Issued the following announcement on April 6.
When Rep. Sean Casten (IL-06) said his top priorities are, “Climate Change, Climate Change and Climate Change,” he wasn’t joking. In the heat of negotiations over the COVID-19 emergency relief bill, Casten didn’t stand up for the small business owners in Downtown Wheaton, Downers Grove, or Palatine who were just weeks from going out of business. He didn’t stand up for unemployed workers in Algonquin or Barrington who had no idea how they would pay their rent or mortgage on April 1. And he didn’t use his time composing a letter on behalf of minimum wage workers throughout the district struggling to pay their bills.
Instead, on March 20, Casten and 8 other US Representatives signed a letter to Nancy Pelosi and House leaders (pictured below) pushing for additional special subsidies and tax deals for the Green Energy industry - a sector that is already heavily subsidized. To be clear, there was already relief in the COVID-19 emergency bill for the essential services mentioned in the letter. Casten and his associates were asking for additional carve-outs and credits for their pet projects.
More importantly, it is a sector in which Sean Casten is personally invested, via a company called Greenleaf Power, LLC. According to a RollCall.com article, “The company that operates the Plainfield facility for Greenleaf sells electricity and renewable-energy credits.” By virtue of extending those credits, Greenleaf and its investors would profit.
“Sean Casten attempted to use the chaos surrounding an unprecedented crisis to benefit personally and politically. He didn’t stand with the people in his district. He pushed for his own interests and those of his political allies,” said Jeanne Ives, Candidate for Congress (IL-06). “Your constituents expect decisive action to stop the spread of COVID-19 and mitigate financial hardship. Casten has betrayed the confidence placed in him to represent this district in his effort to exploit a crisis for personal gain.
“Our community deserves serious, thoughtful representation that is focused on working with them to tackle our most difficult challenges, not Sean Casten who turns his back on them when there is a chance to gain personally or distribute goodies to his friends and political allies.”
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