April 24, 2011
Illinois

Woman plans picket of wind energy meeting

The News-Gazette, www.news-gazette.com 23 April 2011The News-Gazette, www.news-gazette.com 23 April 2011

CHAMPAIGN – A Ford County woman says she’ll hold an informational picket outside the Champaign Public Library on Monday to protest a wind energy seminar sponsored by state Rep. Naomi Jakobsson, D-Urbana, the Sierra Club and the Prairie Rivers network.

Cindy Ihrke of rural Ford County said her Energize Illinois group will picket the wind energy seminar scheduled to run from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday at the library at 200 W. Green St., C.

Ihrke said wind energy “is not a viable source of energy” and said her group is “opposed to the massive amount of subsidies it receives” from governments.

“The wind energy scheme promoted by Ms. Jakobsson,” Ihrke said, “has the potential to raise electric rates on every family and business in the state. We are concerned that it will in fact rob the poor who will be impacted the most, and we are opposed to that.”

Ihrke also accused Jakobsson of having a conflict of interest because she last year she received a $5,000 campaign contribution from the Illinois State Conference of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which Ihrke said supports wind energy.

“We believe that money has influenced Jakobsson’s decision to promote the wind energy industry which offers a very low public benefit,” Ihrke said.

Jakobsson was unavailable for comment.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/04/24/woman-plans-picket-of-wind-energy-meeting/