It's past time for Ameren to help its customers

The Southern Illinoisan

Legendary journalist Peter Finley Dunne once said the job of every newspaper is to "comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable." Believing that Ol' Pete's advice is right on the money, I'm going to try and accomplish both today.

For the past two weeks I've used this space to rail on the electric rate hike that the Illinois General Assembly did nothing to try and stop - an electric rate hike that has caused unmeasured human suffering here in the Land of Lincoln. Consider today's offering the trifecta or a three-peat because this is an issue that needs to be exposed and I just happen to have my hand on the light switch.

Let me explain.

The issue involving lifting the rate freeze has troubled me. Knowing that the deadline was looming I simply can't understand why our lawmakers did nothing. It's inexcusable.

And in the event that you're a member of the General Assembly please, please don't insult me by saying that you worked on behalf of your constituents to stop this highway robbery – because you didn't. Don't say it; it's a lie if you do.

As a journalist I love to get out and meet people, folks I refer to as the salt of the earth. But at every stop these days - the grocery store, ballgames, restaurant, the mall or the local watering hole - the topic is always electric rates. And the common theme is that people are hurting, struggling, worrying and spending sleepless nights.

On top of that, businesses have already closed and the most vulnerable of our society are the ones hurting the most. It's a bleak picture and a true crisis.

Let me preface the final words in this column by pointing out that we've heard for months from Ameren officials how the company would go belly-up if it didn't get this massive increase. We were also warned about the widespread layoffs that would take place and the real threat of power outages.

Well, last week I found a story on "Market Watch" contradicting that story and showing during the fourth quarter of 2006 Ameren posted net earnings of $61 million, or 30 cents a share increase, up from a 2005 profit of $20 million. Keep those figures in mind.

According to the Illinois State Board of Elections Web site Ameren used a hefty amount of those profits to throw fistfuls of cash at Illinois elected officials. And it should also be pointed out that Ameren is certainly an equal opportunity company when it comes to shoveling money to politicians because they greased palms on both sides of the aisle.

In 2006 alone, the year that our lawmakers did nothing to stop the obscene rate increase, Ameren contributed nearly $300,000 to members of the General Assembly. For those in the audience keeping a score card, $160,900 went to Democrats and $136,800 went to Republicans. Additionally, in the past two years Ameren also contributed $173,000 to Ameren IL PAC, which in turn handed the money out to politicians. If you're still keeping score, that totals nearly $500,000 in campaign contributions during the past two years. Along with the net earnings of $61 million, that's not bad for a company on the brink of bankruptcy, huh?

These numbers alone, not counting the other obscure political action committees that might be associated with Ameren and ComEd, raise a serious question about ethics and influence-peddling. And while those in Springfield will continue to emphatically say that they would never let a campaign contribution influence their vote, nobody can argue that the appearance of impropriety is clearly there.

As an example of the "appearance" I'm referring to, consider this.

A few days after the Nov. 7, 2006, election the Illinois House passed a measure to extend the rate freeze but Senate President Emil Jones refused to call the legislation for a vote. The Senate then passed some bogus legislation calling for a 42 percent rate hike scattered over three years. The legislation passed by the Senate looked like it was written by Ameren and ComEd and it was never called for a vote in the House. In the end, as we all found out when we received our electric bill this month, the General Assembly did nothing and the freeze was lifted.

As I was poring over the various campaign contributions I found it interesting that during a three-week period before Senate President Jones sat on his hands and did nothing to help Illinois residents, Ameren contributed $25,000 to "Citizens for Emil Jones" and another $10,000 to the "Illinois Senate Democrat Fund."

Am I saying that Jones took a kickback? Certainly not. But, I am saying that those contributions combined with a do-nothing General Assembly created an appearance of impropriety. I challenge anybody, including Sen. Jones, to debate me that it didn't. In my view this single issue has exposed Illinois politics for what it is - a land where "pay-to-play" has taken precedence over common sense, logic, decency and simply doing the right thing.

There's a grassroots effort to try and get the rate freeze reinstated and a few of the politicians have even taken notice. Certainly, we need to continue to hold their feet to the fire on this issue, but in order to overcome the stench coming out of Springfield these days the roar from common, hard-working folks has to be louder.

In other words, it's time to give some comfort to the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. And things in Springfield have been too comfortable for too long.

JIM MUIR's column appears in The Southern Illinoisan on Thursdays; he can be reached at writeon1@shawneelink.net