December 7, the Clean Power Lake County coalition delivered 2,082 petitions to Waukegan Mayor Wayne Motley and members of the City Council. The petition from Waukegan residents calls for a transition committee. Such a committee would bring together key stakeholders to plan for the future of NRG Energy's coal-fired power plant. At the Monday City Council meeting, in the Illinois "City of Progress", representatives from each of the city's nine wards expressed their feelings of urgency in asking elected officials to act.
Clean Power Lake County coalition members in the lobby of the Daniel T. Drew Municipal Complex in Waukegan, Illinois.
During the meeting, volunteer leaders heard praise from five of the nine city council members, if not from the mayor. The city's own consultants agree with CPLC that "the coal plant isn't compatible with [Waukegan's] future."
Two years ago, then-organizer with the Sierra Club Christine Nannicelli led this group to its first petition delivery. Volunteer activists Yuridia Carbajal of Most Blessed Trinity Parish, Sister Kathleen Long of Fr. Gary Graf Center, Greg Thompson of Christ Episcopal Church, Dulce Ortiz, Julio Guzman, Karen Long MacLeod, Peggy Jones, and Jae Pak worked together in delivering the 2,082 volunteer-collected petitions; in boxes designed by the Sierra Club's Peter Walbridge and Emily Rosenwasser.
You can see highlights from Clean Power Lake County on Twitter (@CleanPowerLC) and Facebook page or searching #CleanWaukegan, #Waukegan, @MotleyforMayor on Twitter.