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Exelon Power Station's Status Topic Among Clinton City Council Candidates

The candidates for the Clinton City Council fielded question Tuesday night about the future of the Clinton Power Station.

For over a year now, it has been widely reported the station is not profitable as it tries to compete in the current energy market. While the power plant does not directly benefit the city of Clinton through taxes, the revenues of the employees in the community do find their way into the city coughers. Commissioner Nan Crang says the conservative budgeting would get even tighter from a city standpoint.

[audio:3261563521-32615cityplant1.mp3] [/audio]

Challenger for Mayor, Roger Cyrulik says he wants to increase the fight for the power plant. He notes though, if the plant leaves, the city needs to find a way to maintain services.

[audio:3261563528-32615cityplant2.mp3] [/audio]

For incumbent Commissioner of Public Health and Safety, Jerry Milton, he says it's about keeping as much in Clinton as possible. He notes while the money lost would be awful, he wants to keep those jobs here and families living in the community.

[audio:3261563531-32615cityplant3.mp3] [/audio]

To remedy the potential loss of the power plant, Mayor Carolyn Peters says the city needs to continue to work towards economic development and broadening the tax base.

[audio:3261563536-32615cityplant4.mp3] [/audio]

Challenger for Commissioner of Public Health and Safety, Danny Ballenger says it is inevitable the power plant is going to close eventually. He notes, that may be soon or later, but he wants to see the city put a plan in place and make Clinton a place attractive to businesses.

[audio:3261563540-32615cityplant5.mp3] [/audio]

Mike Bray is running for Commissioner of Public Improvements. He feels dealing with a potential closure with Exelon is about development locally. He feels businesses established in the community need to be approached about improvements.

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Candidates were given two minutes to answer each question. The election is April 7.

In the coming days, keep it tuned to Regional Radio News to hear more from the Tuesday night 'Meet the Candidates' Night hosted by the Clinton Area Chamber of Commerce and WHOW/WEZC/Dewittdailynews.com.

Hear the entire Candidates forum below:

[audio:3251515949-32415MeettheCandidatesForumSeg1.mp3]Segment one[/audio]

[audio:3251515531-32415MeettheCandidatesForumSeg.mp3]Segment two[/audio]

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