Governor Quinn Wisely Averts a Dirty Coal Debacle in Chicago

CHICAGO (August 10, 2012) – Illinois Governor Pat Quinn chose to veto a bill today that would have forced natural gas utilities, and ratepayers across the state, to purchase expensive synthetic natural gas derived from coal.

Following is a statement from Henry Henderson, director of the Midwest program of the Natural Resources Defense Council and former Commissioner of the Environment for the City of Chicago:

“The Governor did the right thing today in standing up to special interests and looking out for communities already choking through some of the worst pollution loads in the country.

“The Leucadia bill was not good for anyone in Illinois…aside from Leucadia, which would take in guaranteed profits by foisting overpriced, fake natural gas on almost every utility customer in the state while the real stuff is selling at historic low prices.

“This project is the sort of dirty, expensive boondoggle that impacts Illinois’ reputation nationally. Governor Quinn was wise to stop it in its tracks.”

More information on the environmental and economic costs of the Leucadia project can be found on NRDC’s Switchboard blog at http://switchboard.nrdc.org/cgi-bin/mt/mt-search.cgi?tag=leucadia&limit=20