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* Sen. Durbin hot over DOE’s remark about Illinois

A Washington bureaucrat’s disparaging remarks about a scuttled coal plant downstate has a pair of Illinois lawmakers burning.

After the feds nixed a $1.8 billion clean-burning coal plant in Mattoon known as FutureGen last week, an Energy Department official said his agency wasn’t interested in “building Disneyland in some swamp in Illinois.”

* FutureGen developers say they’ll still go for federal funds

* Daley opposes aldermen seeking to influence CTA, force plastic-bag recycling

* It’s time to bag all that plastic

* Most school questions rejected

* Mixed reception for condom program

* Chicago polls go well — despite punches, broken machines, wrong ballots and ‘invisible ink’

* State-by-State Votes; map here

* Super Tuesday: Democrats divvy it up, McCain up

* Obama, Clinton neck and neck

* Obama candidacy spurs activism

“A lot of people who got involved because of Barack Obama will continue to be involved in politics,” says Kevin Roos, 26, of Glenview.

posted by Kevin Fanning
Wednesday, Feb 6, 08 @ 11:34 am

Comments

No - Walt Disney built one in the swamps of Florida.

What a stupid and blatantly arrogant thing to say!

Comment by VanillaMan Wednesday, Feb 6, 08 @ 11:51 am
I recently coverted to using cloth bags. Bought some pretty solid ones at jewel and whole foods. They can be a bit of a pain, mostly since I prefer the self checkouts, which go nuts when you use them.

But, overall they are nice. They hold more than plastic or paper bags, they are sturdier, and I don’t accumulate plastic bags at my house anymore.

Whereas I used to use 6 or 7 plastic bags on a grocery trip, now I need to carry 2 bags, which is nice when it comes to bringing the groceries in. I haven’t totally ceased using plastic. I only carry the cloth bags to the grocery store.

The other thing I do is, when I’m at a store where I don’t have my bags, is make sure that the checker/bagger isn’t putting one item into a plastic bag (or worse yet, double bagging one item!).

Big items are easy enough to carry without bagging.

If Daley was really interested in being the green mayor of the green city, then he would get the city council to push through an Ireland style tax on plastic bags.

Comment by jerry 101 Wednesday, Feb 6, 08 @ 11:58 am
I would make a wild guess the guy is a Bush appointed Hack who wanted to build his Disneyland somewhere in Texas.

Comment by Pot calling kettle Wednesday, Feb 6, 08 @ 12:00 pm
BTW, Disneyland is doing alright as far as I know. So, I guess this guy is saying he doesn’t want to build a hugely successful project in Illinois.

Comment by Pot calling kettle Wednesday, Feb 6, 08 @ 12:02 pm
“Whereas I used to use 6 or 7 plastic bags on a grocery trip, now I need to carry 2 bags”

The savings will be more than made up for by the extra cardiac care you will require.

Comment by True Observer Wednesday, Feb 6, 08 @ 1:01 pm
“The savings will be more than made up for by the extra cardiac care you will require.”

Please share how groceries divided among 6 or 7 bags weighs less than the same amount of groceries divided up between two bags…

Comment by so-called "Austin Mayor" Wednesday, Feb 6, 08 @ 1:09 pm
S-CAM…

Magic. That’s the ticket.

LOL.

Comment by Rob_N Wednesday, Feb 6, 08 @ 1:21 pm
Grocery bags are normally lifted one or two at a time. If 6 or 7 bags are divided into 2 new bags, the weight of each new bag is 3 1/2 times more than each old bag.
Cardiac arrest comes from extra exertion.
Maybe some posters with expertise can enlighten us, but it is entirely probable that the strain of lifting one 35 pound bag is more than 3 1/2 times the strain of lifting one 10 pound bag.
It is entirely likely that the strain may well be 10 times more.

Comment by True Observer Wednesday, Feb 6, 08 @ 1:22 pm
Swamp? Come on, I lived in Mattoon, it isn’t swamp land, it’s actually pretty good farm land, well drained, rich black soil. What an ignorant remark!

Comment by cermak_rd Wednesday, Feb 6, 08 @ 2:06 pm
“A lot of people who got involved because of Barack Obama will continue to be involved in politics,” . . .

I remember when the same was said of Eugene McCarthy and being “clean for Gene” years ago. And JFK before that (an inspiration that spurred Bill Clinton to national prominence). I guess if I were in my mid-20s, I might feel the same way. Age has taught me to be suspect, though, of BO’s candicacy being based on “change.” Didn’t we elect a governor making that assertion?

Comment by anon Wednesday, Feb 6, 08 @ 3:39 pm
TO: Have you seen people carrying just two plastic bags? I see folks sling as many of those plastic bags as they can over each arm so they can take it all in one trip. So yes, IF people limited themselves, it would be less strain, BUT they don’t.

Comment by Pot calling kettle Wednesday, Feb 6, 08 @ 3:54 pm