Farmers to be paid for seized grain

CANTON -- Farmers who lost thousands of dollars invested in now bankrupt Central Illinois Energy will be reimbursed for cost of the corn they provided the unfinished ethanol plant.

The Illinois Department of Agriculture began mailing checks this week that reimburses the farmers for 100 percent of the cost of the $6 million of corn they provided to the plant outside Canton.

Ground was broken in October 2006 for the plant. It was proposed as a $90 million project, powered by a coal co-generation plant, with a capacity of 37 million gallons of ethanol a year.

Construction was halted in November because contractors weren't getting paid. The plant is being purchased by Credit Suisse for $80 million.

Bankruptcy attorney Barry Barash says more than $130 million has been spent on the plant and another $25 to $30 million is needed to finish it.