AARP Illinois Statement on Governor Pritzker’s Amendatory Veto of HB 3445

The following statement was released Wednesday by AARP Illinois State Director Philippe Largent

On behalf of AARP Illinois’ 1.7 million members, we commend Governor JB Pritzker for his amendatory veto of House Bill 3445. The language inserted by Senate Amendment 4, which AARP Illinois strongly opposed, would have prevented transmission lines from being competitively bid, and, without competition, there is no incentive for monopolies like Ameren to reduce the cost of construction. Illinois rate payers already have some of the highest electric rates in the country, which has prompted AARP Illinois to fight back with an intervention against Ameren’s rate case filing before the Illinois Commerce Commission. We applaud Gov. Pritzker for not putting corporate profit over consumers.