Jennifer Korte: Katie Stuart’s radical policies hurting families

Jennifer Korte candidate for State Representative in the 112th District, says area families wondering how they will be able to afford to heat their homes this winter have Rep. Katie Stuart to thank for their skyrocketing power bills.

In her support of CEJA, Katie Stuart wrote: “We were proud to support the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act. It preserves and creates good-paying jobs while protecting our climate, our health, our community, and our pocketbooks.”

According to the Citizens Utility Board last April, “the price rose from $5/MegaWatt (MW)-day to $236.66/MW-day in several Midwestern states, including Illinois (part of MISO’s Zone 4). The increase was ‘driven by an uptick in projected electricity use and a dip in power supply.’”

The dip in power supply is a direct result of the Katie Stuart-backed CEJA legislation.

“Illinois families and seniors living on a fixed income are struggling with rising energy costs,” Korte said. “Take a look at your recent Ameren bill. I'm sure it has doubled, like mine and many others. These skyrocketing costs go far beyond just inflation. They are a direct result of bad policy decisions made at both the state and federal level.

Korte said it is not just families suffering from Stuart’s radical policies as the legislation is leading directly to lost jobs and wages.

“Granite City Steel is closing and with it 1,000 good paying United Steelworkers jobs,” Korte said. “The IEPA insists that the refinery in Wood River, which employs nearly 1,000 people with a payroll of $150 million and pays over $25 million in local property taxes, be neutral in its carbon footprint. Their future is in jeopardy because of Katie Stuart’s radical policies.

“Let's face it. Illinois is a tough place to do business in. We have the highest property taxes in the nation, an agenda from the Illinois EPA that is dictated from the Chicago political machine and higher workers comp rates than all of our neighboring states. We need to repeal CEJA and enact common sense legislation that balances the need to protect the environment while preserving good paying union jobs and the companies that employ them.”

Jennifer Korte is running as a Republican in the 112th District. The General Election is November 8, 2022. To learn more about Jennifer’s campaign, visit https://jenniferkorte.com/.