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The Decatur Herald & Review has published yet another article that includes a slam of the local political leadership over its response to last week’s devastating ice storm.
Lula Fitzpatrick is glad power finally has been restored to her Decatur home after the lights went out Nov. 30.
But she’s still fuming over what she sees as a sluggish response by local leaders to last week’s ice storm, which, at the peak of outages, left more than 50,000 Decatur-area homes and businesses without power.
“This is a day late and a penny short,” Fitzpatrick said. “This happened Thursday night. On Friday, I begged them; I truly begged them to get some help now.
“We have some weak officials leading this town. Very, very weak.”
The mayor’s response was not included.
Meanwhile, Lt. Governor Pat Quinn was in Decatur yesterday.
While praising utility crews for the work they are doing to restore power to the region, Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn called for an investigation Thursday into Ameren Corp.’s preparation before last week’s devastating winter storm.
“They work hard in very arduous and dangerous conditions; sometimes it’s 18 hours a day, day after day, and that means a lot,” Quinn said. “Having said that, it’s important we get to the root of the problem. Not only here but in Missouri, there have been systematic breakdowns in reliability of electric service. It’s dangerous; it’s dangerous to public health, dangerous to our security and it’s certainly very dangerous to our economy if we don’t have reliable electricity.”
It’s important for Ameren to invest in “preventative maintenance,” Quinn said, such as trimming trees to avoid tangles and downing of power lines.
* You can find the latest updates on where power is still not back on in Decatur at this link.
* The Herald & Review also has a multimedia presentation of the storm here.
posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Dec 8, 06 @ 8:36 am
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Pat Quinn? Isn’t he Lt. Governor or something? Didn’t he have something to do with CUB?
If a guy who has spent years leading discussions and research on utilities, government reform and citizen involvement wakes up one day as Lt. Governor for a soon-to-be indicted governor with hundreds of thousands of Illinoians without power, while the General Assembly are unwilling to prevent a 55% price hike on rates - well - he’s pretty much wasted his entire life, didn’t he?
Comment by VanillaMan Friday, Dec 8, 06 @ 10:05 am
I still think this has been a terrible goof by Ameren. They could have really helped their image in the face of an extended freeze. Yet they dropped the ball huge on this and made themselves look more like crooks out for only their own good. I would think with so much of their reputation on the line they woudl have wanted to get things done quickly. Maybe their problems are more than skin deep?
Comment by Robbie Friday, Dec 8, 06 @ 10:16 am
Mayor Art Prochaska of Yorkville, Illinois should resign! Snow removal was none existent!
To busy doing photo Ops and making backroom deals with big business. Residents what do they matter? They just pay the ever increasing TAXES!
Good Bye ART !
Comment by Yorkville, Illinois - Time for Honest Government Friday, Dec 8, 06 @ 10:52 am
TRUST! Mayor Art Prochaska of Yorkville, Illinois
I DON’T THINK SO!
NOT!
NEGATORY!
Comment by Da Landfill ! Friday, Dec 8, 06 @ 12:21 pm
Get over it. It was a severe winter storm that caught many people off guard. Just how fast do people think a guy can work in biting cold weather and hip deep snow? It takes time to clear fallen trees, set new poles and string new wire. Just be glad that you still have a home. Think about the people in New Orleans who are STILL WITHOUT A HOME over a year after the storm. Count your blessings instead of griping about a natural disaster.
Comment by huh? Friday, Dec 8, 06 @ 5:15 pm
As of Wednesday ComEd had only 21 crews helping Ameren, and almost all of the ComEd territory, which had much less damage, was restored sometime Saturday (12/2). ComEd crews did not go to work at Ameren until Tuesday morning. I am not sure whats up with that!
Also there were additional subcontractor crews not called in by Ameren, specifically from the Kansas City area. Don’t know the answer for that other than they claim to have asked for their help. Someone needs to find out the truth and answers to the above and many more questions.
With job eliminations since 1995 of up to 40% and cost cutting to “prepare for competition” could it be that there has been a lack of needed spending on the distribution and transmission systems?
Comment by aidanquinn Friday, Dec 8, 06 @ 5:59 pm