Section 420 ILCS 10/3 - Legislative findingsThe General Assembly finds:
(a) that Illinois has more operating nuclear power plants than any state in the Nation;(b) that Illinois has a commercial, away-from-reactor, spent nuclear fuel storage facility;(c) that on behalf of the People, the State of Illinois has not only an interest in emergency preparedness to mitigate the effects of accidents at nuclear facilities but also an interest in furthering actions which reduce the likelihood and severity of accidents at nuclear facilities;(d) that reduction of the likelihood and severity of accidents at nuclear facilities is in the interest of the economic well-being of the People of the State of Illinois because of the substantial costs of (1) repairing or replacing nuclear facility equipment damaged or destroyed in an accident; (2) purchasing replacement power in the event of a loss in generating capacity in an accident; (3) disposing of nuclear facility equipment highly contaminated with radioactivity in an accident; (4) decontaminating or replacing private property damaged in an accident; (5) replacing agricultural products contaminated with radioactivity in an accident; (6) disruption to the economy caused by an accident; and (7) health care for workers and private citizens injured in an accident; and(e) that reduction of the likelihood and severity of accidents at nuclear facilities in Illinois protects the health and safety of workers at nuclear facilities and private citizens who could be injured as a result of releases of radiation from nuclear facilities.