Senate passes Medicare, tax zone legislation

SPRINGFIELD – Capping off a slow legislative week as the General Assembly grapples with drawing redistricting maps, the state budget for the upcoming fiscal year and massive energy overhaul legislation, the Senate passed 14 bills Thursday, most of them unanimously.

Senate Bill 1747, introduced by Grayslake Democratic Sen. Melinda Bush as the Illinois Energy Transition Zone Act, creates tax advantaged districts to incentivize “green energy enterprises” in areas previously reliant on coal and nuclear energy.

“To protect our environment and stop global warming, we need to close coal plants – that’s not up for debate,” Bush said in a statement released Thursday. “But, as we make strides toward green energy, we can’t forget about the families who rely on these plants to put food on the table or the communities that need their tax dollars to function.”

Areas that contained a coal or nuclear energy plant, coal mine, or nuclear waste storage facility are eligible to become one of these energy transition zones.

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