Full Text of SJR0075 097th General Assembly
SJ0075 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, On February 29, 2012, Midwest Generation | 3 | | announced that it would retire its two Chicago power plants as | 4 | | the result of an agreement with the City of Chicago and Mayor | 5 | | Rahm Emanuel, which was reached in consultation with community | 6 | | groups and aldermen; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Residents in communities neighboring these | 8 | | facilities, including Pilsen and Little Village, joined with a | 9 | | broad and diverse coalition of community, labor, health, faith, | 10 | | youth, and environmental organizations to form the Chicago | 11 | | Clean Power Coalition to advocate for the eventual retirement | 12 | | of these facilities as a part of a national transition to new | 13 | | energy sources; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, the Clean Power Coalition partners include the | 15 | | following organizations: 8th Day Center for Justice, 49th Ward | 16 | | Green Corps, Action Now, Aerotecture International Inc., | 17 | | American Renewable Energy & Power, LLC, American Medical | 18 | | Student Association-UIC, Blacks in Green, Bridgeport Alliance, | 19 | | Buddhist Peace Fellowship, CAPOW! Citizens Act to Protect Our | 20 | | Water, Chicago Youth Climate Coalition, Citizen | 21 | | Action/Illinois, Citizens Against Ruining the Environment, | 22 | | Citizens Committee for a Clean Blue Island, Collective | 23 | | Consciousness Movement, Consolidated Printing, David Weiner & |
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| 1 | | Associates, Design Makes Change, Doctors Council SEIU, | 2 | | Eco-Justice Collaborative, Energy Action Coalition, | 3 | | Environment Illinois, Environmental Law & Policy Center, Faith | 4 | | in Place, Gaia Movement USA, Green Guy Solutions, Green | 5 | | Sanctuary Group, Beverly Unitarian Church, Greenpeace, Growing | 6 | | Station Community Garden, KenJiva Energy Systems, Illinois | 7 | | Solar Energy Association, Illinois Student Environmental | 8 | | Coalition, Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, | 9 | | Loyola University's Student Environmental Alliance, Natural | 10 | | Resources Defense Council, Nuclear Energy Information Service, | 11 | | Oikos: The Religion and Environment Initiative, Peace | 12 | | Productions, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Pilsen | 13 | | Alliance, Pilsen Environmental Rights & Reform Organization, | 14 | | Progressive Democrats of America, Protestants for the Common | 15 | | Good, Rainforest Action Network Chicago, Ravenswood Community | 16 | | Council, Resource Center, Respiratory Health Association of | 17 | | Metropolitan Chicago, Sierra Club, Southeast Environmental | 18 | | Task Force, Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation, | 19 | | SolAir Works, Inc., SAIC Student Environmental Activism Group, | 20 | | Students for a Just and Stable Future at the University of | 21 | | Chicago, Team 15 United, Topless America, Union of Concerned | 22 | | Scientists, Community Action Program at the UIC College of | 23 | | Medicine, Urban Sustain, Wellington Avenue UCC, and Windy City | 24 | | Green Power; and | 25 | | WHEREAS, The timing of the decision to retire these |
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| 1 | | facilities, and the schedule for the retirement of these | 2 | | facilities, was the result of a process initiated by Mayor | 3 | | Emanuel; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Midwest Generation and the City of Chicago have | 5 | | entered into an agreement finding that the timetable for the | 6 | | retirement of these facilities achieves the objectives of the | 7 | | proposed Chicago Clean Power Ordinance; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, The closure of these facilities will help the City | 9 | | of Chicago and the State of Illinois achieve their clean air | 10 | | goals; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, The process undertaken by Midwest Generation and | 12 | | the City of Chicago included community, public health, and | 13 | | environmental groups, which agreed not pursue certain pending | 14 | | litigation against Midwest Generation; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Once operations at these facilities cease, | 16 | | Midwest Generation will maintain the facilities in a safe and | 17 | | prudent manner as redevelopment opportunities and funding are | 18 | | explored; therefore, be it
| 19 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL | 20 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES | 21 | | CONCURRING HEREIN, that we recognize Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the |
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| 1 | | community residents and organizations of Pilsen and Little | 2 | | Village in Chicago, the Chicago Clean Power Coalition, and | 3 | | Midwest Generation for their work and leadership in reaching | 4 | | the agreed resolution to retire coal-fired power plants at the | 5 | | Fisk and Crawford stations in accordance with the goals and | 6 | | objectives of the proposed Chicago Clean Power Ordinance; and | 7 | | be it further
| 8 | | RESOLVED, That we support the ongoing efforts to determine | 9 | | clean, new uses for these facilities and to transition these | 10 | | facilities to uses that improve the quality of life in these | 11 | | communities; and be it further
| 12 | | RESOLVED, That we acknowledge that thousands of hard | 13 | | working and dedicated men and women have worked at these | 14 | | facilities since the early 1900's producing the electricity | 15 | | that was essential to build the City of Chicago; and be it | 16 | | further | 17 | | RESOLVED, That we urge the Governor and the agencies of the | 18 | | State of Illinois to support efforts to retire these facilities | 19 | | and to transition these facilities into uses that improve the | 20 | | quality of life in the communities in which they are located; | 21 | | and be it further | 22 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be |
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| 1 | | presented to the Governor, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Midwest | 2 | | Generation, the Little Village Environmental Justice | 3 | | Organization, the Pilsen Alliance, the Pilsen Environmental | 4 | | Rights and Reform Organization, and the members of the Chicago | 5 | | Clean Power Coalition.
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