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Does anyone know anything about Midwest Generation building a plant at Harrison & Wells?

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Photo of Bernadette S.

Elite '11

3friends

49reviews

17 hours ago Bernadette S. says:

When I got home today, there were notices in front of each unit's door stating that Midwest Generation, part of Edison International, is building a plant on the empty lot at Harrison & S. Wells.  Anyone have more details?
Photo of Johnny R.

Elite '11

16friends

98reviews

7 hours ago Johnny R. says:

I checked around and it sounds like something is going up there, not sure what it is.
Photo of Josh V.

Elite '11

109friends

198reviews

7 hours ago Josh "Bruiser" V. says:

As in a power plant? That's an unlikely location. Power plants take a lot of space. Hmm...
Photo of paul z.

5friends

55reviews

7 hours ago paul "Blasphemous Past" z. says:

here is something I found @ http://www.sloopin.com/

""I live at Financial and Polk and received a very disturbing (and poorly written) letter today - that Edison International's Midwest Generation (a subsidiary) has bought the vacant lot at the corner of Wells and Harrison - and they are breaking ground on a new generation station - coal powered - with 2 smoke stacks (according to the drawing). Now, we get letters all the time when developers decide they want to do add a parking lot, or change from 2 condo towers to 1 - but we get nothing about a power generator (like the one in Pilsen) until it's a done deal?? Had you guys heard about this? Have other sloopers gotten the same letter? And is there anything we can do about it??"'
Photo of Dane K.

Elite '11

277friends

808reviews

7 hours ago Dane K. says:

midwest generation operates only coal power plants i think... there is indeed a big vacant lot there that could hold a rather large building..
Photo of Dane K.

Elite '11

277friends

808reviews

7 hours ago Dane K. says:

here's a blog post about it.. did you read this?  

http://www.sloopin.com...

they sent a letter to people in the neighborhood stating they're building it there ... it will be a coal power plant w/ 2 smoke stacks.

hmmmm... GOOOOOOO chicago!
Photo of Cassie D.

Elite '11

125friends

235reviews

7 hours ago Cassie "awesome^2" D. says:

ah.  was just coming on to post that blog link.
Photo of paul z.

5friends

55reviews

6 hours ago paul "Blasphemous Past" z. says:

Aside from all  the environmental concerns I can't believe they would put a power station at a corner that could generate a hell of a lot of property and sales tax.
Photo of Dane K.

Elite '11

277friends

808reviews

6 hours ago Dane K. says:

this is worse than a wal-mart. :p
Photo of Dane K.

Elite '11

277friends

808reviews

6 hours ago Dane K. says:

paul posted it first i didn't notice :]

its proximity to the river is their selling point?  does the same river not stretch 30 miles west of Chicago?  ...oh, it needs to be in Chicago so Rahm Emmanuel can get his payoff then slide ComEd some money back...
Photo of Bernadette S.

Elite '11

3friends

49reviews

6 hours ago Bernadette S. says:

Thanks for all the responses - and the link to Sloopin, but I'm actually BC who sent it in!  This really seems to be moving forward :(
Photo of Tom B.

39friends

61reviews

6 hours ago Tom "West Side Tommy" B. says:

Chicago used to full of steel mills, foundries, machine shops, factories---not to mention the stockyards and packing houses.

Now some are freaking out because someone might want to build a powerhouse here? Well somebody has to make the juice to power that phone you're busy texting on while you're waiting in line at Kumas and Hot Dougs and all that degenerate bullshit.
Photo of Dane K.

Elite '11

277friends

808reviews

6 hours ago Dane K. says:

yah, but why does it have to be a coal power plant, Tom?  (what ever happened to the idea of a wind farm on top of sears' tower?)
Photo of Tom B.

39friends

61reviews

6 hours ago Tom "West Side Tommy" B. says:

Coal is readily available. A new coal burner with precips and SCRs will be pretty clean. I suspect the objections of many will be aesthetic---a resentment of an industrial view out their window, smokestacks and such. Not like Naperville.
Photo of Barney B.

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99reviews

6 hours ago Barney "Ricky Linderman" B. says:

Tommy comes thru again!
Photo of Tom B.

39friends

61reviews

6 hours ago Tom "West Side Tommy" B. says:

Note that a new coal burner would create lots of good paying jobs and generate taxes for the city and both are things this town needs far more than another gourmet burger joint, Whole Foods, craft beer sports bar or tatoo parlor.

I doubt they really want to build one anyway; this is probably some form of yuppie hysteria.
Photo of Dane K.

Elite '11

277friends

808reviews

6 hours ago Dane K. says:

yet he himself says the coal will be "pretty clean" ... would you live literally across the street from there?  would you sit out on your balcony that's 100' away from a coal power smoke stack?
Photo of paul z.

5friends

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6 hours ago paul "Blasphemous Past" z. says:

How much revenue if any will that plant generate for this cash strapped city as opposed to a 25 story condo/office /retail building
Photo of Johnny R.

