Less than a month after Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration approved a controversial coal-fired power plant, the governor plans to call for more of the state's electricity to come from wind turbines and other renewable sources.
Feb. 2—Less than a month after Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration approved a controversial coal-fired power plant, the governor plans to call for more of the state's electricity to come from wind turbines and other renewable sources.
The initiative, which Blagojevich will outline in his State of the State address Thursday, would require at least 8 percent of the electricity sold in Illinois to come from renewable sources by 2012. The governor's office estimates the 4,000 megawatts generated would be enough to power a million homes.
If adopted by the Illinois Commerce Commission, the requirement would make the state one of the nation's largest generators of energy from renewable sources, behind only California.
Also in his address, Blagojevich will announce plans to help ensure that immigrant children have equal access to state-funded preschool in Illinois — even if they are here illegally — and to retool his year-old Illinois RX Buying Club, a program that has seen fewer people join than anticipated.
Under the electricity proposal, nearly all of the energy would come from wind turbines, towering, high-tech adaptations of the much smaller windmills still used on some farms.
"This is an investment in rural economic development and clean energy," said Howard Learner, executive director of the Environmental Law and Policy Center, an advocacy group that has pushed for a renewable energy standard in Illinois.
Utilities blocked attempts to require more renewable energy sources in the late 1990s when Illinois deregulated the state's electric power industry. But several power companies have since expressed a willingness to invest in wind turbines and technology that uses methane gas from landfills to generate electricity.
The state's first wind farm — 63 turbines near Mendota in LaSalle County — generates about 50 megawatts of power. A proposed farm for McLean County in central Illinois would generate 400 megawatts, making it one of the world's largest wind farms.
Blagojevich aides released details of the renewable energy proposal Tuesday, a day after a coalition of environmental groups blasted the governor for failing to keep many of the promises he made as a candidate regarding air pollution, land conservation and transportation issues.
Among other things, the activists are upset that the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency recently awarded an air pollution permit for a coal-fired power plant in southern Illinois. The plant would generate 1,500 megawatts of electricity but also would release thousands of tons of pollution that generates smog, creates acid rain and triggers asthma.
Environmentalists wanted the state to require cleaner technology at the plant.
They also are upset that the Blagojevich administration scrapped an EPA proposal that would have required existing coal-fired plants, some of which are more than 40 years old, to curb emissions of mercury and other toxic pollutants.
Jack Darin, director of the Illinois chapter of the Sierra Club, called the governor's renewable energy proposal "a step in the right direction."
Blagojevich also plans to direct the Illinois State Board of Education to change state rules to ensure no child is denied access to state-funded preschool programs solely because of immigration status.
The initiative stems from a case in Will County's Summit Hill School District 161, where officials are accused of turning away a 4-year-old girl from its preschool program last fall because she was an undocumented immigrant.
Illinois already has a rule that prohibits schools from denying enrollment to children based on immigration status. But the wording does not clearly apply to children younger than kindergarten age, said Becky Watts, spokeswoman for the state education board.
Chicago Public Schools and several other districts with significant immigrant populations said they do not turn away preschool students who are undocumented and that what happened in Summit Hill appears to be an isolated case.
Although the state has funneled $60 million more into state-funded preschool programs during the last two years, demand is high and waiting lists are long for the services, considered crucial for disadvantaged children to succeed in school.
The Illinois RX Buying Club, created to help seniors and people with disabilities buy medicine more cheaply, will have its annual fee reduced to $10 from $25 beginning Feb. 15, according to Blagojevich's office. In addition, the governor plans to announce that members who re-enroll will receive a free one-year membership if they get a friend to join the club.
The fee is being cut to encourage enrollment. Initially, state officials projected 1.5 million seniors and people with disabilities would enroll, but so far only 14,200 have joined.
Blagojevich also plans to begin a marketing and outreach campaign to expand membership, which will include direct mailings and radio advertising.
By Michael Hawthorne and Diane Rado, Tribune staff reporters. Tribune staff reporter John Chase contributed to this report.
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© 2005, Chicago Tribune. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
