Those in attendance included industry leaders, university presidents, scientists, union leaders, environmentalists, the Indiana Governor, and members of the Illinois Congressional delegation. State Senator Dale Righter (R-Mattoon), the Senate Republican representative on the Task Force, also came to discuss legislation he has already introduced to level the playing field for Illinois.

Potential sites in Mattoon and Tuscola are competing against two areas in Texas to land the project. The four finalists were judged with other competing locations in 43 categories, and the four finalists were separated by less than 5 percentage points.

While Illinois’ sites scored higher for geological features, the State of Texas scored bonus points for enacting a statute indemnifying FutureGen for litigation that might arise concerning the process of carbon dioxide sequestration. In response, Senator Righter and State Representative Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet) drafted Senate Bill 3190 and House Bill 5825 to allow Illinois to provide legal defense for the FutureGen Alliance and those working for them, with regards to the specific process of sequestering carbon dioxide underground.

The FutureGen project is being touted by industry leaders as having the potential to forever change the way electricity is generated.

The FutureGen Alliance plans to select one of four remaining sites in Illinois or Texas as early as September 2007. The facility will be the first of its kind and will produce more than 1,000 construction jobs, 150 permanent plant operation jobs, and hundreds more generated through new industries drawn to the area, all by 2012. Along with reviving Illinois’ coal industry, it will lead to cleaner air and other environmental improvements in Illinois and worldwide.