Jack Franks Shows Tree Killer Side

The night before the big vote to allow Com Ed to raise electric rates, Jack Franks signaled his intention to vote for hiking electric rates.

After his last minute “conversion” to the electric rate hike side of the bill promoted by Com Ed and Ameren, it appears that Democrat Jack Franks is now playing water boy for the not-so-regulated-as-before utilities.

We have the Emily Berendt to thank for the following information on Franks’ House Bill 3884:

[Here] is a [link to] House Bill 3884, sponsored by Jack Franks.

It allows the utility company to remove any tree that has a mature height of over 25 feet and is within 20 feet of a utility pole or overhead conductor.

The ICC is instructed to set rules that give the electric utility the right to judge whether pruning is insufficient and removal is needed. It is unlawful for anyone to interfere with this vegetation management process. The electric utility can assess charges for the removal.

The amount of tree destruction this will permit is incomprehensible to me.

The utility company already has extensive pruning standards that create grotesquely disfigured trees along our roadsides.

If this passes they will be able to just take trees out instead.

House Bill 3884 would allow Com Ed to remove all the trees on the south (right in this photo) side of Lake Avenue, if they are within 20 feet of the power lines. Northern Illinois electric service would be safe from most falling trees, but denuded of nearby trees.

This would apply to any place on your property as well.

The only lines that would be exempt are those that run to individual homes and the high voltage lines that carry more than 100kV.

Please join me opposing passage of this bill.

Contact Jack Franks through one of the options below. Please contact our other legislators as well and ask them to oppose this.

And please pass this information on to your friends and colleagues.

Emily Berendt
Member, Fleming Road Alliance
Trustee, Village of Bull Valley
Director, Alliance for Land Agriculture and Water

The hearing on the language will be Tuesday, March 6th, even though it just popped up on February 28th.

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This is truly an anti-conservation, anti-environmental bill. It gives license to Com Ed to chop down any tree within 20 feet of a power line.

Canopies on rural roads would be devastated.  One person used the word “Barren.”

Electric power would conquer quality of life.


Comments

Jack Franks Shows Tree Killer Side — 6 Comments

  1. When ComEd showed up one day at a Woodstock neighbor’s house to rip apart his nice trees, he told them to go away.

    And they did.

  2. From the Illinois State Board of Elections website (www.elections.il.gov):

    Donated to: Supporters of Jack D Franks

    Contributed By:
    Ameren, P O Box 66892, St. Louis, MO 63166
    $1,000.00
    2/21/2012

  3. This is horrible!!

    Jack knows of the battles I’ve had with C.E. over an approximate 150 year old hard Maple tree.

    C. E. has NO consideration regarding the species of a tree…..hard wood or soft wood.

    Thanks Emily for bringing this to our attention!

    It is worthy of a letter-writing campaign….email campaign.

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