Green Machines Road Trip

Greening Fleets in Chicago

Next we drove down to Chicago, or at least one of its suburbs, to talk with members of the Chicago Area Clean Cities Coalition.  These are primarily local government folks that are leading the way on purchasing clean fuels and clean vehicle technologies in the Chicago metropolitan area.  We stopped by the fleet garage for the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, where we spoke with the Preserve's fleet manager, John Walton.  DuPage has become somewhat of a national model, where John helped to champion the Preserve's goal of 100% alternative-fueled vehicles over 10 years.  With more than 162 vehicles in its fleet, the Preserve is already well on its way.  In case you were wondering, a Forest Preserve District is a unique governmental body that manages the public lands within the county.  In most cases (in Illinois at least), forest preserve districts are governed by the County board.  Not the case in Dupage County.  Their governing board is separate, keeping the land preservation mission front and center.  Part of that mission is also the Preserve's commitment to cleaner air, and reduced energy use.

We also spoke with Darwin Burkhart, who chairs the broader Chicago Area Clean Cities (CACC) coalition.  He told us about other success stories in the Chicago area, such as the purchase of hybrids (note his red one in the picture above) and the use of E-85 in the City of Chicago, and the extensive use of biodiesel in the City of Evanston.  The CACC coalition is part of the federal Clean Cities program run by the US Department of Energy, which has now spurred a network of more than 80 Clean City coalitions throughout the country. 

Rounding out the visit was a conversation with David Christopher, the finance and marketing VP for the region's largest retailer of E-85 fuel--Gas City.  With more than 20 stations carrying E-85 in the Chicago area, Gas City has made using an E-85 vehicle a convenient option for the city's residents.  While Gas City has made a commitment to E-85 "for the long haul," Mr. Christopher explained that many owners of flex-fuel vehicles still aren't aware they can use E-85 in their vehicles.  He said there's still a need for a public education campaign to help people become aware of the benefits and availability of these new fuels.  Toward that end, Gas City and its E85 fuel supplier, VeraSun Energy, have formed partnerships with both Ford and GM to expand consumer awareness about the availability of E85 in the Chicago area and throughout the Midwest.

Crossovers Bring Jobs to Belvidere, IL

We made our way back to Illinois today, and stopped off this morning in Belvidere to meet Mr. Thomas Littlejohn, President of UAW Local 1268.  Before we got there we thought we already knew the story about Belvidere’s newly renovated assembly plant, but it turns out there was even more good news there than we had thought.

Watch video clips of our interviews with President Littlejohn and other UAW leaders!

DaimlerChrysler’s Belvidere Assembly plant makes three new crossover vehicles: the Dodge Caliber, the Jeep Compass, and as of this month, the Jeep Patriot.  All three come with continuously variable transmissions (which save fuel and provide a smoother ride than conventional 4, 5 or 6-speed transmissions) and efficient engines with dual-variable valve timing  (that are built by UAW Local 723 in Dundee, MI).  These advanced technologies make all three vehicles capable of 30 mpg.

We had heard that Chrysler created a bunch of jobs at the plant when they renovated to build the new crossovers last year, but didn’t know all the details.  We found out today that union employment at the plant went from 1700 before the renovations to 3600 after.  In addition, we also found out that an entire supplier park was created in the surrounding neighborhoods and now employs 2900 workers, all of whom have been organized in the past year.  That’s 4800 new jobs in the Belvidere area – what an enormous impact that must have on the local economy!  And that’s only the direct manufacturing jobs; there must also be thousands of new in-direct jobs, for example at local diners and construction companies.

President Littlejohn also mentioned that the state played a big role in enticing DaimlerChrysler to re-invest in the plant by offering millions in tax incentives.  He said Governor Blagojevich and the local government have been some of the UAW’s strongest allies in the region.  If state policies made such a big difference in Illinois, imagine what federal policies could! 

Take Action! Tell Congress to encourage more investments like this one!

For more information on these crossovers , visit the Dodge Caliber, Jeep Compass and Jeep Patriot websites.

Chatting with UAW Region 4 in Illinois

On our way up to St. Paul, we made a quick stop yesterday afternoon just north of Chicago to chat with Dennis Williams, Director of UAW Region 4. Brother Dennis’ region covers a large portion of the Midwest, including members that work at auto plants that we plan to visit in Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Mr. Williams has been working closely with policy makers throughout his region who are promoting advanced auto technologies and biofuels. He spoke to us about new legislative activities, the closing of Ford’s Twin Cities plant in St. Paul, and some new eco-technologies being built in his region. Check it out!