Could the Occupy Chicago Movement Help Gov. Pat Quinn Sustain ComEd "Smart Grid" Veto?

The thinking among Springfield insiders up until a few weeks had been that the legislature was likely to override Governor Pat Quinn's veto of Commonwealth Edison's "Smart Grid" bill, a measure that guaranteed the electric giant a rate increase of 6 percentage points over the 30-year Treasury rate to upgrade its power grid.

When a top House Democratic lawmaker was asked a couple weeks ago about the probability of a House override, the response was a terse, "Yes, I do."

That was before the Occupy Wall Street movement ignited and metastasized throughout the country, spawning an Occupy Chicago branch. In 19 days, Occupy Chicago has racked up 11,191 Twitter followers, a website that is drawing nearly 100,000 visits daily, and protests that are sucking up a whole lot of news media coverage.

Then three days ago the Chicago Sun-Times launched a thunderbolt into the ComEd debate.

The paper published a Better Government Association report that revealed that ComEd and Ameren executives and affiliates ladled out $1.3 million to Illinois lawmakers and political campaign arms in the months leading up the legislature's approval of the "Smart Grid" rate increases.

The Occupy Wall Street protesters and their Chicago cousins are foaming at their collective mouths over the perceived privileged positions and excesses of the nation's 1% -- corporate CEOs, Wall Street bankers, hedge fund wizards, etc. -- versus the 99% or everyone else.

The protesters' criticisms are largely unfocused and their remedies virtually non-existent. But their anger is real. They think politicians are favoring the 1% over the 99% when it comes to solutions to the economic crisis and broader economic issues.

ComEd's "Smart Grid" bill and its political muscle flexing feed directly into the spirit of the protesters' complaints. Lawmakers seeking to override Quinn could be hurtling into a political buzz saw.

Quinn is clearly attempting to stir public opinion behind his ComEd veto. The governor was zipping around four Central Illinois cities last week -- Marion, Decatur, Belleville and Peoria -- beating the drum for public support in behalf of his veto before lawmakers head back to Springfield at the end of October for its veto session.

Quinn has not explicitly linked the Occupy Wall Street, Chicago movements to his campaign to sustain the veto. But the political winds blowing from the protests could inflate Quinn's sails.

"If Quinn decides to harness the Occupy Wall Street and Chicago protests, such a move could give him an edge over General Assembly in ComEd tug-of-war," said a long-time Democratic lobbyist. "Latching onto a grass roots protest movement of the down-trodden would be vintage Pat Quinn."

A political embrace of the protesters is not without risk.

Their camps and marches are disrupting local businesses, snarling traffic, and annoying nearby homeowners in some locales. The police arrests in various cities have conveyed an unruly image of some of the protesters. And their lack of Tea Party-like organization raises questions about their potential political clout.

Nevertheless, with the governor's public support hovering around a dismal 30%, a political marriage with Occupy Chicago might be a bold stroke by Quinn to goose both the ComEd veto and his flickering political fortunes.

Heck, even a mere flirtation and a little footsie with Occupy Chicago might help.

 

 

 

Follow David Ormsby on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@DavidOrmsby

Comments

[12Purple]

12:00 PM on 10/20/2011

I believe that ComEd should pony up the dollars to upgrade the grid in the Chicago area out of its billions of profit.

Who paid for all the new electic services in the outlying suburbs - ComEd and Exelon, of course. The electric rates in the suburbs are the same as the city proper.

They'll spend to build new to get more customers, but not to maintain the existing base.

[thisisntme]

02:31 AM on 10/17/2011

"And their lack of Tea Party-like organization raises questions about their potential political clout." So because the Tea Party has corporate backing and Occupy doesn't, Quinn risks alienating voters?

[David Ormsby]

12:14 AM on 10/18/2011

Organization does not equal corporate backing. Organization means organization. If Occupy Chicago is not organized to effectively reach out to lawmakers to sustain his veto, the legislature will likely overturn Quinn's veto, handing ComEd a victory.

[Bethab]

02:46 PM on 10/19/2011

But the tea party does have corporate backing. It was created and funded by the Koch Brothers...

[Gere Minnick]

11:18 AM on 10/13/2011

Rahm himself admitted over the weekend that Chicago has a 100 year old sewer and drainage system. Its likely the city's electrical grid is in nearly the same shape. In these cases, I think local citizenry should pony up the funds for every upgrade being promoted in this effort. If you use it, then you pay for it! I'd imagine the honored ploy to suck tax dollars from the outlying counties for Chicago's benefit will once again be the path chosen by the Democrats that have run Chicago for many decades now? Can't let a good crisis go unused as Rahm is also noted for saying. We are witnessing more politics as usual.

[speedydan79]

06:15 AM on 10/13/2011

A perfect storm for ComEd and a rare opportunity for both Quinn and the Occupy Chicago Movement. Not only does the movement give Quinn potential leverage over the legislature, but, conversely, the Smart Grid bill also gives the movement a specific cause that will broaden its appeal to the general populace. Nobody likes ComEd. Nobody likes paying higher bills. Nobody trusts the corrupt political system which allows ComEd to cynically do an end-run around the utility board and spread its money around to influence legislative outcomes.

[David Ormsby]

12:16 AM on 10/18/2011

The movement only gives Quinn leverage if it is organized enough to bring pressure to bear on lawmakers. Otherwise, it's just a wind machine.

[Syllogizer]

08:52 PM on 10/12/2011

This article and Quinn are making a reckless assumption: that the Occupy Chicago movement would support his blocking a smart grid.

How could they be so clueless? Of COURSE most people in the movement are in favor of a smart grid. They know the whole nation needs more efficient power distribution to support efforts against global warming -- which is going to be a much worse economic disaster than anything Wall Street has ever done yet.

[fgrammit]

10:06 AM on 10/13/2011

i think you are making the reckless assumptions here because you are against the protesters . but of course the silly lemmings in the Kochs tea party will happily continue to believe that these corporations who are trying to raise the cost of living for middle americans which includes many of them are entitled to do it. Think about this one. IF ComEd has so much money that they can try to buy votes, why do they need more of your money to sustain their business? That just means the public is paying them to work against the public. HELLO? any one home?

[David Ormsby]

01:39 PM on 10/13/2011

Yes, more efficient power distribution is important. However, the controversial piece of the legislation is the guaranteed rate increase for return on ComEd's investment. If the risque is eliminated, the efficiency part is jeopardized.