* After the climate/energy bill passed today, Senate President Don Harmon and others involved with the legislation held a press conference. There were a couple of off-topic questions, including this one…
Q: President Harmon, another beautiful thing of the General Assembly is to provide a check to the governor’s authority. When are you guys gonna take up the various mandates, going on 19 months of executive orders?
A: Well I think that, in particular, right now, we are so focused on getting kids back into school safely and keeping them there. The governor seems to have been following the science and it seems to be working. And I’m going to keep my fingers crossed that my daughter is going to stay through her high school year without interruption, and that kids across the state are going to be able to say the same thing.
Q: Isn’t that the job of the General Assembly to have some skin in this game, to have the local elected representatives actually sound off on these things and cast those votes?
A: Again, I don’t think there’s been any shortage of debate at the local level or at the state level. I think that we are all comfortable following the science and everything does seem to be working so [knocks on the podium] knock wood we’re gonna keep going in the right direction.
* The Question: How satisfied are you with the Illinois General Assembly’s response to the pandemic? Make sure to explain your answers, please.
Here is a list of some of Chicago’s least-known residents: Eva Dina Delgado. Lakesia Collins. Frances Ann Hurley. Lindsey LaPointe. Lamont J. Robinson Jr. Cristina H. Pacione-Zayas.
You’ve probably never heard of these people because they don’t work in Chicago; they work in Springfield as members of the Illinois General Assembly.
In Chicago politics, there is no lower form of life than a state legislator. If you’re looking to lie low or hide out from your enemies, run for the legislature. No one will bother to hunt you down in the state capital — an exceedingly dull three-hour drive down Interstate 55.
I dunno, maybe the magazine should be writing more about Illinois government so its readers wouldn’t have to be given such a ludicrous premise?
* Response…
What has Chicago Magazine substantively done over the years to invite readers into the world of state government and politics?
Thank you Chicago Magazine for introducing us to your base in case they have not been in touch with the impactful contributions - both before and during a public health and economic crisis - of the General Assembly members you highlighted in Opinion: There’s No More Invisible Politician than an Illinois State Legislator. Any search on ilga.gov will produce a solid list of successful legislative measures that reflect our deep work on the ground on behalf of the approximately 108,000-216,000 people we each represent. The named group of individuals are legislating with significant impact. Here are some recent examples:
● Lead service line replacement,
● First responder mental health,
● Streamlining Business Enterprise Program Certification for small businesses,
● State designated cultural districts to spur economic recovery,
● Protection of first amendment for youth in care,
● Increased access to higher education pathways,
● Affordable and accessible child care, and
● Increased support and real opportunities for youth and adults with disabilities.
Singling out legislators who are predominantly people of color, women, and openly gay (coincidentally all members of minoritized* groups in the General Assembly) compels us to ask, is it a coincidence or by design that it is difficult to find any statement of solidarity with the national uprising and accelerated civic engagement that many news outlets and socio-political influencers adopted, amplified and implemented in the wake of George Floyd’s murder? This is especially perplexing because these same legislators championed and executed the charge to address the root causes of failed policy for communities that have been historically marginalized in past sessions.
Furthermore, each of us represent communities that may not have broad readership of your magazine which can safely perpetuate the racism, sexism, and homophobia in this opinion piece without any accountability from constituents and supporters who are more than familiar with our track record. Performing a simple Google search, perusing our social media channels, or speaking to our constituents will reveal significant evidence of outreach, engagement, activism, and collaboration within our districts and across Illinois.
While we understand the purpose of an opinion piece, we are left searching for an application of journalistic standards. It’s disheartening that you allowed something this off-base and unconstructive to be included in your publication given that it promotes itself as “the most highly honored city magazines in the nation.” Instead of leaving readers with inflammatory words strung together by a writer rudderless toward a solution to the disengagement he laments, here’s what we propose your readers consider:
● Becoming acquainted with state lawmakers is a shared responsibility between constituents, the media, and elected officials. The work is bidirectional and the law professor who admitted to not knowing, or caring to know, his state senator is more of a poor reflection on him given his area of expertise.
● Confirm if the media source has correspondents covering the subject criticized in opinion pieces (i.e. Does Chicago Magazine have a Springfield correspondent?). Critical consumption of media is a central skill in the 21st century, especially with information overload.
● Verify opinion pieces like these with BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color), Latinx, LGBTQ, and women-led sources that offer nuance and uncover complexities that center the world perspectives that are often ignored and diminished by mainstream media and glossy publications.
Chicago Magazine, we disagree with both your tagline, “We (Chicago Magazine) are Chicago,” and the bottom line from this opinion piece that the cited General Assembly members are hiding behind a conflated title of “state legislator” and living a “cush” life with no accountability. Many of us have endured sacrifices to operationalize the role of “public servant.” It is a dishonor to our ancestors, descendants, and co-conspirators in this work who inform our strategy to upend
systemic -isms and transform government to be for, by, and with the people. You can and should do better.
State Representative Lakesia Collins
State Representative Eva-Dina Delgado
State Representative Frances Ann Hurley
State Representative Lindsey LaPointe
State Senator Cristina Pacione-Zayas
State Representative Lamont Robinson
Kinda on the professorial side, but whatevs. Your thoughts?
Governor JB Pritzker and Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) Secretary Grace Hou today announced a series of nation-leading investments to strengthen access to childcare for parents seeking to reenter the workforce while simultaneously bolstering childcare providers and their employees. As families across Illinois continue to get back on their feet amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, IDHS is expanding Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) eligibility to include three months of free coverage for unemployed parents who meet the CCAP eligibility requirements to help residents get back to work.
The Pritzker administration is also providing bonuses of up to $1,000 for eligible childcare workers. These bonuses will be followed by two more rounds of childcare restoration grants, plus an additional phase of grants in 2022, with $300 million to be made available to providers across the state.
Today’s announcement builds on the administration’s ongoing commitment to providing affordable, accessible childcare for all Illinois families. Earlier this year, the Governor announced CCAP co-pays would decrease for 80% of families who participate in the program. Families who meet certain income eligibility requirements, with income below 100% of the Federal Poverty Level have seen their monthly co-pays reduced to $1.
Since the pandemic began, the State has invested more than $700 million in COVID-19 relief funding in the state’s childcare industry. Through the first round of Child Care Restoration Grants, over 5,000 providers have received monetary support, representing 85% of eligible childcare centers and 40% of licensed family childcare homes. On average, childcare centers have received over $270,000 each and childcare homes have received an average of $13,000.
“Childcare is an essential part of a strong and equitable economy, and I’m proud that Illinois is leading the nation in supporting families and providers,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Without safe and affordable childcare, too many caregivers – especially women – can’t return to the workforce. We’re taking a major step to address this problem in Illinois, and rebuild our childcare ecosystem – and rebuild it better.”
Beginning October 1, 2021, parents who are unemployed and actively seeking employment will be eligible for three months of Child Care Assistance, provided they meet the standard CCAP eligibility requirements. If parents become employed or enroll in an education program before the end of the three-month period and meet all other CCAP eligibility requirements, their eligibility will continue for 12 months in total.
Families interested in applying for support through the Child Care Assistance Program, can contact their local Child Care Resource & Referral Agency (CCR&R) which can be found online at https://www.inccrra.org/about/sdasearch or by calling 1-877-202-4453 toll-free.
In addition, DHS will launch the Child Care Workforce Bonus program next month. Through the program, all staff at licensed and license-exempt childcare centers and homes will be eligible to receive up to a $1000 bonus, provided they meet all licensing and health and safety requirements. Childcare workers will receive the payment through their employer between October 2021 and March 2022.
Application information about the program will be available for employers via the Illinois Network of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies (INCCRRA) in the coming weeks. Employers are required to pay staff 100% of the bonus amount awarded by the state.
“Thanks to the unwavering leadership of Governor Pritzker, our administration is mobilizing federal recovery dollars to provide grants that will help Illinois businesses continue with reopening, bring back their staff, and rebuild stronger,” said IDHS Secretary, Grace B. Hou. “At IDHS, we have taken necessary steps to support front line workers who are the fabric of communities across the state. The childcare network is essential to rebuilding our economy.”
The administration will also launch a final round of 2021 Child Care Restoration Grants and later this year will open applications for 2022 Stabilization Grants. The Child Care Restoration Grants administered through IDHS continue to offer childcare providers access to funds that can help counterbalance losses due to COVID-19 and take advanced steps to rebuild from the impacts of the pandemic. The program has been in place since 2020, when it provided $290 million to small businesses and childcare providers across the state. $270 million in additional funds have been invested in providers, to date, in 2021.
“Access to early childhood has the power to change the future of our city and state. on behalf of children and families, I’m incredibly grateful to have a governor whose COVID-19 response and recovery plan includes a significant investment in early childhood. Our children’s learning needs to start early, and parents need to be back at work. The plans the Governor outlined today will make sure that’s possible,” said Libby Shortenhaus, Chief Executive Officer, Christopher House.
The administration’s comprehensive support programming has prevented the mass closure of childcare facilities across the state and provided parents with safe places to care for their children as they reenter the workforce. Of the licensed childcare centers who received a state grant in 2020, 98% are still open and serving children. Approximately 30% fewer childcare centers closed over the last year than closed on average each year from 2016 to 2018.
Gov. Pritzker said the “vast majority” of the dollars announced today are federal dollars.
