Frustrated with a lack of action to curb carbon emissions on Capitol Hill, Ald. Rick Munoz (22nd Ward) told WBEZ' Chip Mitchell yesterday that he will sign on as a co-sponsor of Chicago's Clean Power ordinance, which would force coal plant operators within the city limits to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by 50 percent and soot-producing particulates by 90 percent within the next four years. This is a huge win for the environmentalists pushing the bill; one of Chicago's two coal-fired power plants operated by Midwest Generation -- the key target of the ordinance -- is located in Munoz' ward. Not coincidentally, the polluter has showered Munoz with campaign contributions over the past decade.

Munoz' move means that another key holdout, Ald. Danny Solis (25th Ward), now has no real cover to vote down the ordinance on parochial grounds. (Solis represents the ward in which the other Midwest Generation plant is located.) Neither do the rest of the stragglers on the City Council, whose wards would experience serious air quality improvements as a result of the proposed regulation.