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Bailout Of Nuclear Plant Spells Relief For Small Illinois Town

In this Sept. 26, 2016 file photo, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner speaks at the Illinois State Capitol, in Springfield, Ill. (Seth Perlman/AP)
In this Sept. 26, 2016 file photo, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner speaks at the Illinois State Capitol, in Springfield, Ill. (Seth Perlman/AP)

A lot of people in the small central Illinois town of Clinton are celebrating this holiday season — the nuclear power plant near town will be around for at least another decade.

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner signed legislation earlier this month that provides billions of dollars in subsidizes the plant’s owner, Exelon, to keep the Clinton plant and another facility in Quad-Cities from closing. Exelon says its Clinton plant has been a money-loser for some time. But it’s been a big part of the region’s economy ever since construction began in the 1970s.

Jim Meadows (@WILLJimMeadows) of WILL in Urbana, Illinois reports on the economy of a little town with a big power plant.

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