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

SJ0072sam001 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 72

2    AMENDMENT NO. ___. Amend Senate Joint Resolution 72 by
3replacing line 2 on page 1 through line 2 on page 5 with the
4following:
 
5    "WHEREAS, On February 29, 2012, Midwest Generation
6announced that it would retire its two Chicago power plants as
7the result of an agreement with the City of Chicago and Mayor
8Rahm Emanuel, which was reached in consultation with community
9groups and aldermen; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Residents in communities neighboring these
11facilities, including Pilsen and Little Village, joined with a
12broad and diverse coalition of community, labor, health, faith,
13youth, and environmental organizations to form the Chicago
14Clean Power Coalition to advocate for the eventual retirement
15of these facilities as a part of a national transition to new
16energy sources; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, the Clean Power Coalition partners include the
2following organizations: 8th Day Center for Justice, 49th Ward
3Green Corps, Action Now, Aerotecture International Inc.,
4American Renewable Energy & Power, LLC, American Medical
5Student Association-UIC, Blacks in Green, Bridgeport Alliance,
6Buddhist Peace Fellowship, CAPOW! Citizens Act to Protect Our
7Water, Chicago Youth Climate Coalition, Citizen
8Action/Illinois, Citizens Against Ruining the Environment,
9Citizens Committee for a Clean Blue Island, Collective
10Consciousness Movement, Consolidated Printing, David Weiner &
11Associates, Design Makes Change, Doctors Council SEIU,
12Eco-Justice Collaborative, Energy Action Coalition,
13Environment Illinois, Environmental Law & Policy Center, Faith
14in Place, Gaia Movement USA, Green Guy Solutions, Green
15Sanctuary Group, Beverly Unitarian Church, Greenpeace, Growing
16Station Community Garden, KenJiva Energy Systems, Illinois
17Solar Energy Association, Illinois Student Environmental
18Coalition, Little Village Environmental Justice Organization,
19Loyola University's Student Environmental Alliance, Natural
20Resources Defense Council, Nuclear Energy Information Service,
21Oikos: The Religion and Environment Initiative, Peace
22Productions, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Pilsen
23Alliance, Pilsen Environmental Rights & Reform Organization,
24Progressive Democrats of America, Protestants for the Common
25Good, Rainforest Action Network Chicago, Ravenswood Community

 

 

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1Council, Resource Center, Respiratory Health Association of
2Metropolitan Chicago, Sierra Club, Southeast Environmental
3Task Force, Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation,
4SolAir Works, Inc., SAIC Student Environmental Activism Group,
5Students for a Just and Stable Future at the University of
6Chicago, Team 15 United, Topless America, Union of Concerned
7Scientists, Community Action Program at the UIC College of
8Medicine, Urban Sustain, Wellington Avenue UCC, and Windy City
9Green Power; and
 
10    WHEREAS, The timing of the decision to retire these
11facilities, and the schedule for the retirement of these
12facilities, was the result of a process initiated by Mayor
13Emanuel; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Midwest Generation and the City of Chicago have
15entered into an agreement finding that the timetable for the
16retirement of these facilities achieves the objectives of the
17proposed Chicago Clean Power Ordinance; and
 
18    WHEREAS, The closure of these facilities will help the City
19of Chicago and the State of Illinois achieve their clean air
20goals; and
 
21    WHEREAS, The process undertaken by Midwest Generation and
22the City of Chicago included community, public health, and

 

 

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1environmental groups, which agreed not pursue certain pending
2litigation against Midwest Generation; and
 
3    WHEREAS, Once operations at these facilities cease,
4Midwest Generation will maintain the facilities in a safe and
5prudent manner as redevelopment opportunities and funding are
6explored; therefore, be it
 
7    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL
8ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
9CONCURRING HEREIN, that we recognize Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the
10community residents and organizations of Pilsen and Little
11Village in Chicago, the Chicago Clean Power Coalition, and
12Midwest Generation for their work and leadership in reaching
13the agreed resolution to retire coal-fired power plants at the
14Fisk and Crawford stations in accordance with the goals and
15objectives of the proposed Chicago Clean Power Ordinance; and
16be it further
 
17    RESOLVED, That we support the ongoing efforts to determine
18clean, new uses for these facilities, and to transition these
19facilities to uses that improve the quality of life in these
20communities; and be it further
 
21    RESOLVED, That we acknowledge that thousands of hard
22working and dedicated men and women have worked at these

 

 

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1facilities since the early 1900's producing the electricity
2that was essential to build the City of Chicago; and be it
3further
 
4    RESOLVED, That we urge the Governor and the agencies of the
5State of Illinois to support efforts to retire these
6facilities, to clean up these facilities, and to transition
7these facilities into uses that improve the quality of life in
8the communities in which they are located; and be it further
 
9    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
10presented to the Governor, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Midwest
11Generation, the Little Village Environmental Justice
12Organization, the Pilsen Alliance, the Pilsen Environmental
13Rights and Reform Organization, and the members of the Chicago
14Clean Power Coalition.".