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Fox Business News reported the story here.

“Purchasing any car requires thoughtful consiaderation of many variables – on brand, color, price – and purchasing an electric car can involve an extra layer of research,” said Madeleine Weil, Senior Policy Advocate at ELPC. “PlugInChicagoMetro.org can help consumers by providing a central resource of information about the differences, benefits and decisions involved in being an electric car owner here in Chicago and the suburbs.”

ELPC is working to advance policies that support electric cars and public charging infrastructure in Chicago and the Midwest. “Electric and hybrid cars reduce our dependence on foreign oil, produce less pollution than conventional cars, and can help consumers save money at the gas pump,” said ELPC Executive Director Howard Learner. “We should also seize the opportunities to grow the clean car jobs of the future in the Midwest auto industry.”

According to Learner, government support for public charging stations powered by clean wind and solar power, entrepreneurial ingenuity in the business community and low-cost power available for nighttime charging are just some of the ingredients that will make Chicago a market leader. “The Chicago area can become one of the nation’s leading markets for these new clean electric, natural gas and hybrid vehicles,” he said.

More and more consumers are becoming interested in learning about electric vehicles. “There’s a lot of information about electric cars out there – from dealers selling a particular model, from ‘car guys’ obsessed with the innovative technology, from critics who will scrutinize any and all changes to the status quo – but we’re not any of those people,” Weil added. “We realize purchasing a car is a personal decision. We just want to provide a forum to help Chicago-area consumers make car-buying decisions for themselves and their families.”

For more information about electric vehicles available in the Midwest in 2012, please go to www.PlugInChicagoMetro.org.

Equipped with the PTC, the wind energy industry has contributed impressively to U.S. economic development. During this free ELPC webinar, ELPC and wind industry executive Scott Viciana discussed the impact of the PTC and proposed legislation to extend it.  If you weren’t able to listen in to the live webinar, you can download the slides and listen to the audio for free.

Midwest Democratic and Republican Senators were joined by a bipartisan majority of their colleagues in the vote to reject Senator Rand Paul’s S.J. Res. 27 by a vote of 56 to 41.

“We commend the Senators who voted today to protect public health, clean air and the Great Lakes from harmful pollution,” said Howard Learner, Executive Director of the Environmental Law & Policy Center. “It’s time for the owners of old, highly-polluting coal plants to invest in modern pollution control equipment. They should move to a level playing field with the companies that have already cleaned up their plants.”

The Cross State Air Pollution Standard will prevent up to 34,000 premature deaths, 400,000 asthma attacks, 15,000 heart attacks, and 19,000 hospital visits each year starting in 2014.

“Senators Brown, Durbin, Franken, Johnson , Kirk, Kohl, Levin and Stabenow recognized their constituents’ support for common-sense standards that will protect public health,” said Learner.

The development is contrary to Saugatuck Township’s current zoning laws. McClendon sued Saugatuck Township over the zoning laws in federal court.  On November 1st, the Court ruled that the proposed consent decree violated state law because it would have prevented the Township Board from ever modifying the zoning of McClendon’s property and created a remedy that exceeded the procedural harms alleged by the developer.

The Court’s decision holds that the proposed consent decree is illegal and “impermissibly ties the hands of future township boards.” The Township and McClendon can renegotiate, but any new settlement cannot sign away the ability of future Township Boards to zone and protect land within the community.

“Judge Maloney’s decision helps restore faith in the fairness of ‘the system’,” said Marcia Perry, Vice President of the Saugatuck Dunes Coastal Alliance (SDCA).  “The hundreds of people who protested this unfair proposed consent agreement are justified by the Judge’s ruling.”

“This is a huge victory for the Saugatuck people and businesses who care about protecting our ‘pure Michigan’ landscape,” said SDCA President David Swan. “The Court’s decision affirms that the rule of law can trump the influence of a billionaire’s money and political clout.”

“As a resident of Saugatuck Township for over 35 years, I’m pleased to see that the Court has upheld our Township’s authority to make land use decisions,” said Sandra Randolph, Saugatuck Township resident and business owner. “I hope this will lead to a fair process that will better serve our community going forward.”

“The National Trust for Historic Preservation is delighted that Judge Maloney’s action has given the community another chance to protect the historic character and pristine natural beauty of the Saugatuck Dunes coastal area,” said Stephanie Meeks, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “We also applaud the Court’s decision to require a public hearing prior to its review of any future consent decree incorporating development proposals for this fragile area. We continue to believe that over-scaled development would inflict irreparable harm on the Saugatuck Dunes coastal area and we will continue to work to encourage local community officials and the developer to find a solution that protects this unique and historic place.”

“The Court decided that the local government’s and Saugatuck communities’ authority to make land use and planning decisions can’t be bartered away,” said Howard Learner, Executive Director of the Environmental Law & Policy Center and lead counsel for the Saugatuck Dunes Coastal Alliance. “This is an important legal precedent for smart land use in the Saugatuck communities and across Western Michigan.”

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Read more in the Holland Sentinel.

Read more on ELPC’s Saugatuck Dunes page.