Governor Bruce Rauner stopped at the Exelon nuclear plant near Clinton yesterday to mark the one-year anniversary of legislation that kept a pair of Illinois nuclear facilities open.
Rauner says the legislation not only saved a combined 1500 jobs at the Clinton plant and one near the Quad Cities, but gave an additional boost to the local economies in those two areas.
“We preserved the economy in these communities because each job here supports four other jobs in the community … so thousands of additional jobs protected with more economic growth.” Rauner said.
Rauner also says the bill has helped keep Illinois’ energy prices lower than some neighboring states, which has helped to recruit more companies to Illinois. Critics called the legislation a bailout for Exelon. The company that operates the plants reported net income of more than 2 billion dollars in 2015.