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Senate Bill 2236 is an initiative of the Illinois Corn Growers
Association, the Illinois Farm Bureau and the Illinois Soybean
Association. The bipartisan effort to invest in crop-based fuels
will help the state's farmers and help put Illinois at the forefront
of a growing technology. "Our proposal expands and invests in
Illinois' leading industry: agriculture," said Sen. Deanna Demuzio,
D-49. "This legislation will further our efforts to become
independent from foreign oil. It will provide construction jobs and
boost Illinois' economy by increasing the use of crops for renewable
fuels. It will also increase consumer awareness that they do have a
choice at the pump."
Brady says such incentives are important to the Illinois economy.
"Agriculture is our state's number one industry, and its
successes and failures have a ripple effect on the entire economy.
We are not just talking about the 76,000 men and women who operate
farms," Brady said. "We are talking about companies that produce
value-added products, like ADM in Decatur. We are talking about
businesses that build farm machinery, like Caterpillar in Peoria and
John Deere in Moline. The strength of the farm even influences
business at the Chicago Board of Trade and the Chicago Mercantile
Exchange."
"Throughout our state and our nation, consumers are concerned
with high gasoline prices," said Sen. John Sullivan, D-47, chair of
the Agriculture Committee. "Iowa and Illinois currently lead
renewable fuels production in the nation. The legislation provides
$3 million for research and support efforts conducted by the
Illinois Corn Grain to Fuel Research Consortium. Western Illinois
University would benefit from these funds, as well as other
consortium members."
As gasoline prices have fluctuated wildly over the past several
years, the use of renewable fuels continues to grow. At the end of
2005, 30 models and 4.5 million vehicles on American roads were
"flexible fuel vehicles." Automobile manufacturers have embraced
this technology and added it to the most popular vehicles in their
fleet. DaimlerChrysler, Ford, General Motors, Isuzu, Mazda,
Mercedes-Benz, Mercury and Nissan all have vehicles compatible with
E85.
"This legislation is good for consumers, good for farmers, good
for national security and good for the environment," said Sen. John
O. Jones, R-54. "Ethanol is cheaper than regular gasoline and will
save consumers money. Certainly, increasing ethanol use will create
a greater demand for ethanol, which will boost Illinois' agriculture
industry. The use of ethanol also reduces our dependence on
foreign oil, which is important to our national security. And
finally, ethanol is a renewable source of fuel, and it does
not pollute our water or our air."
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 "This legislation will build 10 more plants for the first two
years and make up to a $42 million annual investment in the industry
and would leverage many millions more in private investment," said
Senate Democratic Leader Debbie Halvorson, D-40. "The $25 million
provided for the construction of the new plants will generate $150
million in private investment."
"As we have seen, fuel has remained quite expensive -- and it
doesn't appear that the cost will decrease dramatically any time
soon," said Sen. Gary Dahl, R-38, Republican spokesman on the Senate
Agriculture Committee. "By establishing standards for renewable
fuels in Illinois and providing state sales tax incentives for
petroleum companies who mix ethanol and soy diesel into their fuel,
we are trying to maintain Illinois' position as a leading ethanol
producer and reduce America's dependence on foreign oil."
In 2004, the U.S. industry created 147,000 jobs in the United
States and brought an additional $1.3 billion in tax revenue to the
federal government and $1.2 billion to state and local governments.
Illinois' six ethanol plants have the capacity to produce nearly 900
million gallons of ethanol, or about one-fifth of all ethanol
produced in the U.S., according to the Renewable Fuels Association.
"The Illinois Corn Growers Association is proud of its long
history in supporting ethanol and is lending its full support to the
proposed Illinois Renewable Fuels Standard," said John Kuhfuss of
Mackinaw, president of the association. "With an Illinois RFS in
place, the ethanol industry would contribute more than $764 million
from tax revenue and spending for new construction, 22,000 permanent
jobs, and $390 million to state and local government treasuries,"
"Illinois Farm Bureau is proud to be here today supporting this
legislation strengthening home grown renewable fuels," said Mark
Reichert, vice president of the Sangamon County Farm Bureau. "We
appreciate the leadership of these legislators today in making sure
that Illinois farmers have somewhere to market their grain locally.
What better way to ensure that agriculture remains the number one
industry in Illinois [than] by giving it a shot in the arm by having
legislation that will allow more Illinois corn and soybeans to be
made into ethanol and biodiesel and reducing our reliance on
imported oil."
"Building new biodiesel plants, creating more efficient ways to
distribute biodiesel and ensuring a consistent, high-quality product
are our immediate goals within the biodiesel industry," said Steve
Scates, Illinois Soybean Association chairman, of Shawneetown.
"Locating these plants here and creating new jobs and revenue as a
result are our immediate goals for Illinois. This legislation will
help us achieve all of these goals, and we are grateful to the
Senate leadership for their interest and work to ultimately pass
this legislation."
[News release from
Illinois
Senate Republicans] |