…Adding… Not sure why, but the governor was asked today whether this program was campaign-related. He denied it.
…Adding… Just a few years ago, you may recall, childcare eligibility was cut to 50 percent of the federal poverty level via an emergency rule.
As it prepares to deliver its first electric pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles this year, Rivian has spent around $1.5 billion renovating and expanding a factory once owned by Mitsubishi. On a typical day the 3.3-million-square-foot plant hosts several hundred construction workers alongside more than 2,500 workers employed by the company, which expects to eventually double its local head count.
The effects are hard to miss in Normal and nearby Bloomington, a metropolitan area of about 170,000. Hotels are frequently booked up, pandemic or not; hundreds of housing lots are being developed; and many employers looking to hire a full-time plumber are basically out of luck. […]
The ramp-up has made labor, already in short supply during the pandemic, even more scarce. A branch of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which has helped contractors like Mr. Mosier staff up, says it has fully booked the roughly 280 licensed union electricians in the area.
To meet the demand, the union brought in a few hundred electricians from elsewhere in the country this year.
A nearby community college started a program this fall to train electric vehicle technicians, and Illinois State University, which abuts Uptown, is building an engineering school partly in response to Rivian.
The first self-declared 2023 mayoral candidate's Twitter lists his location as Hinsdale, features video of himself at Trump Tower, and has a photo of himself hanging out with Jerry Reinsdorf and Michael Madigan https://t.co/Xl0frP98od
For much of the pandemic, the rate of new COVID-19 infections among people younger than 20 trailed the rates for other age groups. But that’s changed. In the most recent week’s worth of data, those under 20 experienced the highest rate of new infections.
For the week ending Sept. 4, Illinoisans under 20 saw more than 300 new cases per 100,000 people in that group. That’s 22% higher than the state average, which is near 245 per 100,000 residents. […]
The state’s southern region topped 1,320 weekly new cases per 100,000 kids [12-17] — or six times the rate of that age group in Lake and McHenry counties. The good news, for the southern region, is its latest figures were slightly lower than the prior week, stopping what had been a steep climb since mid-August. […]
The average number of kids admitted [to hospitals] each day in Illinois with confirmed cases of COVID-19 has risen from less than one a day in July to about six now. When adding in suspected cases upon admission, the number increases to nearly 44 kids a day, on average, which is about as bad as the spring 2021 surge and close to levels of last fall’s surge.
President Joe Biden’s newly issued mandate that companies with 100 or more employees must require vaccinations or weekly COVID-19 testing among their workforce may be just what the doctor ordered for a number of Chicago-area companies, including WeatherTech, the southwest suburban car floor mat manufacturer.
The company, which has 1,700 employees on its sprawling Bolingbrook campus making everything from dog bowls to cellphone holders, has no vaccine or testing mandates in place, despite having “several very sick employees” and one death from COVID-19, according to WeatherTech founder and CEO David MacNeil.
MacNeil, a strong proponent of COVID-19 vaccinations for his employees, said the legal landscape for imposing a company mandate was unknown — at least before Biden announced his proposed mandate Thursday.
“I welcome government help in getting the job done,” MacNeil said Friday.
Keeping employees and their families healthy is good for business. Period.
Chicago is taking aim at Texas’ new social policies with a full-page ad in Sunday’s Dallas Morning News, urging companies uncomfortable with the state’s recently enacted abortion and voting laws to head to the windy city.
World Business Chicago, the city’s public-private economic development arm, purchased the print ad, which opens with “Dear Texas” before jumping into reasons companies should consider moving north. It cites the Midwest city’s startup ecosystem, attraction of tech and engineering graduates and a top-ranked logistics and transportation sector as strengths.
Then it hones in on what it perceives as Texas’ new weakness.
“In Chicago, we believe in every person’s right to vote, protecting reproductive rights and science to fight COVID-19,″ the ad states.
Like other Republican governors around the country, Tate Reeves of Mississippi reacted angrily to the coronavirus vaccine mandates President Biden imposed on private businesses. Declaring the move “terrifying,” he wrote on Twitter: “This is still America, and we still believe in freedom from tyrants.”
There is a deep inconsistency in that argument. Mississippi has some of the strictest vaccine mandates in the nation, which have not drawn opposition from most of its elected officials. Not only does it require children to be vaccinated against measles, mumps and seven other diseases to attend school, but it goes a step further than most states by barring parents from claiming “religious, philosophical or conscientious” exemptions.
Resistance to vaccine mandates was once a fringe position in both parties, more the realm of misinformed celebrities than mainstream political thought. But the fury over Mr. Biden’s mandates shows how a once-extreme stance has moved to the center of the Republican Party. The governors’ opposition reflects the anger and fear about the vaccine among constituents now central to their base, while ignoring longstanding policy and legal precedent in favor of similar vaccination requirements.
With a majority of colleges in Illinois requiring students to be vaccinated for COVID-19 before attending classes, one organization is pushing back.
Young Americans for Liberty is coordinating with student leaders at 23 public campuses around the country, including at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, to speak out against the forced mandates.
Spokesman Eric Brakey says the organization is not anti-vaccine, but rather anti-vaccine mandate at taxpayer-funded academic institutions.
“That is not what America is supposed to be,” Brakey said. “Those are the kind of policies we saw in the Soviet Union that we used to make fun of a generation ago.”
* Galesburg doctor says new COVID-19 cases are more severe, ICU patients younger: Carpenter said all six ICU beds at OSF St. Mary Medical Center were filled during his shift Tuesday. All six were COVID-19 patients and all six were on ventilators. “We are seeing a higher number of patients requiring ventilator care than with the previous round,” Carpenter said. Likewise, this spike is having more serious effects on a younger demographic.
* Springfield family of fully vaccinated COVID-19 victim sends a message to doubters in her obituary: “Vaccinated individuals with other health conditions … may not have developed as strong of an antibody response with the vaccine as others and may not be able to fight off their illness and COVID as well,” said Gail O’Neill, director of the Sangamon County Department of Public Health. That apparently was the case with Candace Ayres, who had dealt with debilitating rheumatoid arthritis the past 10 years, her son said.
* Folks who refuse to trust a vaccine in wide usage that’s been approved by the FDA and instead demand an alleged treatment that the FDA has not approved and that its manufacturer and every legit medical association has warned against using never cease to amaze me. This death is heartbreaking, but there’s no getting around the fact that she celebrated her opposition to the vaccine and now the grifter crazies and their gullible followers are all predictably furious…
A hospitalized COVID-19 denier whose attempts to be treated with deworming drug ivermectin inspired a far-right harassment campaign against her hospital died early Monday, sparking cries among QAnon conspiracy theorists that she had been the victim of “medical murder.” Before her COVID-19 diagnosis, Veronica Wolski was a prominent Illinois booster of the QAnon conspiracy theory who recorded herself hanging pro-QAnon banners over bridges and flouting mask laws in stores, once declaring, “I have never once worn a mask.”
After she was hospitalized in Chicago two weeks ago with COVID-19, Wolski’s supporters in QAnon and other far-right groups besieged the medical center with hundreds of phone calls and even some death threats, demanding that she receive ivermectin, whose effectiveness as a COVID-19 treatment is unproven. Top QAnon leaders like former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn embraced her cause, with pro-Trump lawyer Lin Wood calling the hospital and demanding she receive ivermectin shortly before Wolski’s death. On Monday morning, Wood announced in a post on social networking app Telegram that Wolski had died shortly after midnight and called her death a “medical murder,” urging his followers to “go to war.”
“I have just learned that Veronica Wolski saw the face of God this morning at 12:44 a.m.,” Wood said.
“It is our responsibility to ensure that these medical murders stop NOW and the perpetrators be brought to justice.
“Veronica will be on her bridge in Heaven looking down on us. We must do our best to make sure Veronica did not leave this Earth in vain.”
Just hours before reporting her death, Wood posted a video online where he called hospital staff and demanded that she be released from hospital, claiming the person on the call would be guilty of murder if she did not.
In the Telegram channel Wolski once ran, her supporters posted hundreds of messages of sympathy but also urged others to spam the social media account of Amita Health with messages about her “murder.”
Across other QAnon channels where Wolski is being hailed as a martyr, a patriot, and a hero, a common refrain is that she was “kidnapped and murdered” by the hospital and that this “medical tyranny” must end now.
“RIP one of the biggest Patriots of current times. I called that extermination camp Amita many times last night, and police district 16 to report attempted murder,” one typical commenter wrote.
* Freedom Rally met with counter-protestors: A couple hundred people attended a Freedom Rally Sunday in a parking lot on Mulligan Drive in Bradley. The group has been organizing protests in Kankakee County against forced vaccinations and Gov. JB Pritzker’s mandated COVID-19 mitigations including required face masks. Counter-protesters gathered near the rally.
Illinois’ newest candidate for governor is trying to explain who he isn’t.
Jesse Sullivan, the fourth person to declare for the 2022 Republican primary, is a venture capitalist from Petersburg – near Springfield and the home of Lincoln’s New Salem – who says he moved back to his hometown to raise his family.
His opponents, as well as the Democratic Party, have tagged him as a “San Francisco venture capitalist,”
“I am through and through a Midwesterner from central Illinois, a small town of 2,000 people,” Sullivan told WTAX News. Responding to a question about how he will escape his rivals’ labeling of him, “I’m a central Illinois guy who shares central Illinois values, and so anybody who tries to paint me in a different way – it’s all politics.”
