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Governor must take action on electric rate crisis
Republican lawmakers are calling on Gov. Blagojevich and Democratic
legislative leaders to take immediate action to solve Illinois'
electric rate crisis.
At a state Capitol press conference Feb. 21, I joined several of
my colleagues in asking the governor to convene a summit to
determine how best to provide relief for utility customers whose
electric bills skyrocketed in the month of January.
This issue should have been addressed in November during the fall
veto session. Instead, we were subjected to a remarkable display of
finger-pointing. We had Speaker Madigan saying, "I'm not doing this
unless you do that"; President Jones saying, "I'm not doing this
unless you do that"; the governor saying, "I am going to do
something unless you do this." The end result was that nothing was
done.
This lack of leadership has left Illinois residents and
businesses vulnerable to skyrocketing rate increases. We need to do
everything we can to ensure that Illinois has a reliable source of
energy, but it also must be brought to the consumer in an affordable
way.
Helping consumers cut energy costs
Higher electric rates in January and the extremely cold weather
of the past few weeks are making more central Illinois consumers
think about the need to cut energy use or use an alternative energy
source.
I am introducing measures to help property owners who invest in
their own energy-generation equipment and to allow consumers to
phase in the high costs of energy-efficient appliances.
Senate Bill 43 requires an electric utility to establish a "net
metering" pilot program for its retail customers that own and
operate a solar-powered or wind-powered electrical generating
facility. The legislation was suggested by Dan Mathis of Tremont,
who says he has been interested in different types of energy sources
since he was a teenager.
Senate Bill 112 requires the Illinois Commerce Commission to
develop and implement a "Pay As You Save" pilot program to help
residential electric utility customers purchase approved energy
products that reduce electricity consumption with no upfront
payments.
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 Scholarship applications due March 16
Students who will be attending state universities in Illinois may
submit applications for the
General Assembly Scholarship program to my office through March
16.
Students whose permanent addresses lie within the 44th District
are eligible. Eight one-year tuition waivers -- for fall 2007,
spring 2008 and summer 2008 -- are available to students who will be
attending state universities, with one specifically designated for a
nursing student and one for the child of a veteran.
A panel of community and education leaders will evaluate
applications and select scholarship recipients. I will not be
involved in the decision-making process.
Students are encouraged to write to my office to request an
application at 2203 Eastland Drive, Suite 3, Bloomington, IL 61704
(309-664-4440). All requests should include the student's home and
school address (if applicable) and phone numbers.
General Assembly scholarships are presented by all Illinois
lawmakers to college students across the state. Selection is based
upon merit of the applicants.
Four local Main Street programs featured in Capitol
I was pleased to see Main Street programs from four 44th District
communities featured as part of Illinois Main Street Day in the
state Capitol Feb. 22.
Local officials and Main Street representatives from Taylorville,
Lincoln, Bloomington and Decatur all had displays showcasing the
many things that make their communities good places to work and do
business. (See
related article.)
The
Illinois Main Street program is based on a national model that
offers communities help with issues such as downtown improvements,
historic preservation and economic development.
[Text from file received from
Sen. Bill Brady]
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