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Michael Guttman
(630)
293-2200 x152
mguttman@westchicago.org |
City of West
Chicago
475 Main
Street
West Chicago,
Illinois 60185 |
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City of West Chicago Ongoing Thorium Clean Ups
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West Chicago, Illinois: October 30, 2010 - Spearheaded by Mayor Michael Kwasman, Representative Randy Ramey and Senator John Millner, over the course of the last several weeks, local governmental officials from DuPage County, the Forest Preserve District, and the Cities of West Chicago and Warrenville have worked to prevent the shut-down of the thorium cleanup project on the West Branch of the DuPage River. For the past several years, a cleanup of the Kress Creek/ West Branch of the DuPage River Superfund Site has been ongoing from West Chicago, through DuPage County Forest Preserve District lands on downstream through Warrenville. In 2009, Tronox (formerly Kerr McGee) the company doing that clean up, declared bankruptcy and thereby put the completion of the project in jeopardy. With the assistance of elected State representatives, the funding has now been secured so that the shut down of the project will not take place.
Mayor Michael Kwasman of the City of West Chicago, Senator John Millner, Senator Randy Hultgren, Representative Randy Ramey and Representative Michael Fortner all worked together to successfully secure the funding necessary for the completion of the ongoing thorium clean up in the West Branch of the DuPage River. At a meeting hosted by Representative Ramey and Mayor Kwasman, an agreement was secured from the Illinois Emergency Management Agency to seek the approval of Governor Quinn to lend certain funds held by that Agency to fund the River clean up. After hearing the concerns of the area from their elected representatives, Governor Quinn gave his approval for the use of the funds allowing the River clean up to proceed without delay. The interest and support of each of these elected officials in protecting the public health and environment of their communities was essential to obtaining this agreement. Their commitment and responsiveness has allowed the West Branch River project to continue without the indefinite delays that the lacking of funding would have caused.
Once the Governor approved the use of the funds for the West Branch River project, Mayor Kwasman expressed his appreciation of all of the support he received from Senator Millner, Senator Hultgren, Representative Ramey, and Representative Fortner. "The thorium clean ups in our area have succeeded because all levels of government – local, state and federal have worked cooperatively toward a common goal. This latest effort, has again demonstrated that that cooperative approach is essential to reaching our goals. Here, when the funding issue arose, we all worked together to let the U.S. EPA, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and the Governor know of our concerns. In the end, working together, we got to a solution that will work for all of us. With the agreement on funding, we now anticipate that the West Branch of the DuPage River will be completed in the 2012 construction season. The immediate and overwhelming support from all of our representatives in Springfield was critical to our success and a great example of how working together cooperatively for a collective goal benefits everyone. We thank them all on behalf of the citizens of West Chicago and the surrounding area." |
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| CITY OF WEST
CHICAGO 475 Main Street, West Chicago, Illinois
60185 T - (630)
293-2200 www.westchicago.org |
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