Illinois Mayors Call on BEST Coalition to Cease Attacks on Middle Class Families

CLINTON, Ill., April 23, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Mayors from across Illinois joined together today to issue the following statement in response to the questionable dealings of a special interest group calling itself the BEST Coalition, urging the group to cease its baseless and disingenuous attacks on Illinois communities and middle class families.

"The BEST Coalition has been in Springfield for months peddling misinformation and scare tactics in an attempt to stop a legislative proposal that would help save nearly 8,000 jobs and prevent the decimation of communities across Illinois. Why does the BEST Coalition want to do tremendous harm to our communities? Why does it support the loss of so many middle class Illinois jobs?"

"The BEST Coalition supposedly stands for 'better energy solutions for tomorrow,' and yet in over four months the group has not offered a single solution to help move Illinois forward. Their sole goal is supporting the premature closure of nuclear energy plants in Illinois. These plants support thousands of jobs, inject billions of dollars into local communities and pay millions of dollars in state and local taxes. We question the BEST Coalition's motivations and want to know what they stand to gain by the loss of Illinois jobs, taxes and economic activity."

"This organization is funded by companies that stand to profit financially from the closure of Illinois' nuclear energy plants.  The state of Illinois faces serious challenges that require serious solutions and cannot afford to let the greed of special interest groups undermine real policy solutions for Illinois."

The above statement can be attributed to the following mayors: Pat Brennan, Mayor of Minooka; Dan Elsasser, Mayor of Mount Morris; Jim Homa, Mayor of Braceville; Michael Jenkins, Mayor of Farmer City; Dick Kopczick, Mayor of Morris; Chris Millard, Mayor of Byron; Dean Moyer, Mayor of Cordova; Marty Orr, Mayor of Wilmington; Carolyn Peters, Mayor of Clinton; Bill Rulien, Mayor of Braidwood; Larry Russell, Mayor of Fulton; and David Spicer, Mayor of Seneca.

SOURCE Mayor Carolyn Peters of Clinton, Illinois