While Sullivan and his campaign are disavowing the labeling, his company’s web site does not. He is the founder of Alter Global, whose site is alter.vc. A check of that site, including Sullivan’s own page on the site, reveals no mention of Lincoln, nor the small-town, Midwestern roots on which Sullivan is campaigning.
The company has apparently since updated its site…
And Sullivan no longer has a page on the site as of 10:19 this morning.
But the company’s Twitter and LinkedIn and Facebook pages still list San Francisco or the Silicon Valley as its headquarters.
* I mean, it seems so trivial, but the campaign has reportedly been pushing back hard against media outlets which have labeled him a San Francisco businessperson. They’ve also released a new video on the topic whacking the media…
State senator Darren Bailey, who recently pointed to a jar full of corn kernels to declare himself as the Republican frontrunner, cast Sullivan as a different kind of outsider because of where he has lived
“We have witnessed San Francisco’s values on full display in our great state—it’s not good,” Bailey said. “We need a Governor who understands the Heartland, made a life here and shares our values. Our so-called ‘elites’ and their big checkbooks have had their run of things for too long. We think it’s time the regular folks in this state have their say.”
* Two pretty good pieces today about what’s in the climate/energy bill that the Senate is scheduled to take up later on final passage. You should read all of both stories. Here’s the Tribune…
The proposal sets a goal of moving the state to 100% “clean” energy by 2050, with interim goals of 40% of the state’s power coming from renewable sources by 2030 and 50% by 2040.
To get there, subsidies for wind and solar projects would roughly double, to about $500 million per year. The plan also would allow the state’s large electric utilities to spend about $317 million in previously collected funds on renewable energy projects rather than refunding it to customers. Under existing law, the money was supposed to pay for projects that came online by May 31 of this year, but many were delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. […]
Opponents have raised concerns about the cost to municipalities that invested in Prairie State and to the city of Springfield, and they’ve also questioned whether closing coal and natural gas plants would hurt reliability of the energy grid.
But the plan would allow specific units to remain open if regulators determine they’re essential for reliability and stability of the grid.
Opponents say by saving thousands of northern Illinois jobs in nuclear plants, the bill would mean the loss of more than 1,000 jobs by the premature closure of coal-fired plants operated by CWLP and at Prairie State. Opponents also say downstate communities could be forced to rely on energy produced in other states burning fossil fuels.
The legislation gives CWLP and Prairie State until June 30, 2038, instead of Jan. 1, 2035, to reduce their carbon-dioxide emissions by 45%. If that level of reduction couldn’t be reached, one or more generating units would have to close,
Prairie State has two generating units, which would allow at least one of the two to continue operating until coal-fired generation would be banned in 2045. CWLP officials said it appears the bill would allow the Dallman Power Station to keep operating until 2045.
The bill would count the December 2020 closure of coal-fired units Dallman 31 and 32, along with the planned 2023 closure of Dallman 33, toward the 45% carbon-emission reduction requirement in the bill.
*** UPDATE 1 *** The climate/energy bill passed Senate 37-17-3. They had remote voting issues, among other things. But that’s two votes less than the last time they passed the bill.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Gov. Pritzker…
Governor JB Pritzker released the following statement on the Senate passage of the comprehensive energy package, Senate Bill 2408, that puts consumers and the climate first:
“Today, with the Senate passage of SB 2408, the State of Illinois is making history by setting aggressive standards for a 100 percent clean energy future. After years of debate and discussion, science has prevailed, and we are charting a new future that works to mitigate the impacts of climate change here in Illinois.
“SB 2408 puts the state on a path toward 100% clean energy and invests in training a diverse workforce for the jobs of the future. Illinois will become the best state in the nation to manufacture and drive an electric vehicle, and equity will be prioritized in every new program created. SB2408 puts consumers and climate at the forefront, prioritizing meaningful ethics and transparency reforms, and institutes key ratepayer and residential customer protections.
“I’d like to thank Leaders Cunningham and Hastings and Sen. Villanueva for the many hours spent in working group meetings and negotiating sessions. I am proud of the collaborative work between stakeholders, Senate President Don Harmon and Speaker Welch that resulted in a package that makes meaningful progress in protecting our climate and consumers.
“I look forward to signing this historic measure into law as soon as possible, because our planet and the people of Illinois ought not wait any longer.”
* CJI Executive Director Joe Duffy…
We commend our partners in the Senate for their steadfast leadership and their commitment to getting this bill over the finish line. What this legislation proves is that we don’t have to choose between jobs and a cleaner, fairer future. We can do both.
With this landmark legislation, we will build the clean energy economy of the future—powered by union jobs—to reverse generations of carbon emissions and build a pathway to the middle class for new generations of highly trained workers from historically disinvested communities. We will justly transition from fossil fuels and raise the bar on transparency and accountability for utilities and energy developers in the greater interest of ratepayers and consumers.
This bill is the most pro-worker, pro-climate legislation in the country and will establish Illinois as a leader in fighting the climate crisis. The urgent need for bold climate action cannot wait any longer, and we can’t wait to get to work building a cleaner, fairer future for Illinois. We urge Gov. Pritzker to immediately sign this legislation.”
SB 2408 sets the strongest clean energy labor standards in the country and promises to raise the bar for other states seeking to enact new labor and employment policies for building and maintaining clean energy developments.
The bill will create thousands of new clean energy union jobs, expand union apprenticeships for Black and Latinx communities, increase energy efficiency for public schools and safeguard thousands of union workers at the state’s nuclear plants that currently generate the bulk of Illinois’ zero-emissions energy.
* Sierra Club Illinois Director Jack Darin…
“Today is a historic day, not just for Illinois, but for the entire nation. Today, legislators listened to the voices of all Illinoisans in passing the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, and Illinois will act on climate change with a plan for a 100% clean energy future that centers equity and racial justice.
“This bill came about through a coalition-led community engagement process that centered people’s needs today and their hopes for the future, and not utilities or special interests.
“We applaud the work of legislators and stakeholders that helped reach this agreement, and particularly the bold leadership of Governor Pritzker in delivering this historic win for Illinois communities and our planet.”
* ICJC…
“The Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition applauds the Senate on today’s passage of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act. We are on the verge of history in Illinois, poised to take significant steps to address our climate crisis, create equitable, good-paying jobs across the state particularly in Black and Brown communities, and enact tough utility accountability measures.
“We would like to thank Governor Pritzker, House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, Senate President Don Harmon, and legislative champions in addition to thousands of diverse advocates who have been organizing for a clean energy future for more than three years.”
* Speaker Welch…
“With the Senate’s passage of this comprehensive energy proposal, the Illinois legislature has positioned our state as a national leader for clean energy policies,” said House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch. “I was elected to lead the House chamber eight months ago today, and I’m so proud to see all of the hard work we’ve put into this bill finally come to fruition. I look forward to seeing Governor JB Pritzker sign it into law so we can put Illinois on the path to a greener future, while also prioritizing jobs, a diversified energy sector and much-needed utility ethics reforms.”
* Senate President Don Harmon…
The threat to our planet is real.
Our goal all along was to enact reliable, renewable and affordable energy policies that position Illinois to lead the nation in combatting climate change and growing a green energy economy.
That is exactly what we are doing here today.
From the beginning, this has been a shared goal and I want to thank the Senate, House and governor’s team for all their work in putting this together.
* Paul Schimpf…
Democrats have once again chosen special interest groups over the people of Illinois by passing SB 2408. Their environmental virtue signaling will not impact global climate change, but will result in the largest rate increase in Illinois history, raising utility prices for working families and making our energy supply less reliable. Illinois families and businesses can’t afford to pay more for Springfield’s wreckless spending and dealmaking. JB Pritzker should stand up for the people of Illinois, not the special interest groups, and veto this bill.
* IEC…
Illinois Environmental Council (IEC) Executive Director Jen Walling on today’s historic Senate vote on SB2408, the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act:
“This is a story about the power of people and the environmental movement in Illinois standing up to big fossil fuel and utility companies–and winning. The passage of this bill is proof that years of education, advocacy and movement building have secured a strong climate action majority in the Illinois General Assembly.
“Gov. JB Pritzker and environmental champions in the House and Senate sided with their constituents over polluting fossil fuel industries who, until today, dictated energy policy in our state. IEC extends our sincere thanks for their dedication to passing a true climate bill with nation-leading equity standards, which will create thousands of good-paying jobs and put Illinois on a path to a 100% clean energy future. These legislators have provided a just transition for workers and communities historically dependent on dirty fossil fuels. They have enacted some of the toughest utility accountability measures in the nation. And, through this legislation, they will create jobs and wealth in Illinois’ Black and Brown communities, who have too often been the first to suffer the negative consequences of pollution, but the last to reap the health and economic benefits of a clean energy future.
“The legacy of fossil fuels in the power sector poisoning our communities and driving the climate crisis will officially come to an end in 2045. There is still more work to do, but today we celebrate this leap forward in creating a more equitable and thriving environment for generations to come.”
* Path to 100…
Today, Illinois passed major clean energy legislation that commits the state to reaching 40% renewable energy by 2030 and 50% renewables by 2040. The Climate and Equitable Jobs Act puts Illinois at the forefront of the fight against climate change all while creating tens of thousands of jobs, expanding diversity in the renewable energy industry, and providing more than $1 billion in electricity bill savings for consumers.
