra Club, Southeast Environmental
19Task Force, Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation,
20SolAir Works, Inc., SAIC Student Environmental Activism Group,
21Students for a Just and Stable Future at the University of
22Chicago, Team 15 United, Topless America, Union of Concerned
23Scientists, Community Action Program at the UIC College of
24Medicine, Urban Sustain, Wellington Avenue UCC, and Windy City
25Green 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; 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 help the City
10of Chicago and the State of Illinois achieve their clean air
11goals; and
 
12    WHEREAS, The process undertaken by Midwest Generation and
13the City of Chicago included community, public health, and
14environmental groups, which agreed not to pursue certain
15pending litigation 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
21ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 

 

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1CONCURRING HEREIN, that we recognize Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the
2community residents and organizations of Pilsen and Little
3Village in Chicago, the Chicago Clean Power Coalition, and
4Midwest Generation for their work and leadership in reaching
5the agreed resolution to retire coal-fired power plants at the
6Fisk and Crawford stations in accordance with the goals and
7objectives of the proposed Chicago Clean Power Ordinance; and
8be it further
 
9    RESOLVED, That we support the ongoing efforts to determine
10clean, new uses for these facilities and to transition these
11facilities to uses that improve the quality of life in these
12communities; and be it further
 
13    RESOLVED, That we acknowledge that thousands of
14hard-working and dedicated men and women have worked at these
15facilities since the early 1900s, producing the electricity
16that was essential to build the City of Chicago; and be it
17further
 
18    RESOLVED, That we urge the Governor and the agencies of the
19State of Illinois to support efforts to retire these facilities
20and to transition these facilities into uses that improve the
21quality of life in the communities in which they are located;
22and be it further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
2presented to the Governor, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Midwest
3Generation, the Little Village Environmental Justice
4Organization, the Pilsen Alliance, the Pilsen Environmental
5Rights and Reform Organization, and the members of the Chicago
6Clean Power Coalition.