Prairie State Wire

State senator and GOP gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) is not impressed with the energy legislation that will call the Illinois Senate to the Statehouse for one day in July. 

This legislation, Bailey said, is a disaster. 

"The Democrats are foolishly looking to shut down power plants and get rid of coal altogether," Bailey told Prairie State Wire. "They are pushing extreme, job-killing legislation that will also shut down natural gas and nuclear plants."

Lawmakers are abuzz with the news that former Senate President John Cullerton, who served four decades in Springfield including 11 years as Senate president, will be present on the day the Senate convenes for the energy bill as a power utility lobbyist. 

"Cullerton has no business being there as a lobbyist after just serving as Senate president," the Xenia senator said. 

Bailey is among many who have raised their eyebrows at Cullerton returning to sway lawmakers when the ink has barely dried on new Senate President Don Harmon's nameplate. After a history of corruption, GOP House members have created an "End the Silence on Illinois Corruption" petition asking Illinois residents to demand ethics reform. 

The former Senate president is returning as a lobbyist for Ameren, and will reportedly try to sway his former colleagues' votes on the legislation that would use Illinois tax dollars to keep nuclear power plants open and close coal plants. 

"We need to end this revolving door and pass real ethics reform that puts an end to politicians leaving office and immediately becoming a lobbyist to game the system they created," Bailey said. "I have an ethics bill that states they must be out of office for at least two years before working as a lobbyist, but I would be happy to make it longer or indefinite."

The energy reforms, which would cost jobs of workers throughout Southern Illinois, according to Illinois policy, would take effect the first day of next year if Pritzker approves. 

"Pritzker and the Democrats are killing thousands of good-paying union jobs with their radical plans, and now we have one of them switching jobs to get rich to help a company that he wanted to shut down while in office," Bailey said.