Jack Darin has been circulating the following letter to environmental activists. I agree with everything he says in terms of environmental policy, though I have reasons other than the environment for which I’m critical of the Governor
Dear Illinois Environmentalist:
As you know, we will have three choices for Governor
when we go into the voting booth on Tuesday. We all
know, however, that when all is said and done Tuesday
night, either Rod Blagojevich or Judy Barr Topinka
will have been elected Governor of Illinois for the
next four years.
I agree with much of the platform of the Illinois
Green Party, and as a fellow environmentalist, I’m
sure you do too. I also believe that our best hope
for enacting these policies and programs is to vote
for Rod Blagojevich on Tuesday.
As environmentalists, we have to ask ourselves, who
would we rather have leading our state, as we face
continuing assaults on our environmental laws in
Washington, and as we face major decisions of our own
about energy policy, clean air, clean water, and
natural areas protection?
Rod Blagojevich is the first Illinois Governor ever to
stand up to the owners of Illinois’ coal plants, some
of the heaviest hitters in Illinois politics, and
force them to clean up their act. Cleaning up old,
dirty coal plants has been at the top of the agenda
for the Illinois environmental community for decades,
but Blagojevich was the first Governor to act on these
concerns. On November 2nd, the Illinois Pollution
Control Board approved his proposal to cut 90% of coal
plant mercury by 2009 – much deeper and faster cuts
than proposed by President Bush. Blagojevich stood
up to another powerful lobby, hospital owners, and
ordered them to shut down the 11 hospital waste
incinerators in the state spewing dioxin, mercury, and
other toxins into our air. Eight of them are now
closed, and the remaining three are expected to close
soon.
Blagojevich is the first Illinois Governor to
aggressively promote wind power. His energy plan
calls for 10% of our electricity to come from wind by
2015. He has committed to powering the state’s
buildings in Springfield entirely by wind energy.
His energy plan also includes $100 million to promote
“cellulosic” ethanol development, and new programs to
conserve energy.
Our rivers and streams are cleaner today than four
years ago, thanks to Blagojevich’s requirement that
all new wastewater plants include phosphorus controls.
Clean water advocates have sought action on nutrient
pollution for many years from Illinois EPA, but
Blagojevich was the first Governor to act on the clear
evidence that nutrient overload is choking many of our
state’s waters. Blagojevich continues efforts to
reform the Facility Planning Area process to protect
high quality streams from poorly planned development.
He is moving to address Illinois’ longstanding lack
of any program to regulate water withdrawals, to make
sure we have enough clean water for drinking and for
wildlife.
If it were not for Rod Blagojevich’s vetoes of bills
to let dirtbikes and four-wheelers into our state
parks, they undoubtedly would be roaring through some
of our parks today. When the Bush Administration
proposed logging and selling off parts of our Shawnee
National Forest, Blagojevich objected, and those
threats never materialized. Blagojevich supported
efforts to pass the Illinois Wetland Protection Act,
and is committed to working to fill the wetland
protection gap left by recent U.S. Supreme Court
decisions.
Finally, Blagojevich is the first Illinois Governor,
and first Midwest Governor, to commit to serious
action to confront global warming. He has signed a
binding commitment to reduce state government’s
emissions of greenhouse gases by 6% by 2010, and
launched an effort to develop a greenhouse gas
regulatory program for the state. The cap and trade
program recently adopted by California is being
studied closely as a possible model for Illinois.
To be sure, environmentalists have had their
differences with the Blagojevich administration. We
have opposed new pulverized coal plants that the
administration has supported, and we will continue to
do so. Blagojevich is not the first Illinois
Governor to champion the Illinois coal industry, and
he will not be the last. We are encouraged that the
Governor’s energy plan does not include any plans for
further pulverized coal plants, but instead focuses
coal development resources on promoting gasified coal
plants, which are far cleaner than pulverized plants,
and at least have the potential to capture their
carbon emissions. The Green Party platform
promotes the same policies.
There is no question that the state’s budget problems
have had an impact on the Illinois Department of
Natural Resources ability to carry out its mission.
It is important to note, however, that these problems
began with significant losses during the Ryan
administration due to early retirement, and while they
did worsen during the beginning of the Blagojevich
administration, they have also begun to improve,
thanks to increasing appropriations and staffing
levels in recent budgets. We are confident that this
trend will continue, and that the IDNR will continue
to build strength as the state’s fiscal health
improves.
Blagojevich is the only Illinois Governor ever
endorsed by the Sierra Club. I certainly agree with
the majority of the Green Party platform, but it is
also clear that of the three candidates in this race,
none has come close the record of environmental
achievement of Governor Blagojevich.
Historically in Illinois, state government’s goal in
protecting the environment has too often been to do
the minimum to comply with the law. While
bureaucratic cultures do not change overnight, more
and more Illinois is asking “What’s the best we can
do?” instead of “What’s the least we can do?” This
is the beginning of a remarkable change for Illinois,
particularly set against the backdrop of what is
happening to the environmental protection framework of
our federal government.
As Illinois environmentalists, and as citizens of the
planet, we need that trend to continue. We need to
reward innovation and initiative when it comes to the
major energy and environmental policy questions of our
time. We cannot afford to revert to an era where we
did the minimum Washington asked of us, especially
now.
Rod Blagojevich’s environmental accomplishments have
earned him the support of this green voter. I urge
you to consider the record, be proud of the fact that
your state is becoming a national leader on the
environment, and reward this initiative with your vote
on Tuesday.
Jack Darin
ArchPundit