The 40% renewable energy standard was first introduced in the Path to 100 Act by Representative Will Davis and Senator Bill Cunningham in 2019. The renewable energy impacts of the legislation include:
· The 40% renewable energy goal will spur the construction of over 4,000 MW of new wind, 4,000 MW of new utility-scale solar, and 5,800 MW of new rooftop and community solar.
· The Illinois Power Agency will procure approximately 2.5 million new renewable energy credits (RECs) by June 2022 and 3.8 million new RECs per year from 2022-2030.
· The RECs will support wind energy (45%) utility-scale solar (25.85%) brownfield solar (1.65%) and community, rooftop and residential solar through an adjustable block program (27.5%).
· Credits in the adjustable block program are divided among community solar (30%), large distributed generation (20%), small distributed generation (20%), schools (15%), equity eligible projects (10%) and Community driven community solar (5%).
“As a result of this landmark legislation, Illinois is now ready to embark on its clean energy future,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). “Opening the Illinois market is critical to the growth of energy sources that will clean the air, create jobs and jumpstart the state’s economy. Illinois is now a national leader in crafting renewable energy solutions and we want to thank Governor Pritzker, Senate President Harmon, Speaker Welch, Senator Cunningham and Representative Davis for their leadership on this important bill.”
“Illinois kept its promise to the solar workers who have dedicated their careers to building our renewable energy future,” said Lesley McCain, executive director of the Illinois Solar Energy Association. “After years of advocacy, we now have a path to reverse job losses and deliver clean electricity for families across Illinois.”
In addition to growing clean, renewable energy, the bill includes important requirements for diversity, equity and inclusion in the renewable energy industry that were supported by community advocates and wind and solar businesses. Key equity provisions include supplier diversity requirements for companies that participate in the state’s renewable energy program, a dedicated block of renewable energy incentives for businesses from underserved communities and requirements for utility-scale renewable energy projects to complete project labor agreements that directly address the hiring of minority employees.
“Expanding access to low-cost renewable energy through community solar is vital for Illinois to make the transition to clean energy in a manner that is equitable and just,” said Laurel Passera, policy director for the Coalition for Community Solar Access (CCSA). “We applaud the legislature for passing a bill that will provide the needed pathway to improve Illinois’ energy infrastructure, create good-paying jobs, and provide access to many thousands of residents, businesses and community organizations who do not currently have the opportunities to participate in the clean energy economy.”
The bill also includes the strongest labor provisions in the nation and guarantees that renewable energy growth will create tens of thousands of good union jobs in Illinois. All workers building commercial and community-scale renewable energy projects will be paid prevailing wages and utility-scale projects will complete project labor agreements with organized labor.
“SB2408 is landmark legislation that shows what is possible when industry and labor work together,” said Joe Duffy, executive director of Climate Jobs Illinois. “This law will make Illinois a national leader in building the clean energy economy of the future, and it will open up new opportunities for historically disadvantaged communities, creating thousands of union jobs and expanding apprenticeship opportunities that will pave the way to the middle class for a new generation of homegrown, highly trained workers. We hope Gov. Pritzker will sign this legislation right away so we can get our members and new trainees to work in the fight against climate change.”
Illinois’ renewable energy workforce will be on the job immediately building the projects the state needs to reach its aggressive clean energy goals. The renewable energy industry will continue to collaborate with policymakers and other stakeholders to create Illinois’ clean energy future.
…Adding… DPI Chair Robin Kelly…
“Illinois Democrats have once again shown we lead the nation in addressing our most pressing issues. This was an unprecedented effort by Democrats at all levels to craft legislation that puts Illinois on a path to a clean energy future, creates sustainable jobs and climate equity throughout our state’s many diverse communities. I applaud our Democratic leaders, including Gov. Pritzker, Speaker Welch and President Harmon, for ensuring critical stakeholders were at the table, including community leaders, climate and environmental justice advocates, faith leaders, Black and brown business leaders, labor leaders and engaged citizens. Our state’s future is brighter because of this process.”
* Sen. Michael Hastings…
“Today’s historic agreement is the culmination of a difficult, but worthwhile negotiation process where we refused to accept anything less than the best for Illinois’ clean energy future,” Hastings said. “Our work product is one that is renewable, reliable, and affordable for all Illinoisans.”
Under Senate Bill 2408, the largest investment in renewable energy in state history, Illinois will embark on an aggressive path to complete clean energy generation by 2050.
Additionally, this plan preserves nearly 28,000 direct and indirect jobs and $149 million in local economic impact.
“Job preservation and economic viability for often forgotten communities remained a focal point for me throughout this process,” Hastings said. “Not only were we able to preserve these jobs, but we also created the opportunity to train for thousands of new, good-paying jobs in the clean energy sector.”
* Sen. Sue Rezin…
“For over two years, we have spent countless hours fighting to preserve our state’s entire nuclear fleet. On the day that the Byron Generating Station was scheduled for decommission, we finally passed a bill that makes that a reality.
“While I don’t agree with everything that is included in Senate Bill 2408, it does keep our nuclear plants online, saves thousands of Illinois jobs, and puts our state on a realistic path to 100 percent clean, carbon-free energy.
“Without this bill, any hope of bringing a carbon-free energy future to Illinois by 2050 will be all but impossible and thousands of good-paying jobs would be lost throughout our state.”
Republicans have been fighting internally in Illinois for decades. But the central issues that sometimes divided the party have gone from gun control, gay rights and abortion to mask wearing, vaccines and Trump loyalty. Opposing mask wearing, voicing vaccine skepticism and falsely claiming Trump won the election could play well with a decent-sized chunk of GOP primary voters. Those positions also could scare off some suburban voters come November 2022.
[House Republican Leader Durkin] said he would like House Republican candidates to focus on crime, taxing and spending, President Joe Biden’s handling of the departure from Afghanistan, and inflation fears. Durkin accused top Democrats of having “all turned their back on law enforcement” by making the criminal justice system “softer and kinder on hardened criminals,” pointing to a law that will end cash bail.
“I would say (we’re looking for candidates) that fall more into the center. And they are out there,” he said.
Asked about opposition to vaccines and masks, Durkin said: “That will not be part of the equation. We are laser focused on Springfield.”
Jeanne Ives, who nearly upset Rauner in the 2018 governor primary by appealing to conservative GOP voters, suggested a different direction.
“In Illinois, you are really going to make a decision whether or not you want the government to impose its will on you in every aspect of your life, or whether you think that there are still decisions that you as an American should be responsible for making,” said Ives, a former House lawmaker who now runs a conservative policy nonprofit. “Do you still think as an American the government can only go so far in making decisions about you, your kids, your business?”
“This is what decentralized, collective leadership looks like,” declared House Speaker Chris Welch’s spokesperson Jaclyn Driscoll not long after the chamber approved the climate/energy bill on an unexpectedly lopsided 83-33 roll call on September 9.
The vote was without a doubt a spectacular victory, especially considering the Senate was not able to put together its own package that could pass both chambers and be signed into law.
Not only did all but one House Democrat vote for the bill after starting the day miles from that point, but eleven House Republicans ended up on board even though House Republican leadership had said the day before that there was “nearly zero” support for it and only two Senate Republicans had voted for their chamber’s version.
The House Black Caucus has for years specialized in blowing up important bills in order to pry concessions loose for their constituency. So, Speaker Welch put Assistant Majority Leader Marcus Evans, an African-American South Sider, into the lead negotiator’s role after the Senate punted the issue to his chamber. And when the Black Caucus expectedly demanded more concessions, Leader Evans was able to make some changes and then convincingly explain to the caucus how Black folks were getting a decent deal.
Speaker Welch probably could’ve tried to strong-arm the climate/energy bill through the House with the absolute bare minimum of 71 votes (a three-fifths majority), and he might have been successful. Instead, Welch told Gov. JB Pritzker that he had to finally come to terms with Assistant House Majority Leader Jay Hoffman, who had been relentlessly advocating for an approach that would bring the state’s two municipally owned coal-fired electricity plants to a neutral bargaining position. Hoffman was one of Pritzker’s earliest supporters in the 2018 campaign, but the Metro East Democrat’s strong advocacy for coal-related jobs had put him on the outs.
Hoffman had made his pitch to Welch, but his cause was aided by House Republican Leader Jim Durkin. Welch needed votes and he asked Durkin for help but was turned down because Durkin opposed the bill. The Republican did, however, say that coal was a big issue for his caucus. At Welch’s behest, Pritzker immediately dispatched his point-person, Deputy Gov. Christian Mitchell, to Rep. Hoffman’s office. The Senate Democrats claimed for months that Mitchell was the main obstacle to closing a deal, but Mitchell and Hoffman were able to fairly quickly work out an arrangement.
Assistant House Majority Leader Robyn Gabel, Welch’s third point-person on the climate/energy bill and the most liberal of the bunch, listened closely to the enviros and effectively communicated their wants and had the political savvy to turn those wants into a doable reality. Her strong credibility also ensured that the enviros stayed in line when a deal was cut that was not close to everything the greens wanted. Leader Gabel’s role cannot be understated. This simply doesn’t happen without her.
So, yeah, Driscoll was right. This was a collective win. But Welch still deserves an enormous amount of credit for masterminding this thing across the finish line. And, frankly, for all the moaning about how Mike Madigan would’ve sealed the deal earlier, I don’t think there’s any way the former House Speaker could’ve ever gotten that many votes on a bill like this. It’s a new day and a new way.
