We are meeting at Simmons Park, 1191 E Indian Trail, Aurora, IL 60505, 3pm to 6pm, as My jaw dropped two weeks ago while talking to State Senator Holmes about Prairie State. I couldn’t believe that she thinks this coal plant can continue operations until 2042. We think that our proposed date of 2025 is very lenient and probably too far out given the recent IPCC reports devastating predictions.
Thanks to everyone who came out to sign and deliver a letter to State Senator, Linda Holmes (District 42) last week. She was not in her office, but about 20 people attended the event and her staff said that she would get back to us. You can watch the Facebook live event here.
We are planning more actions and events to shut down the Prairie State Coal Plant, oppose the $700 Million nuclear bailout, and transition to renewable and carbon-free power. Our next GND working group meeting will be on Sunday, August 22nd at 4:00 PM. It is a zoom call. To get the zoom information please text/call 630.878.7454.
For those who are new to the Prairie State issue, some Illinois homes and businesses are powered by dirty coal plants. One in particular, Prairie State, is a coal plant in Southern Illinois that is effectively owned by multiple municipalities across the Midwest, including the Fox River Valley area. Cities like Naperville, Batavia, Geneva and St. Charles all draw their power from Prairie State and they have long-term contracts that are hard to break.
We need the Illinois General Assembly to force Prairie State to close down as part of a comprehensive climate bill to effectively move our state towards clean energy. We are focusing our attention on city councils and state lawmakers who can make this happen.