Government by the Crooks: Exelon Wants to Buy Illinois' State Legislature

[Geee]

Washington Examiner:

Government by the crooks: Exelon wants to buy Illinois’ state legislature
By: DAVID FREDDOSO
Online Opinion Editor
05/14/10 2:28 PM EDT

I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything this brazen, even in Illinois. Commonwealth Edison’s parent company, Exelon, is offering to give the state government $500 million to help with its budget crisis, in exchange for the state giving ComEd permission to hike rates on its utility customers.

A senior executive for Commonwealth Edison Co. parent Exelon Corp. said Illinois legislative leaders asked ComEd to submit its recent offer of $500 million to help the state with its massive budget shortfall in return for freezing electric rates at above-market levels for four years.

“This was done by us — by invitation — from the highest leadership in the Illinois Legislature,” Exelon Executive Vice-president William Von Hoene Jr. said Wednesday at an investor presentation in New York. “Over a month ago, we met with legislative leaders, who told us that they would like us to put together a proposal that would provide cash for the state of Illinois to address parts of its budget shortfall and also provide some innovative features that would be attractive to us.”

Gov. Pat Quinn, D, admits he knew about this scheme. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that his will not help his re-election chances.

This is how government works in Chicago and Springfield, but it’s rarely done in such a transparently corrupt fashion. Usually, Exelon just hires the son of the state Senate President when it wants a rate hike.

[SrWoodchuck]

As a high school student [OK,a very,very long time ago] I observed a film about the biological effects of a group [a controlled number] of rats, caged, & with a base amount of water & food. Rats were added singly, to this closed environment, without any change in space, food or water. At a certain point the rats became very animated, and spent most of their time running around their enclosure, including up the walls, and across parts of the ceiling of the cage. Eventually, with the addition of a few more, the frenzy of the rats racing around the cage, created a terminal condition, where some rats just died and were eaten & then a "blood frenzy" occurred. The rats fought each other until their numbers were reduced to pre-experiment levels; and normal behavior resumed.

 

Without commenting on Exelon's unmitigated bribe & attempt to circumvent monopoly utility regulations; I think the Chicago [& Illinois State] government environment, is eerily reminiscent of that rat cage, prior to the "blood frenzy."

 

.....and just as filthy.

[Pepper]

That's a good analogy, SrWoodChuck!

 

 

PS

"As a high school student [OK,a very,very long time ago] I observed a film "

 

We had no films. The teacher would make shadow puppets. The oldest kid got to hold the flashlight. My job was to lower the blinds. This worked out best when we had young(er) interns from the nearby teachers' college.

 

 

 

As a high school student [OK,a very,very long time ago] I observed a film about the biological effects of a group [a controlled number] of rats, caged, & with a base amount of water & food.

 

Without commenting on Exelon's unmitigated bribe & attempt to circumvent monopoly utility regulations; I think the Chicago [& Illinois State] government environment, is eerily reminiscent of that rat cage, prior to the "blood frenzy."

 

.....and just as filthy.

[Rheo]

 

 

That's a good analogy, SrWoodChuck!

 

 

PS

"As a high school student [OK,a very,very long time ago] I observed a film "

 

We had no films. The teacher would make shadow puppets. The oldest kid got to hold the flashlight. My job was to lower the blinds. This worked out best when we had young(er) interns from the nearby teachers' college.

 

 

 

As a high school student [OK,a very,very long time ago] I observed a film about the biological effects of a group [a controlled number] of rats, caged, & with a base amount of water & food.

 

Without commenting on Exelon's unmitigated bribe & attempt to circumvent monopoly utility regulations; I think the Chicago [& Illinois State] government environment, is eerily reminiscent of that rat cage, prior to the "blood frenzy."

 

.....and just as filthy.