Elite '11

16friends

98reviews

6 hours ago Johnny R. says:

I don't know how big the lot is, a few things about coal plants (energy headhunter shall now generalize)...

There are smaller coal plants, called peakers.  They operate at peak demand.  They could be as small as 50MW's.  But I'd still wonder how/where the coal is brought in.

Midwest Generation does have a lot of coal in their portfolio, for sure.

Could also be a gas, combined cycle power plant too.  I'd think the alderman would be up to speed on what is going on.

I doubt it's coal.
Photo of Michelle L.

Elite '11

11friends

48reviews

6 hours ago Michelle L. says:

They are proposing to build this in a residential neighborhood - literally across the street from the homes of numerous South Loop / Printers Row residents and right next to 2 day care / schools.  This is not an industrial neighborhood and shouldn't be treated as such.  This is horrible, and Alderman Fioretti and others need to step up to stop this from happening.
Photo of Tom B.

39friends

61reviews

6 hours ago Tom "West Side Tommy" B. says:

"yet he himself says the coal will be "pretty clean" ... would you live literally across the street from there?  would you sit out on your balcony that's 100' away from a coal power smoke stack?"

No. But just because I wouldn't like something doesn't mean it wouldn't be beneficial or that it shouldn't be done.

Chicago is an industrial town and the river is an industrial waterway. People that live near such a place shouldn't be surprised if someone wants to put it to use.
Photo of Tom B.

39friends

61reviews

6 hours ago Tom "West Side Tommy" B. says:

"There are smaller coal plants, called peakers.  They operate at peak demand.  They could be as small as 50MW's.  But I'd still wonder how/where the coal is brought in."

Barges on the river could bring in coal.

In any event if Midwest Gen builds there I think it's more likely they'd build gas fired turbine peakers. I've worked on many of those and they're small, clean and quiet. And the stacks are low are shouldn't offend the sensibilities of the oh-so-refined.
Photo of Tom B.

39friends

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6 hours ago Tom "West Side Tommy" B. says:

"literally across the street from the homes of numerous South Loop / Printers Row residents and right next to 2 day care / schools. "

Day cares?!? So what? You act like they were building a whorehouse or a porno store. Or selling dope on the street corner. What, is industry now to be hidden from the view of yuppie puppies?
Photo of Dane K.

Elite '11

277friends

808reviews

6 hours ago Dane K. says:

"Chicago is an industrial town and the river is an industrial waterway. People that live near such a place shouldn't be surprised if someone wants to put it to use"

it USED to be an industrial town. the waterway USED to be industrial.

you can say "well they shouldn't have bought a condo on the river" but the reality is that everyone in the entire city in every level of government, business, etc is all for promoting development in a non-industrial manner in these areas.  the industry can just as easily go 30 miles down river and not only will it cost less to operate, it isn't a densely populated area they're putting this shit in the middle of.  the location has everything to do with politics and who is rubbing whose back

i'd rather live next to a porno studio or a whore house than a coal power plant's stack
Photo of Dane K.

Elite '11

277friends

808reviews

6 hours ago Dane K. says:

"I think it's more likely they'd build gas fired turbine peakers"

they're going to be coal fired. the above blog has a copy of the letter straight out of the horses' mouth.  the real question is how they pulled all of this off without any neighborhood associations catching word.  there's no way politicians involved weren't purposely keeping it from the general public. it would be almost impossible
Photo of joe s.

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7reviews

6 hours ago joe s. says:

Tom are you employed by this power company?  There is no way to support the location of this.  It's a residential neighborhood.  The industrial revolution ended 80 years ago.  Chicago is not some soot covered community any more.

Plus there are better locations south of Roosevelt that are bounded by train tracks.  I'm not sure how this zoning adjustment could have been approved in good faith.
Photo of Tom B.

39friends

61reviews

6 hours ago Tom "West Side Tommy" B. says:

"it USED to be an industrial town. the waterway USED to be industrial."

Chicago though less industrial than it was is still largely industrial And being industrial is a good thing; when this town was full of industry it was healthy and vibrant, now we have a slick veneer over a rotten core.

Anyway cities change. As things go from industrial to non industrial use so they can go back to industrial. Industry is good.
Photo of joe s.

0friends

7reviews

5 hours ago joe s. says:

Nice work Tom:

It appears to be a prank. We have no information otherwise.

Office of Ald. Bob Fioretti
Chicago's 2nd Ward
1319 S. State St., Suite A
Chicago, IL 60605
(312) 263-9273
Photo of paul z.

5friends

55reviews

5 hours ago paul "Blasphemous Past" z. says:

Alrighty then, back to Obama's Birth Certificate
Photo of Dane K.

Elite '11

277friends

808reviews

5 hours ago Dane K. says:

we've been had?
Photo of Tom B.