The governor, too, played his cards right in the end. As we all know, Pritzker and Senate President Don Harmon still have, um, issues, so the two men apparently couldn’t bring themselves to make a deal with one another when the bill was in the Senate. Harmon finally accepted that reality and agreed to kick the ball to the House, where Pritzker was obviously more comfortable and willing to do whatever it took to work with Welch, including taking a deal that he might possibly have rejected if it had been made by the Senate (some insist the House bill wasn’t as strong as Harmon’s best effort last month).
Also, in retrospect, it was probably a good thing for the governor that talks with the Senate broke down at the end of May. If the bill had passed back then, the entire focus would’ve been on the huge bailout for Exelon’s nuke plants. Instead, the public conversation shifted to coal and climate change, which is a far more politically advantageous spot for Pritzker.
Whatever. It’s over now. Harmon graciously accepted the terms, and we won’t have to deal with this issue again until the inevitable “cleanup” bills surface.
* Should Gov. Pritzker follow President Biden’s lead and mandate vaccinations without a testing opt-out for all state employees? (With the usual exemption for bona fide health and religious reasons.) Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please…
* John A. Logan College President Dr. Kirk Overstreet gets it…
I don’t see the governor closing us down. As a matter of fact, the whole purpose behind this order is to keep us open, to keep us from having to go remote, to keep us from having to close our restaurants, our entertainment centers, and to not have to stop doing the things that we want to be able to do, albeit with a mask on.
* Shawnee Community College President Tim Taylor does not…
During his public forum, Shawnee’s [Taylor] reminded students that the protocols being put in place are because of the governor’s mandate.
“This is not coming from Shawnee Community College; this is not coming from the board of Shawnee Community College; this is not coming from Tim Taylor, the president of Shawnee Community College, or any Shawnee employee. This is coming from the state of Illinois, from the governor, through an executive order that has the full force of law. We have to exclude you from campus if you are not vaccinated or you are not participating in the testing requirements that are outlined in the executive order,” he said. “It’s not us, it’s coming from the state.”
[Fixed the name. The paper made a mistake and I didn’t catch it, but I should’ve because it looked odd. Sorry.]
Teachers, staff and students will wear masks in Abingdon-Avon schools, the board decided Wednesday.
The board voted 6-1, during a special meeting Wednesday, to follow Gov. JB Pritzker’s mask mandate, with all students, staff and visitors required to wear masks in school buildings beginning Friday, Sept. 10.
The decision came after around 90 minutes of public comments, with the majority of speakers encouraging the board to follow the mandate not only for the health and safety of students and staff, but to avoid repercussions including decertification and loss of funding. […]
Prior to Wednesday’s special meeting, the district was among a couple dozen in the state on probation with the Illinois State Board of Education for not following the executive order. They were at risk of repercussions such as not being able to award diplomas and sports teams not being eligible for postseason play.
Members of the district’s teacher and employee unions had filed complaints with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration alleging unsafe working conditions and asked for the special meeting.
Parents and kids legitimately worried about their futures if the state brings the hammer down and employees standing up for their rights to work in a safe environment combined to turn the board around.
Teutopolis initially voted to only recommend masks on Aug. 16. That spurred the Illinois State Board of Education to place the district on probation on Aug. 19 for 60 days. At a special meeting Aug. 31, the board deadlocked 2-2, with Troy Ozenkoski absent from the meeting. Had the mandate not been approved by the board after 60 days, the district would have lost all accreditation from ISBE — meaning a loss of state and federal funding, along with ineligibility for state athletic and extracurricular competitions. […]
The potential for ineligibility for athletes and the Teutopolis program in general was a motivating factor for some who spoke for the mandate, in contrast to the Aug. 31 meeting where nearly all of the public comments opposed it.
Brian Hardiek, a parent in Teutopolis, said he never thought that he would have to stand in front of the school board and ask them to do something he personally opposed. But the fact that his daughter, a basketball player, couldn’t compete in state competitions overrode his personal beliefs. […]
“What do we have to gain by continuing to go against this mandate?” [parent Rich Probst] said. “This is going to be won or lost in a courtroom. It’s not going to be won or lost because one school district decides to be bull-headed. If we vote to go against this mask mandate, opportunities are going to be taken away from these young kids.”
Parents of student athletes tend to dominate school decisions, and it’s now hitting home for them, regardless of their politics.
With President Joe Biden announcing new vaccine requirements for many federal employees without allowing people to test out, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Thursday he’s not ready to take that same step yet.
“At the moment I don’t have a plan for us to do that, but I do think everyone should get vaccinated,” Pritzker said at an event in Chicago.
* The governor was asked about the Biden move again today with regards to negotiations with AFSCME and other unions…
I’m hopeful, and… good discussions. But you know, there’s some people who are resistant, can’t help that. That’s why you have negotiations, so you can come to some reasonable agreement. But look, the very important thing to me is that we’ve got to keep our most vulnerable, and that includes our young children and includes our elderly, as safe as we can. And so obviously our strategy is about vaccines and masks.
While COVID-19 for central Illinois children is a concern, health officials are seeing more hospitalizations from a different respiratory virus.
There is a an unseasonably high surge of Respiratory Syncytial Virus, commonly known as RSV, right now in central Illinois and Sangamon county.
Health officials say it’s a topic of conversation for doctors and it’s causing a lot of concern.
The Head of pediatrics at HSHS St. John’s, Dr. Carlson, calls it an unusual resurgence of RSV, because it’s not normally seen in the summer months.
*** UPDATE *** IDPH press release…
Public Health Officials Announce 26,062 New Cases of Coronavirus Disease Over the Past Week
More than 79% of Illinois adults have received at least one vaccine dose and more than 62% are fully vaccinated
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 26,062 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 197 additional deaths since reporting last Friday, September 3, 2021. More than 79% of Illinois adults have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose and more than 62% of Illinois adults are fully vaccinated, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of Illinois’ total population, more than 66% has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose and more than 51% of Illinois’ total population is fully vaccinated.
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 1,564,386 cases, including 24,261 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. Since reporting on Friday, September 3, 2021, laboratories have reported 578,943 specimens for a total of 29,756,833. As of last night, 2,346 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 549 patients were in the ICU and 311 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from September 3-9, 2021 is 4.5%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from September 3-9, 2021 is 5.1%.
A total of 14,149,453 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 20,514 doses. Since reporting on Friday, September 3, 2021, 143,596 doses were reported administered in Illinois.
*All data are provisional and will change. Additional information and COVID-19 data can be found at http://www.dph.illinois.gov/covid19.
Vaccination is the key to ending this pandemic. To find a COVID-19 vaccination location near you, go to www.vaccines.gov.
Instead of always trumpeting the adult vax rate good news, IDPH ought to focus more on the vax rate of kids 12-17. We need a whole lot more urgency and public awareness here.
After a summer of stalemate on major energy and climate legislation that seeks to put Illinois on the path to 100% renewable energy by 2050, the Illinois House on Thursday night finally pushed through a compromise set to get approval from both the Senate and Gov. JB Pritzker.
The Senate, which passed its own version of legislation to the House last week in an attempt to break three months of gridlock, is set to return to Springfield on Monday — the same day nuclear giant Exelon set as a strict deadline for state action to prevent the closure of its power plant in Byron, near Rockford.
The long-stalled green-energy measure, which earlier had pitted labor unions against environmentalists, now moves to the state Senate with backing from Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker and, according to sponsors, could mean an increase in residential electricity bills of roughly $4.50 per month for an average residential customer.
If the legislation reaches Pritzker’s desk as anticipated, it arguably would represent the single biggest legislative accomplishment for the first-term governor who in 2018 campaigned on a green-energy platform and is ramping up his 2022 re-election bid. […]
Thursday’s vote represented the first big legislative test for new Democratic House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, who assumed power in January after his predecessor, Democrat Michael Madigan, was driven from office by fallout from the Commonwealth Edison lobbying scandal.
“What we have done here today is monumental, and it should be celebrated, not castigated. It’s historic, and it will positively impact people in each and every one of our districts,” Welch said during a fiery floor speech in support of the bill.
“Our climate cannot wait. Climate change is going to cost us more if we don’t act now. Climate change is costing homeowners right now because of the spike in insurance after every flood and every tornado in each of our districts,” Welch said. “I’ve had the ‘100-year flood’ in my district every three years. Insurance is through the roof because the climate is changing.”
It’s a start, yes. But it will take regional, national and global action to make a real dent.
“This is what legislating is supposed to look like,” House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, said in closing floor debate. “It’s about good faith negotiating. It’s about advocating for the interests in our districts back home. And it’s about compromise in order to arrive at a product that benefits people in your districts, and ours.”
Environmental groups extolled the decarbonization language, which aims to take coal, gas and other carbon-emitting power plants off the grid between 2030 and 2045, depending on the energy source and ownership structure.
Union groups praised the bill’s language requiring that all major renewable construction projects must have project labor agreements in place to hire union labor, while non-residential projects, with few exceptions, would be required to pay a prevailing wage.
Republicans, meanwhile, warned of losses of downstate jobs, substantial consumer bill increases and potential grid reliability issues as fossil fuel plants are forced offline, although it passed on a bipartisan roll call.
I would remind you that Prairie State went neutral on the final language.
State Rep. Tony McCombie, R-Savanna, said “this is a bad bill.”
