Bonnie Jamerson has a dual master’s degree in business and human resources, but she still chooses to make a living as a coal miner in Marissa, about 50 miles southeast of St. Louis in Illinois.
The 42-year-old single mother from Benton drives more than an hour up to six days a week to the mine at Prairie State Energy Campus, where she works nine-hour shifts putting in overhead supports to keep the mine from caving in.
She’s never been afraid of hard work, and the regular pay and health insurance allows Jamerson to support her 19-year-old daughter, who has chronic health issues. She has owned her own business and done other work, but coal mining is still the most lucrative and reliable job she’s ever had.
The average annual wage for an underground mine technician such as Jamerson is $80,000 plus benefits and a matching retirement savings plan, said Prairie State spokeswoman Alyssa Harre.
“It provides comfort on the fact that I am going to be guaranteed the work as long as I put forth the effort,” Jamerson said.
Yet Jamerson’s job as a miner could disappear unless Prairie State makes major changes.
Illinois’ new clean energy law includes a 2045 deadline for closing all coal-fired plants unless they meet stringent guidelines and interim goals. It doesn’t outlaw coal mining, but by including $40 million in grants for the social and economic impact of plant and mine closures, the law assumes all coal industry jobs in Illinois will eventually disappear.
Advocates of the law say...
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