The 1,020-page Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability (CRGA) Act was a must-pass piece of legislation and will go a long way to meet concerns over electric system reliability and power availability. However, a small but deadly one-page piece of political and environmental poison was slipped into the bill. Nuclear power proponents achieved the repeal of Illinois’ 1987 nuclear construction moratorium.
The original intent of the moratorium was to prevent Illinois from becoming a de facto dumping ground for high-level radioactive waste and require nuclear advocates to clean up the radioactive mess and legacy they’ve created before they’d be allowed to make more of it.
These simple yet critical policies are now being ignored by Gov. JB Pritzker and nuclear cheerleaders in a rush for more energy, the need for which is based on incomplete, ill-informed and highly suspect appraisal of the alleged power needs of data centers. Allowing construction of more hugely expensive and agonizingly slow-to-construct nuclear plants, before a better and much more thorough understanding of real energy needs, could easily leave Illinois ratepayers on the hook for future rate hikes and bailouts for nuclear plants that aren’t needed.
Illinois’ 14 reactors have already generated 11,000-plus tons of high-level radioactive waste, with no place for permanent disposal — as law requires — and no prospects for a federal permanent disposal facility seen before 2050. Moratorium repeal resulting in more reactors will produce only more toxic radioactive waste. This is simply irresponsible governance.
The observation about moratorium repeal is that it does nothing in either the near or long term to actually address the legitimate and critical issues of system reliability and power availability, as was again corroborated in Senate hearing testimony before the votes. Renewables, storage and improved transmission can all be implemented faster and cheaper before the first shovel goes into the ground for a new nuclear plant. Moratorium repeal was simply another political machination that slipped one page of vested-interest into a 1,020-page energy bill that required passage. What can’t be gained by fair (or rational thinking) was gained by subterfuge.
Wise governance and environmental stewardship require the governor to remove the nuclear moratorium repeal before signing CRGA.
— David Kraft, director, Nuclear Energy Information Services, Chicago
The ‘L’ keeps us moving
In the editorial “Scrap this catastrophic transit tax grab, House Democrats, and be more realistic in the spring” from Oct. 30, the Tribune Editorial Board writes that “major events from our famed sports teams and at our superb concert venues are core to Chicago’s identity.”
You know what else is core to Chicago’s identity? The “L.”
The “L” — that train that Chicagoans have taken for over 100 years to access those events from our famed sports teams and at our superb concert venues. That’s what.
Now is not the time to send it into a death spiral because certain of our short-sighted business interests refuse to understand that transit is every bit as much vital infrastructure as the roads are and should be funded as an absolutely necessary basic service just as the highway system and streets are.
Fund transit now.
— Maiko Lehman, Chicago
No need for 3rd airport
I am writing in response to the recent op-ed by Jesse Jackson Jr. promoting the construction of a third Chicago airport in Peotone (“South suburbs are one airport runway away from prosperity”). While Jackson is entitled to his opinion, it’s important to remember that he is a convicted felon whose past misuse of public trust raises serious questions about his credibility on major public projects and spending proposals.
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More importantly, the Peotone airport is a tired idea whose time has long passed. O’Hare International Airport has undergone a massive transformation in recent years, adding new runways and modernized terminals, and a brand-new global terminal is under construction. These investments have dramatically increased capacity and efficiency, ensuring that O’Hare can meet the region’s aviation needs well into the future.
The Peotone site, by contrast, remains an impractical and ill-conceived location. It lacks the necessary transportation infrastructure, economic demand and population base to sustain a major commercial airport. Building there would waste billions of taxpayer dollars, destroy productive farmland, and create long-term environmental and financial burdens for local communities.
Rather than chasing outdated dreams, Chicago should focus on maximizing the potential of the airports we already have. Both Rockford and Gary feature existing, underutilized facilities that can handle additional passenger and cargo traffic. Strengthening these airports and improving regional transportation links would be a far more efficient and sustainable approach.
Chicago doesn’t need a third airport — it needs smarter use of the resources already in place. The Peotone proposal has been debated for decades, and every time, the conclusion is the same: It’s unnecessary, uneconomical and out of step with today’s realities.
— Scott Batzel, Burbank
Teacher absenteeism
As a retired educator, I read with interest Kate Armanini’s well-written and -researched article, which reports on the overall academic performance of Chicago Public Schools students (“State graduation rates hit high, but test score changes cloud the picture,” Oct. 31). What concerns me most, though, is the persistent problem of kids being chronically absent from school.
Most important for kids’ learning is attachment to their teacher. The classroom is a wonderful place to spend the day learning and enjoying young friendships. To the point of my concern is that, according to the Illinois State Board of Education, 41% of CPS teachers were chronically absent in the 2023-24 school year. The definition of a teacher being chronically absent by state standards is missing more than 10 days due to sick or personal reasons.
I know firsthand what the kids’ excited reaction is when they walk into the classroom and don’t see a familiar face. “We have a sub today!” Too often, classroom behavior management becomes the priority over learning. Substitute teachers do a great job stepping into an unfamiliar classroom, many times with sketchy lesson plans. Maybe the student absenteeism would improve with their teachers leading by example and doing the same.
— Russ Haak, Park Ridge
Unprepared for college
A recent article about state graduation rates and test score was quite shocking. According to this article, “52.4% of students were proficient in English language arts, 38.4% in math and 44.6% in science.” Yet the graduation rate is 89%. Since most students do not show proficiency in these three major areas of learning, how in the world do 89% of the students graduate?
It is clear that educators are not adequately preparing their students for the workplace and certainly not for college.
— Richard Arehart, Orland Park
Tax on WFH workers
The mayor clearly isn’t listening to wiser voices in his insistence on a head tax to help solve Chicago’s financial crisis. I don’t live in the city but have spent decades working in, commuting to, playing in and loving Chicago. I’ve always been proud to say that’s where I’m from, and so I want it to prosper. Although I don’t agree with any head taxes, perhaps a tax on those who are employed in Chicago but work from home? Those at-home workers translate to less money spent in the city on lunches and shopping and after-hours arts programs. Chicago employers should be incentivized to bring employees back to the city!
Also, if the mayor is sincere about saving money, how about closing and consolidating some schools?
— Barbara McStowe, Wilmette
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