“It’s not about clean energy,” McCombie said. “It’s about renewable energy. This is not pro union, this is not pro family. This is not pro clean energy. This is extortion.”
The bill ends the controversial formula rate system and transitions to a “performance-based” system that will be overseen by the Illinois Commerce Commission for utilities that serve more than 500,000 customers.
It also requires the commerce commission to investigate how ratepayer funds were used in line with with actions by ComEd that were detailed in a deferred prosecution agreement involving the utility. That investigation could result in refunds to residential ratepayers.
The bill also requires utilities to establish the position of a chief ethics and compliance officer who must submit annual reports to the ICC.
The United States has 93 nuclear reactors, more than any other country, but that’s down from 104 in 2012 as aging plants struggle to compete with power generated by solar and wind farms and plants that burn natural gas.
Gina McCarthy, President Joe Biden’s climate adviser, has said maintaining some of the existing nuclear plants is “absolutely essential” to hit U.S. goals to decarbonize the electric grid by 2035 and the administration has supported federal incentives for the nuclear industry.
* A motion to reconsider was filed, but, c’mon, it’s not going to slow down anything. It was meant to preempt opponents from trying to take it hostage…
a motion was filed that could slow down the bill’s journey to the governor’s desk.
But by saving thousands of northern Illinois jobs in nuclear plants, the bill would result in the loss of more than 1,000 jobs by the premature closure of coal-fired plants operated by City Water, Light and Power in Springfield and at the Prairie State Energy Campus in southern Illinois, opponents said.
The proposal also faces opposition from business groups, including the Illinois Chamber of Commerce and the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, largely over the potential cost for commercial and industrial power customers.
“Passing this legislation in its (current) form is going to eliminate one of Illinois’ biggest advantages,” Mark Denzler, president and CEO of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, said at Thursday’s hearing.
The current low cost of power in Illinois helps attract and retain businesses, Denzler said.
But consumer advocacy groups said the bill was still too generous to Exelon, the parent company of ComEd. The bill gives ComEd and Ameren “a new formula ratemaking scheme that is likely more profitable to them - and costly to consumers - than current formula rates,” Illinois PIRG Executive Director Abe Scarr told legislators at the executive committee hearing today. “ComEd’s guaranteed profits will grow to over $1 billion annually when new rates go into effect in 2024,” up from a projected $800 million next year.
Republicans shared a range of concerns: that changes would not adequately replace coal-burning power and only force Illinois to turn to other states for consistent energy needs, that the bill was a giveaway to Exelon, and that more jobs would be lost than gained in the wind and solar industries.
Not picking on Crain’s at all, but it’s always fascinating when reporters ignore the odd and even goofy arguments made by key players during debates.
* Rep. Wilhour’s question about the omnibus ethics bill wasn’t really answered during debate except for the obvious reply that it was a motion on a the bill in front of them. But I think it was a pretty good question overall…
The bill originally came about in response to several high-profile scandals in recent years, including the indictment of Rep. Luis Arroyo, D-Chicago, who has since resigned. He also had a lobbying business that lobbied the city of Chicago and he was charged with attempting to bribe a state senator to support legislation that would have benefitted his client.
One of the provisions of SB 539 prohibits elected officials, including lawmakers, from engaging in “compensated lobbying” of other units of government, with the exception of Chicago municipal government. That was a carve-out specifically requested by Chicago city officials who argued that the city’s own lobbying regulations were already stronger than those in the bill.
But Rep. Blaine Wilhour, R-Beecher City, urged rejecting the governor’s amendment and returning to negotiations over a stronger ethics bill.
“There’s a lot of talk from your (Democratic) side of the aisle about how this is just a start and we need to do more and, you know, yada, yada, yada, everything else,” he said to Burke on the House floor. “I don’t think anybody has ever really answered, what’s keeping us from doing more right now? … Do we not know what needs to be done? I mean, what’s keeping us from giving the legislative inspector general the power that the last three say that they need to be to be the proper watchdogs over this body?”
…,Adding… I’ve commented about this twice, but people keep bringing it up so I’m just gonna front-page it. Rep. Wilhour sponsored and/or co-sponsored 9 ethics bills this year. Click here to see them.
* In the end, it wasn’t even close. Some Democratic opponents flipped to “Yes” and some Republicans came out of the woodwork to support it…
* Senate President Don Harmon…
“The shared goal among the Senate, House and Governor Pritzker has been to position Illinois as a national leader on reliable, renewable and affordable energy policies. This proposal accomplishes that shared goal. I commend the work the House has done to build on the progress the Senate had made.
Senate session will be scheduled for Monday to advance this vital proposal to the governor’s desk so it can become law.”
* Gov. Pritzker…
Today, with the House passage of SB 2408, the State of Illinois is one historic step closer to reaching a 100 percent clean energy future. For many years, comprehensive energy legislation that puts consumers and the climate first has been debated while scientists around the world have sounded the alarm about the growing impacts of climate change. SB 2408 puts the state on a path toward 100% clean energy and invests in training a diverse workforce for the jobs of the future. Illinois will become the best state in the nation to manufacture and drive an electric vehicle, and equity will be prioritized in every new program created. The days of utility companies writing energy legislation to pad their profits has ended because SB2408 puts consumers and climate at the forefront, prioritizes meaningful ethics and transparency reforms, and institutes key ratepayer and residential customer protections.
A legislative package of this magnitude required bringing all stakeholders to the table, holding regular meetings for more than a year, keeping an open mind, negotiating in good faith, and reaching consensus on a bill that fights climate change and preserves and creates jobs. I want to express my sincere gratitude to Speaker Welch and Leader Evans for their tireless collaboration to get this package across the finish line. To the members of the Clean Jobs Coalition who have worked day and night to protect our planet, thank you for fighting this urgent battle for the next generation of Illinoisans. Your advocacy will leave our children a better and safer Illinois. To our brothers and sisters in organized labor, thank you for fighting for working families across the state and ensuring a just energy transition for Illinois’ energy workforce.
I look forward to SB 2408’s swift passage in the Senate, and signing it into law as soon as possible, because our planet and the people of Illinois ought not wait any longer.
* Speaker Welch…
“What the House has accomplished tonight is monumental and life changing for the future generations of Illinois,” said House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch. “With the passage of this comprehensive energy proposal, Illinois is on the path to a greener future that prioritizes a reduction in carbon emissions, saves jobs, diversifies the energy sector and tackles necessary ethics reforms. I am incredibly proud of Leaders Evans, Gabel, Hoffman, and Representative Williams. It is thanks to their continued negotiations that we have a product our entire state can be proud of.
* In case you missed it, this is just a tiny taste of how bizarre tonight’s debate was at times…
Rep. Steve Reick (R-Woodstock) imagines people in sub-Saharan Africa don’t wish to “burn dung” to power lightbulbs in their huts. He says no one knows what the average planet temps might be in 50 years. Scientists are quite clear: methane & carbon traps heat, accelerates warming.
Rep. Meier just went on and on and on, often without any direction or purpose. The Prairie State coal-fired electricity plant is in his district, so he was given extra indulgence and time. It didn’t help his cause.
At one point, Rep. Blaine Wilhour claimed the bill will somehow prop up the Chinese Communist Party. Another predicted daily, hours-long Iraqi-style blackouts.
On the other hand, often legitimate questions weren’t replied to with satisfactory answers, particularly on the eminent domain issue.
* CJI…
Labor coalition Climate Jobs Illinois (CJI) applauded the House of Representatives’ passage of historic legislation that will put thousands of union laborers to work building a 100 percent clean energy economy in Illinois and provide a new pathway to the middle class to address growing income inequality in underserved communities most impacted by climate change.
SB 2408 sets the strongest clean energy labor standards in the country and promises to raise the bar for other states seeking to enact new labor and employment policies for building and maintaining clean energy developments.
The bill will create thousands of new clean energy union jobs, expand union apprenticeships for Black and Latinx communities, increase energy efficiency for public schools and safeguard thousands of union workers at the state’s nuclear plants that currently generate the bulk of Illinois’ zero-emissions energy.
“We commend the House and all parties for meeting this moment, putting aside considerable differences to pass an ambitious bill that takes on the climate change, puts union men and women to work, and opens up new opportunities for historically underserved communities most impacted by the climate crisis,” CJI Executive Director Joe Duffy said. “We look forward to working with our partners in the Senate to get this historic legislation passed and sent to Gov. Pritzker for his signature so that we can get to work building a cleaner, fairer future for all Illinoisans.”
Specifically, major provisions of the bill include:
• 50% renewable energy by 2040 and zero carbon emissions by 2045
• All privately owned coal generation closed by 2030; municipally-owned coal plants to reach zero carbon emissions by 2045
• $700 million in negotiated subsidies for the Byron, Dresden, Braidwood nuclear plants for 5 years to sustain Illinois’ primary source of current clean energy
• Expanded apprenticeship and training programs to increase representation of Black and Latinx communities in the energy workforce, with required diversity hiring reports by renewable industry employers
• Strongest labor standards in the country on wind and solar developments
o Project labor agreements required on all utility-scale wind and solar projects and prevailing wages for all non-residential clean energy projects
• “Just transition” program for areas economically reliant on fossil fuel generation
• 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2030, with state rebates funding up to 80% of charging station installation and requires prevailing wages on installation
• Increased energy efficiency for public schools
• Increased accountability and transparency — return to traditional ratemaking vs. formula rates, and requires utilities to establish a chief ethics and compliance officer who must report to the Illinois Commerce Commission
* Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition…
“After years of hard work and community collaboration, the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition applauds this significant leap forward on climate change and nation-leading equity standard that assures every part of the state shares in the promise of the clean energy economy. This urgent, job-creating plan puts Illinois on a path to a 100% clean energy future while providing a just transition for workers and communities historically dependent on dirty fossil fuels, enacting some of the toughest utility accountability measures in the nation, and creating jobs and wealth in Illinois’ Black and Brown communities, which are often the first to suffer negative consequences of pollution but the last to reap the health and economic benefits of a clean energy future.
