[Washington, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today issued the following statement in reaction to reports that the Secretary of Energy plans to pursue alternatives to FutureGen:

“After our meeting today it is clear that Secretary of Energy Sam Bodman has misled the people of Illinois, creating false hope in a FutureGen project which has no intention of funding or supporting."

“In twenty-five years on Capitol Hill, I have never witnessed such a cruel deception. For five years, the Department of Energy has urged our state and others to pursue, at great expense and sacrifice, this critically important energy project. When the City of Mattoon, Illinois was chosen over possible locations in Texas, the Secretary of Energy set out to kill FutureGen.”

“The final decision must be made by President Bush who announced FutureGen in 2003 and even referred to this critical technology research in his State of the Union speech last night.”

“The Illinois Congressional delegation is going to make the case for FutureGen directly to the President. We will not go down without a fight.”