39friends

61reviews

5 hours ago Tom "West Side Tommy" B. says:

"Tom are you employed by this power company? "

I was a boilermaker for 35 years and often worked in Midwest Gen plants. There's no doubt building powerhouses is in my interest.

"The industrial revolution ended 80 years ago.  Chicago is not some soot covered community any more."

Those are hardly good reasons for opposing industrial development. Note that modern pollution controls make industry far more cleaner that it once was. I used to install and maintain pollution control equipment too. I wouldn't doubt that I've done more to help clean the enviornment than anyone on this forum.

"Plus there are better locations south of Roosevelt that are bounded by train tracks."

There's plenty of room to expand at Fisk station and both barge and rail access would be easier there. I don't get why they'd want to build on Harrison either. Another reason I think this situation is probably misunderstood.
Photo of Josh V.

Elite '11

109friends

198reviews

5 hours ago Josh "Bruiser" V. says:

This is pretty darn surprising. Breaking ground already? How is this a done deal and no one knew about it until now?

The copy of the letter specifically mentions coal, so it sure sounds like it's going to be coal-fired to me.

Putting a new plant in a residential neighborhood...that's ballsy!

[Well somebody has to make the juice to power that phone you're busy texting on while you're waiting in line at Kumas and Hot Dougs and all that degenerate bullshit.]

Midwest Generation exports all the power from their other two Chicago plants (Fisk and Crawford) out of state. There is an interesting line in this (not sure of its authenticity) http://webcache.google... though: "Midwest Generation will provide discounted power rates to businesses and residents within a one-mile radius of the new plant." I wonder how that works? (They only say they'll provide a discount, nothing about the power being used here though.)

Power plants are ugly. No one wants one right outside their windows! Property values will plummet.
Photo of Michelle L.

Elite '11

11friends

48reviews

5 hours ago Michelle L. says:

Looks like we may have been had...  The Alderman's office told me it was a prank and hoax.  So hopefully we were worrying for nothing!!
Photo of Josh V.

Elite '11

109friends

198reviews

5 hours ago Josh "Bruiser" V. says:

A prank! Well that makes sense, but I wonder why anyone would go through the trouble.
Photo of Mike K.

48friends

232reviews

5 hours ago Mike K. says:

Regardless, I sometimes love Tommy.  This is one of those times.  Bravo.
Photo of paul z.

5friends

55reviews

5 hours ago paul "Blasphemous Past" z. says:

Josh "Bruiser" V. says:

"A prank! Well that makes sense, but I wonder why anyone would go through the trouble."

To test the water maybe?
Photo of Josh V.

Elite '11

109friends

198reviews

5 hours ago Josh "Bruiser" V. says:

Someone should get a crack team of local investigative reporters on this right away!
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93friends

263reviews

4 hours ago John "D-FENS" S. says:

You guys were trolled.
Photo of Tim S.

Elite '11

62friends

151reviews

3 hours ago Tim "Booleani Tsunami" S. says:

I liked the outrage at new Coal plants going online while seeing WS Tommys point.

Who pulled this prank, quite elaborate.
Photo of Bill S.

0friends

2reviews

3 hours ago Bill S. says:

THIS IS A HOAX.

Please confirm with Alderman's office if you are concerned.
Photo of Bernadette S.

Elite '11

3friends

49reviews

2 hours ago Bernadette S. says:

Official word from Alderman Fioretti's office is that this was a very elaborate hoax, complete with fake protestors.  I sincerely hope to see legal action against this group for trademark infringement, false advertising, and falsification of government communications.  Protesting to get support to close the Pilsen plant is one thing, this elaborate scheme is a whole different ball game.
Photo of Lauralee A.

4friends

2reviews

31 minutes ago Lauralee A. says:

Please mar rest the person who trespasses in my building and placed unsolicited fliers on the doors.  Not once mind you, twice in a 20 hour period.  Prosecute them.
Photo of Lauralee A.

4friends

2reviews

30 minutes ago Lauralee A. says:

That was arrest, not mar rest....
Photo of Dane K.

Elite '11

277friends

808reviews

28 minutes ago Dane K. says:

flyers for what?  lol. what a semi-elaborate hoax.
Photo of James C.

0friends

0reviews

19 minutes ago James C. says:

Below is a statement on behalf of my client, Midwest Generation, regarding the hoax:

A letter and pamphlet circulated in recent days to residents of the South Loop and a press release issued today claiming to be from Midwest Generation to announce construction of a power plant in the city are fake.  

The materials also refer to a fake Midwest Generation website and twitter account, and have photos and names of supposed Midwest Generation employees which are also fake.  Those behind this hoax also misappropriated Midwest Generation's letterhead and logo.

None of these materials came from Midwest Generation, which owns six power plants and a wind farm in the state of Illinois. Midwest Generation is not building a new plant in the city of Chicago.

There also was a protest against the fake plant on April 27 near the intersection of Harrison and Wells.  It is unclear if the "protestors" were the perpetrators of the fraud or were duped by it.

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