“We would like to thank the numerous advocates, stakeholders, legislative champions, and particularly Governor JB Pritzker for their hard work and urge the Senate to bring this urgent legislation across the finish line swiftly.
* Sierra Club…
“This historic bill represents a nation-leading plan to set Illinois on course to 100% clean energy, heeds the call of science for bold action on climate change, and centers equity and environmental justice every step of the way.
“I want to thank the Governor, legislative leaders, stakeholders, and the tens of thousands of Illinoisans who have raised their voices as part of this process. Today, those voices were heard, as this historic agreement is grounded in their hopes for a better future for Illinois and our planet. We urge the Illinois State Senate to vote to concur with the House on SB2408 as soon as possible so that the Climate and Equitable Jobs Bill can become the law of the land and we can deliver a better future for all the residents of our state.”
* Path to 100 Coalition…
“Illinois is now on the path to 40% renewable energy by 2030 and 50% renewables by 2050. If the Senate approves this legislation immediately, we will have taken critical action to address the climate crisis while keeping equity at the forefront, protecting consumers, and creating tens of thousands of good jobs,” said Nakhia Crossley, Central Region Director for the Solar Energy Industries Association. “We thank the members of the House and Senate who have worked for years to craft this policy and move it forward. We call on the Illinois Senate to pass this bill and get it to the Governor so we can get back to work.”
* Illinois Environmental Council Executive Director Jen Walling…
“We are closer than ever before to passing the nation’s most comprehensive, equitable climate bill. The passage of SB2408 today in the House of Representatives was an enormous victory that was only possible because environmental champion state representatives stood strong and sided with their constituents over the polluting fossil fuel interests who have called the shots in Springfield for too long.
“We applaud the representatives who voted yes today—they are climate champions. We encourage members of the Senate to vote for SB2408 so we can put Illinois on a path to 100% clean energy, create thousands of good-paying jobs, establish nation-leading equity programs, reduce pollution and hold utility companies accountable for corruption. The climate won’t wait. Let’s get this done!”
* TechNet…
TechNet, the national, bipartisan network of innovation economy CEOs and senior executives, today applauded the passage of Illinois SB 2408, a bill that would put the state on a path to 100 percent clean energy by 2050. The bill will also increase the adoption of electric vehicles in Illinois and invest in the state’s clean jobs workforce through job training and other assistance. The following statement is attributable to Tyler Diers, TechNet’s Executive Director for Illinois and the Midwest:
“Combatting climate change is one of the most critical global issues of our time. Immediate and consistent action is required, and technology companies are helping lead efforts to transition to a clean energy economy through innovation and investment in renewable energy and sustainable technologies.
“This legislation enables Illinois to take a much-needed step in reducing carbon pollution by setting a path to decarbonize the electric grid, ensuring the state’s transportation future is all-electric, and making the policy inclusive for communities that have been disproportionately affected by climate change. The bill also enables companies to voluntarily support their energy needs with renewable energy now and in the future, which makes the grid cleaner for everyone and accelerates private investment in new utility-scale renewable energy in the state.
“The technology industry stands in support of SB 2408 and applauds lawmakers from both parties for taking the necessary action to make Illinois’ future cleaner, more efficient, and more sustainable.”
* Rep. Mike Murphy…
“More than a decade ago, City, Water, Light, and Power, a municipally-owned non-profit energy provider, took steps to plan for our energy future in central Illinois and reduce its carbon emissions by building the Dallman 4 plant. That plant followed all the carbon reduction regulations put in place by the Obama-Biden administration. Now, with 19 years left on the bond obligation for that plant, the state of Illinois is pulling the rug out from under our taxpayers’ non-profit energy provider, while down the road a state-run coal-fired plant for state facilities can stay open.
“Not only does this energy overhaul cripple non-profit power plants, but it also gives private power entities the eminent domain authority to build transmission lines across farmland without owners’ approval. All of this is on top of a rate increase, and since we can’t meet power capacity needs without our coal-fired plants, we’ll be buying coal-fired energy from neighboring states. We are rushing to completely alter our energy production at the expense of countless jobs and reliable energy for the sake of special interest and it’s terrible.”
* Rep. Anna Moeller…
“Today is a day to celebrate Illinois as a national leader in protecting our environment and creating our clean energy future.
As Chair of the Illinois House Green Caucus, and a longtime supporter of clean energy legislation, I want to thank my colleagues in the Legislature, House Speaker Welch, Gov. Pritzker, the environmental advocates and everyone who made today’s historic vote possible. We can look back to today as a true turning point in the fight against climate change and for a better future for all Illinoisans.”
* Rep. Tim Butler…
“Well over a decade ago, my community made a wise investment to move forward with a reliable, competitive source of power to keep our lights on; a source of power which was approved by the State of Illinois during the Obama-Biden administration. Today, the Illinois House turned the lights out on the community in which the Capitol sits.
“The taxpayers of Springfield will almost certainly be on the hook for paying twice for their energy due to this legislation. My neighbors wanted a reliable source of energy for our future, so we supported the construction of the Dallman 4 unit. Now the state has voted to shut down this municipally-owned, non-profit facility and to trample the rights of private property owners. All our property taxes already go to paying old pension debt, now all our utility bills will pay for closed power plants.
“What was done here today completely ignores the serious harm to jobs and the economic health of downstate and central Illinois communities, along with our municipally-owned non-profit utilities. We are being sacrificed on the altar and at the expense of special interests and investor-owned private utility company profits.”
The turnaround of Illinois starts right here, right now!
The whole thing is a bit, well, oddly Rauneresque. He said he has “muddy Sangamon River water flowing through my veins,” for instance. Read it for yourself.
…Adding… DPI…
Jesse Sullivan: Another Page out of the IL GOP Playbook
Fueled by out-of-state contributions, another anti-choice candidate enters the race
Chicago - In response to Jesse Sullivan’s campaign announcement, Democratic Party of Illinois Executive Director Abby Witt released the following statement:
“Jesse Sullivan may offer a new name and a different face, but he follows the Illinois GOP playbook entirely. Playing up fear tactics instead of providing real policies and solutions and equating leadership with questionable out-of-state donations is not what Illinois needs.
“Jesse Sullivan has a lot of important questions to answer about where he stands on issues that matter most to Illinoisans. Until then, no one is fooled by the packaging.”
Jesse Sullivan’s largest contribution - $5 million - comes from a Californian named Chris Larsen who is currently being prosecuted by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Jesse Sullivan is not the first Republican candidate to enter the gubernatorial race burdened with ethical and finance-related problems. The Illinois Democratic County Chairs Association highlighted Gary Rabine’s ties to Turning Point USA, an ultra-conservative organization with questionable finances.
* Background on today’s action can be found here and here. House Democrats are being briefed on a climate/energy bill agreement hammered out this afternoon at the insistence of Speaker Chris Welch between the unions, the governor’s office and Rep. Jay Hoffman.
The language is a little involved, but, as I understand it, the huge coal-fired Prairie State power plant must hit a 45 percent carbon reduction target by 2035. If it misses the target, it has three more years to hit the target or close one of its two generation units by 2038. The whole plant goes offline in 2045 unless there is a 100 percent reduction in emissions. The $20 million a year for ten years to help finance decarbonization which was in an earlier proposal is now out.
And I’m told the enviros are now on board.
* The House had teed up the bill for debate, but then both parties decided to caucus. An earlier version passed out of committee this afternoon.
…Adding… At the moment, House Democratic opponents include (but may not be limited to) Reps. Tarver, Crespo, Cassidy and Flowers. One other that I know of is said to be on the fence. But the greens claim they have four Republican votes, so, if that’s true, the proponents will have just enough to pass a bill.
* Former Gov. Pat Quinn is one of the attorneys involved in the suit…
JUST IN: A federal judge has dismissed a racketeering suit by the Citizen’s Utility Board over ComEd’s alleged scheme to bribe Michael Madigan, saying the suit failed “to allege Madigan provided votes” for ComEd “by placing improper pressure on lawmakers” https://t.co/YO1yH6sFM5
The Citizens Utility Board, which joined the ongoing proposed class action suit against ComEd in January, sought millions in restitution from ComEd to be paid directly to customers allegedly harmed by the scheme to influence Madigan and pass legislation the utility wanted in Springfield.
But in a 24-page decision filed Thursday, U.S. District Judge Jorge Alonso wrote that despite the fact ComEd has pleaded guilty to orchestrating the bribery scheme, the plaintiffs failed to allege what specific pressure was put on any legislators by Madigan, or that the pressure was unlawful.
“If, by pressure, plaintiffs mean logrolling, committee assignments or help with reelection, then that does not suffice,” Alonso wrote. “Plaintiffs fail to allege that Madigan put any improper pressure on those lawmakers … Allegations that are as consistent with lawful conduct as they are with unlawful conduct are not sufficient.”
