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Quick Hit
by Progress Illinois
9:17am
Thu Sep 27, 2012
2 comments

Op-Ed: Gov. Quinn's Office Sets The Record Straight On Policies, Relationship With Unions

The following op-ed is by Brooke Anderson, Press Secretary to Governor Pat Quinn.

Nobody is more committed to improving life for working families than Governor Quinn. Some of your readers will recall that back in 1993, Governor Quinn was among the few elected officials to stand with organized labor in opposing NAFTA. For three decades, he advocated for a humane minimum wage and workers’ rights. He has joined union brothers and sisters on more picket lines than any Illinois Governor in memory, dating back to his meeting César Chávez in the 1970s. Governor Quinn organized the Citizens Utility Board – along with groups like the Labor Coalition for Public Utilities – which has saved Illinois consumers $10 billion in utility rate reductions and refunds since 1985.

Since he became governor, jobs have been Governor Quinn’s number one priority. And his efforts have produced solid results for the working people of Illinois.

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Quick Hit
by Brandon Campbell
9:08am
Wed Aug 29, 2012
3 comments

Environmentalists Warn Private Investors Could Hike Illinois Water Fees

Local residents could begin to feel a financial pinch at the kitchen sink as more private investment firms take aim at public water utilities.

That’s according to a new report from a citizen’s advocacy group that shows some major financial players, like JPMorgan Chase, Australian bank Macquarie and the Carlyle Group, are taking advantage of the public sector’s slow recovery from the recent recession by buying up public utilities.

Emily Carroll, Midwest regional director at Food & Water Watch, said Chicago’s water infrastructure system isn’t “at risk of being sold, per se.” But Carroll warned that Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s controversial Infrastructure Trust will smooth the path towards public-private ownership of some Chicago utilities. Read more »

Quick Hit
by Matthew Blake
5:50pm
Tue Aug 14, 2012

Murky Future For Illinois Coal Projects

Gov. Pat Quinn used his veto pen Friday to scotch a coal gasification plant on the Southeast Side of Chicago. Environmental advocates hailed the move, but also warned that New York City-based Leucadia National Corporation would return to Springfield with a revised proposal.

And that may be the case. But energy companies have not yet figured out how to make 'clean coal' or 'coal to gas' projects both economically and environmentally appealing to Quinn and state lawmakers. Read more »

Quick Hit
by
4:11pm
Fri Apr 1, 2011
1 comment

"Zero Hour" For 2,000 West Side Families To Lose Power, Heat

If it’s an April Fools joke, it’s a joke on struggling and poor families in the state because 34,000 of them are on a disconnection list and could see their gas and electricity shut off. The South Austin Coalition is fighting specifically for the 2,000 families on the West Side of Chicago that would have their utilities shut off Friday. The group has made a number of demands to both Peoples Energy (the parent company of Peoples Gas) and ComEd, including a four-month hold on shutoffs for low-income customers.

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