Electric grid, transportation and buildings: Illinois lawmakers and environmental advocates introduce trio of climate bills
The Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition introduced a hefty legislative package Tuesday outlining potential solutions in the power, buildings and transportation sectors.
The coalition — a group of environmental advocacy organizations, businesses, community leaders and others — was on the front lines of Illinois’ 2021 Climate and Equitable Jobs Act or CEJA. The new trio of bills looks to build on investments in Illinois’ climate, equity and energy goals following the 2021 bill as well as the 2022 federal Inflation Reduction Act.
Big picture items in the package include improving the state’s electric grid, requiring gas utilities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and establishing targets to reduce emissions from the transportation sector to be 100% carbon-free by 2050.
In targeting Illinois’ electric grid, one of the bills seeks to speed up the approval and connection of clean energy projects, update state energy efficiency policies, reduce barriers to building transmission lines and require transparent energy planning by municipal utilities and rural electric cooperatives.
“Illinois is already a leader on climate justice and workforce transition, but we still have work to do to secure a resilient, affordable power grid operating on 100 percent clean energy,” Chicago Democrat Rep. Ann Williams, Chairwoman of the Energy and Environment Committee, said in a news release. “We know that power grids in Illinois and across the country are outdated, inefficient, and increasingly vulnerable in extreme weather events, which are all the more common due to the effects of climate change.”
A second bill would look to tighten up energy efficiency and move buildings away from gas.
Alongside setting emission reduction goals for gas utilities to meet by 2050, the legislation would require the Illinois Commerce Commission to produce a plan to reach those goals. The commission would also be required to prioritize affordability in rate-making and decision-making processes for gas and electric utilities.
“Just last year, following record-setting profits, all major Illinois gas utility companies sought historic rate hikes that resulted in a $572 million increase in utility customers’ annual bills. These rate hikes are particularly egregious when you consider dirty gas’s impact on our health and climate,” State Sen. Celina Villanueva, a Chicago Democrat, said. “... Decarbonizing our heavily polluting buildings sector is the next urgent opportunity in climate action.”
The legislative package also zeros in on Illinois’ largest greenhouse gas emissions source: transportation. A third bill looks to address vehicle pollution and to go “beyond electrifying vehicles to include comprehensive solutions” such as improving transit, according to the release.
“We can transform our transportation system by electrifying public transit and also supporting equitable and affordable mobility opportunities. The status quo doesn’t work for current riders, potential new riders, or taxpayers,” Democratic State Sen. Ram Villivalam of Chicago said. “We need one agency that makes transit work better across Chicagoland. Reform must come first.”
• Jenny Whidden, jwhidden@dailyherald.com, is a climate change and environment writer working with the Daily Herald through a partnership with Report For America supported by The Nature Conservancy. To help support her work with a tax-deductible donation, see dailyherald.com/rfa.