editorial: Smart Grid Bill Will Provide Jobs and Savings for Minority Communities

citizen |

As Illinois continues to recover from the economic downturn, our top priority has to be job creation. That's why we need the General Assembly to override the veto on Senate Bill 9, legislation which will accelerate the completion of the Illinois Smart Grid program and create thousands of jobs that will help struggling Illinoisans get back on their feet.

The Smart Grid program, which will modernize Illinois' electricity grid through cutting-edge digital technology, will continue to create good paying jobs for years to come. This is especially important in the African-American and Hispanic communities we serve, where unemployment remains desperately high.

Already, we are seeing the economic benefits of the Smart Grid program. A new training center in Rockford will provide job skills and education for the next generation of utility workers to build and maintain this 21st century electrical grid. We understand that an additional training center will be created in Chicago--however, not until Senate Bill 9 is passed into law.

The Smart Grid will also provide a much-needed boost to diverse businesses in our state. In fact, nearly half of the vendors and suppliers chosen to complete the Smart Grid program are minority-owned businesses, which represent more than $54 million in contracts. These contracts are crucial to putting people back to work and repowering our local economy. In fact, in 2012, the first year of Smart Grid investment, 2,400 jobs were created.

We must also consider the benefits to Illinois consumers that Smart Grid investments will bring over time. For one, smart meters will give consumers greater control over their day-to-day power usage, helping residents save on their electric bills. That takes some of the pressure off of struggling households and seniors living on a fixed income. Additionally, the Smart Grid will make service more reliable by reducing the frequency and duration of power outages.

As our businesses and their employees complete the work needed to revitalize our state's energy infrastructure through the Smart Grid program, these efforts will attract new businesses to Illinois. This is essential to moving our state and our communities forward, toward a thriving, prosperous future.

Together, the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Illinois Black Chamber of Commerce, the Hispanic American Construction Industry Association (H.A.C.I.A) and Chatham Business Association are calling on the Illinois General Assembly to override the veto of Senate Bill 9 to get the Smart Grid program back on track. We simply cannot afford to pass up this opportunity to create jobs and strengthen our economy at a time when Illinois communities need it most.

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Op-Ed Submission By:Omar Duque, CEO, Illinois Hispanic Chamber of CommerceLarry Ivory, president, Illinois Black Chamber of CommerceJorge Perez, executive director, Hispanic American Construction Industry Association (H.A.C.I.A)Melinda Kelly, executive director, Chatham Business AssociationThis article is not necessarily the opinion of the Chicago Citizen Newspaper.

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