One of the more heartbreaking examples of what can happen when government makes bad decisions was the economic damage visited upon north suburban Zion when a nuclear power plant was decommissioned two decades ago — without a federal plan for removing the spent nuclear fuel. Zion was left holding the bag.
Since 2017, Rep. Brad Schneider and Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, have pushed a bipartisan bill to create economic impact grants — up to $15 for every kilogram of spent nuclear fuel — for Zion and other towns in the same straits.
As a member of Congress, Schneider has been sensitive to the particular needs of his district, even as he’s been a predictable Democratic vote on national issues. We endorse Schneider with the hope that he’ll continue to zero in on his district’s local needs. Getting that STRANDED Act regarding nuclear waste passed would be an excellent start.
Schneider, who lives in Deerfield, is opposed by Republican Valerie Ramirez Mukherjee, a businesswoman who moved to the northern suburbs from California a few years ago.
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