Yesterday, Illinois Governor-elect JB Pritzker announced that President-Business Manager James M. Sweeney would serve on his Powering Illinois’ Future Committee, which will advise and guide the incoming administration on energy, utility and infrastructure policy.
Pritzker has indicated that investing in utility infrastructure and clean energy will be a top priority in his administration, and Sweeney brings a wealth of experience, having worked with local utility companies to plan multi-billion-dollar capital investment programs in Illinois.
“Some of the utility lines in Northern Illinois are a century old, and that doesn’t serve a modern economy,” said Sweeney. “Replacing this aging infrastructure enhances efficiency, protects public safety, and creates thousands of good paying jobs for local workers.”
During Bruce Rauner’s term as governor, infrastructure investment was an afterthought, held hostage by his budget demands and anti-union agenda. JB Pritzker intends to move various infrastructure bills early in his term, and having a union leader at the table is an important piece of this plan.
“To carry out big plans, we first need to make sure that our workforce is adequately trained to perform the specialized work that is often involved, so having unions involved in the process is a wise move on Pritzker’s part,” said Sweeney.