Politics & Government
Elmhurst council urges Quinn to veto ComEd bill
Aldermen say Smart Grid proposal is "Trojan Horse" for rate increases
The majority of Elmhurst's city council is sending a letter to Governor Pat Quinn urging that he does not flip-flop his intent to veto ComEd's "Smart Grid" bill.
The bill allows for ComEd to continually raise rates over the next 10 years while implementing "Smart Grid" technology in northern Illinois.
But aldermen indicated Monday that the bill does not go far enough in policing ComEd, which would benefit from not having to report its nine worst outage days annually before asking for rate increases.
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"This is nothing but a Trojan Horse for ComEd to manipulate rate increases without having to go through the Illinois Commerce Commission for 10 years," the letter states. "ComEd must do a better job before it is entitled to any increases for transmission and delivery or be solely responsible for the introduction of smart grid technology in Elmhurst."
Fifth Ward Alderman Chris Healy, who experienced recent power outages himself, said he spent the last five to six days drafting the letter before finalizing it Monday afternoon.
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He received co-signatures from four other aldermen that day, and a total of nine aldermen signed the bill by the end of Monday's brief city council meeting. Three others said they would make a decision on signing it after reviewing the ComEd bill.
Healy said he aims to send the letter to Quinn, as well as the four legislators representing Elmhurst in Springfield, early next week. Healy said he is concerned that Quinn will soften his veto-stance as the "ComEd PAC" presumably lobbies the general assembly to build a veto-proof majority.
Second Ward Alderman Norm Leader, who said 150 homes in his ward have lost power so many times over the last two years that "they have stopped counting," offered his signature Monday in an attempt to send a message from Elmhurst soon.
"This type of failure of service, regardless of extenuating circumstances, is no longer acceptable," he said. "I don't believe in rewarding failure; I don't believe in reinforcing defeat."
