Rockford Sun

Veteran state Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Chambana) shakes his head in disgust at the way he thinks Springfield has essentially become an enemy of business across the state.

“Yesterday, Exelon announced the closure of two nuclear plants in Illinois,” Caulkins posted on Facebook. “This comes after Gov. JB Pritzker pushed a massive Green Energy bill that was laden with bailouts and unrealistic green energy mandates.”

Caulkins laments it all adds up to more obstacles being unnecessarily placed in the way of  business at a time when the state economy can least afford it.

“The priorities of JB Pritzker and the majority party in this state are completely unacceptable,” he said. “They serve powerful special interests with no regard for the people who elected them. Rather than negotiating an energy deal, they adjourned and went on vacation. Rather than visit the state’s power generating plants, they memorize Greta Thunberg’s talking points.”

Caulkins said the policy will leave hundreds more people across the state out of work at a time when the economy is already struggling to rebound.  

“The Democrat leadership turned their back on workers and families,” he added. “Worst still, the Democrats don’t seem to understand that nuclear power is a zero-emission clean energy source. If they’re really trying to prevent a climate crisis, as they claim, they should be building new nuclear plants all over Illinois. Instead, they’re letting them close.”

Exelon first announced the planned closures back in July.