Deal to close Chicago's 2 coal-fired plants early Feb 29 03:04 PM US/Eastern CHICAGO (AP) - Chicago's two coal-fired power plants will shut down early under a deal between the operator, city officials and environmental groups. The Chicago Clean Power Coalition says Midwest Generation signed an agreement on Wednesday to close its Fisk power plant by the end of the year and its Crawford plant by the end of 2014. The company already planned to close both plants by the end of 2018. But environmentalists and city officials pushed to close them earlier. Both are located in mostly Hispanic neighborhoods on the city's southwest side, and activists complain they contribute to high rates of asthma and other health problems. Chicago is the only large U.S. city with coal-fired power plants operating within its borders. Midwest officials weren't immediately available for comment.