Gov. James Thompson has begun an all-out political effort to secure for Illinois the world`s newest science plum–an enormous particle accelerator that will span portions of Du Page, Kane and De Kalb Counties. The project, called the Superconducting Super Collider, would ensure the continued existence of Fermilab near Batavia, bolster the high-technology corridor developing in the western suburbs and help correct Illinois` federal funding imbalance.
Illinois has few defense contractors and ranks dead last among the 50 states in the return on federal tax dollars it sends to Washington. The failure to get the SSC will probably force the closing of Fermilab in a decade and increase the federal tax outflow.
The governor has announced he plans to get an early start on the project by asking the General Assembly for $7.5 million to pay for the necessary geologic studies and land acquisition for the project. He will also appoint a citizens` committee to coordinate the state`s effort to land the $4 billion SSC, which would be built in a circular tunnel 200 to 400 feet below the three counties.
Gov. Thompson`s proposal to get an early start on securing the project is a sound one. Argonne National Laboratory near Darien recently lost out to a consortium of Eastern universities in its bid to build a $150 million continuous-beam electron accelerator. Although Argonne was the low bidder on the project, it lost the battle for funds in Congress because it failed to do the necessary political homework.
The $7.5 million the governor has recommended is a small investment for the potential return that an expanded Fermilab will provide.