*** UPDATE *** The second court-related news today is about a separate lawsuit filed on behalf of Exelon stockholders…
The U.S. Department of Labor estimates 15,232 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of August 30 in Illinois, according to the DOL’s weekly claims report released Thursday. […]
Illinois’ estimated claims are among 310,000 total claims filed across the country last week.
There were 15,546 new unemployment claims were filed in Illinois during the week of August 23.
There were 22,258 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of August 16 in Illinois.
There were 18,426 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of August 9 in Illinois.
Six more Illinois Department of Employment Security locations will open for in-person services starting Tuesday.
IDES is reopening its centers in Effingham, Ottawa, Peoria, Quincy, Rock Island and Springfield. In-person services include job search help and assistance with unemployment claims.
IDES centers in Rockford, Harvey, Champaign, Mt. Vernon, Belleville, Wheeling and Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood previously reopened for in-person services in the past couple weeks.
A veteran corporate exec with a political bent is taking over as the new head of Intersect Illinois, the state’s private/public corporate recruitment arm.
In a statement, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office announced his selection of Dan Seals to be Intersect Illinois’ new CEO. The appointment will be official when it’s approved by the group’s board, which is expected to happen on Sept. 23.
Seals, 50, currently is a director at the American Medical Association, where he heads both domestic and international marketing of business services. Earlier he was an official at GE Capital and T-Mobile, and deputy director of the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity. But voters likely will remember him most from his three races for Congress in the north suburban 10th District against Mark Kirk and later Bob Dold.
In an interview, Seals said he sees his mission as that of a sort of super salesman, putting the state in the best light when it approaches companies, much like World Business Chicago does in the city.
[Ryan Mahan, who leads the SJ-R’s union] said the newspaper only has four news reporters covering the entire community. By contrast, the SJ-R and Copley had five people covering just the Illinois Statehouse before the Gatehouse acquisition.
* More…
* Back to business - Grants provide relief to those who may have been left out
All eyes are on DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin. Candidates are ready to line up to run for his seat should he decide to not seek re-election.
DuPage County Board member Liz Chaplin (2nd District) has already announced her campaign for chair on Facebook. DuPage County Board member Lynn LaPlante (4th District) also is mulling a run. LaPlante was the Democratic nominee in 2018 and came within 7,000 votes of unseating Cronin (51 percent to 49 percent). And state Rep. Deb Conroy is eyeing the seat, too. She, LaPlante and Chaplin are all Democrats.
On the Republican side, DuPage County Board Member Greg Hart has been actively preparing his campaign to launch as soon as Cronin announces his intentions.
I checked with Rep. Conroy and she is, indeed, giving it some thought.
Former AFSCME Local 46 President Gregg Johnson will run as a Democrat for Mike Halpin’s seat in the Illinois State House of Representatives.
“I’m running for State Rep because I believe our community deserves the same opportunities and investments as we are seeing in other parts of the State, in particular, Chicago,” Johnson told Local 4 News. “People in this community aren’t looking for handouts, they just want an opportunity to work hard for fair wages and to build a better life. We want safe neighborhoods where our kids can attend good schools, we want healthcare that we can afford, and leaders that can be trusted with our tax dollars. I want to go to Springfield and fight for those values because that’s how you build a strong middle class, the one that I grew up in decades ago.”
Halpin announced Wednesday he’s running for Illinois State Senate.
Former President Ronald Reagan deserves a statue on the Capitol grounds in Springfield, not because of his Republican politics, but because of his connection to a state where he was born, grew up and was educated, the president of Eureka College said Wednesday.
“Our Reagan story, the Eureka College-Reagan story … is not inherently political. It is neither Democrat nor Republican,” college president Jamel Wright told the Illinois House’s Statue and Monument Review Task Force.
The story that the small, private college in the Woodford County community of Eureka wants to promote through a statue of a “young Reagan” “is akin to so many of our Eureka College and Illinois students today” who are first-generation college students, Wright said.
“They’re not going to be perfect, but they should know that they can be first-generation, they can be poor, they can come from a dysfunctional family, they can have to work their way through school,” she said.
The South Side Democrat who chairs the [House Statue and Monument Review Task Force] said in weighing the former president’s flaws with his legacy there has to be a recognition that “whether we agree with his policies or not … he had a profound impact on the direction of this country.” […]
State Rep. Mary Flowers the chair of the committee, said Reagan had a “made-for-TV” presidency, one that would go on to define “our American experience” by producing images and ideas that remain “with the nation today.”
The South Side Democrat referenced Reagan’s iconic “It’s Morning Again in America” campaign ad, saying that “idealistic vision of the country has become firmly entrenched in the American psyche.”
But Flowers, who grew up watching Reagan on TV, also noted the former president is often credited for giving the nation the offensive concept of the “welfare queen,” a “key talking point” at his campaign rallies.
“This image has also stuck, not because it was true … but because it was a convenient way to celebrate ‘Morning in America’ without having to acknowledge the nightmare of systematic racism, that is also very much a part of our history,” Flowers said.
* The Question: Should a statue of Ronald Reagan be placed on the Statehouse grounds? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please…
Recent versions of the Proposed Energy Legislation at the Illinois Statehouse have included language defining an electric vehicle as a ” vehicle that is exclusively powered by and refueled by electricity, must be plugged in to charge, and is licensed to drive on public roadways.” , but excluding electric motorcycles, even though they meet the three criteria of an “electric vehicle”.
ABATE of Illinois made several attempts to get motorcycles included in the definition of electric vehicles, only to be told by several sources that the Governor’s Office does not want motorcycles to be included.
ABATE is deeply troubled by any attempts to discriminate against motorcycles when it comes to incentives, and infrastructure planning. HB3666, SB18, & SB1751 all have language stating that the Illinois Commerce Commission is to develop plans and reports regarding the accessibility and deployment of electrical transportation infrastructure. To deny the consideration of electric motorcycles in this kind of planning is exclusionary and indicates an attitude where motorcyclists, including those who may use motorcycles as a primary mode of transportation, are treated as 2nd class road users.
The rights of motorcyclists should be given equal consideration when it comes to planning the future of Illinois transportation, and this insistence by the Governor’s Office to exclude electric motorcycles from the energy bill shows a willingness on behalf of the Governor to deny that equal consideration while picking winners and losers when it comes to the future of Illinois’ Transportation.
ABATE of Illinois sincerely hopes that Governor JB Pritzker will reconsider his position, and allow electric motorcycles to have the same opportunities being given to other electric vehicles under the proposed energy legislation.
* Response from Jordan Abudayyeh…
The primary goal of the incentives included in the energy bill is to foster increasing adoption of electric vehicles as a primary mode of transportation.
There are other paths the state could follow that would not serve to increase tensions and stress in the way that a hard [vaccination] mandate would do. President Biden laid out such a path last week for most federal government employees: All employees must either be fully vaccinated OR be regularly tested.
The union has cited Biden’s example several times in the past few weeks.
President Joe Biden on Thursday will impose more stringent vaccine rules on federal workers by signing an executive order requiring all government employees be vaccinated against Covid-19, with no option of being regularly tested to opt out, according to a source familiar with the plans.
* Background is here. Speaker Chris Welch’s spokesperson just told me that SB2408 “is the only proposal that we’ll be moving today” on climate/energy. They’re not calling any other bill, including the Senate-passed SB18, which apparently has only 20 HDem votes. A large handful of folks in Welch’s caucus are holding out on SB2408 and trying to change course. Not gonna happen and they’ll clearly wear the jacket if this agreed bill goes down.
Press release…
“I want to first thank Leaders Evans, Gabel and Hoffman for their tireless work and dedication in helping craft a comprehensive energy proposal that prioritizes our climate, equitable job preservation and creation, and meaningful ethics reform,” said House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch. “Senate Bill 2408 is the product of good-faith negotiations that has the support from both environmental and labor groups. With this consensus among stakeholders, it is the only proposal that will advance today. I hope to see the same broad bipartisan support in the House for this historic piece of legislation that puts Illinois on the path to a greener, more sustainable future while also prioritizing a diversified energy sector.
…Adding… Click here for a summary of the changes in the new proposal.
…Adding… Most of the House Democratic opposition is centered around objections by Assistant House Majority Leader Jay Hoffman. But Rep. Kelly Cassidy told her constituents today “I can honestly say I’m still weighing all the components”…
I have never been a fan of providing subsidies to profitable corporations and this remains a key component of this bill, even as it provides a clear pathway to reducing carbon emissions, transitions Illinois to clean power on a defined timeline, makes significant investments in renewable energy development, and provides pathways for equity in the energy sector.
*** UPDATE *** Hearing about an amendment in the works in an attempt to placate the Hoffman crowd.
A do-over in Springfield is set to take place Thursday, as Democratic leaders say they will try again to approve ethics legislation that people on both sides of the aisle call ‘watered down.’
The Illinois House is back in Springfield to consider urgent energy legislation. But what about ethics reform?
“We will be voting on that AV tomorrow, we will have all of our members there and I’m sure it will be approved,” said Democratic Majority Leader Greg Harris.
Last week, the House rejected Governor Pritzker’s amendatory veto (AV) of an ethics bill that passed in May, throwing its fate into question.
Harris says although Democrats can pass it with their supermajority, he hopes Republicans go along with it.
It came up short because a bunch of House Democrats left town. It wasn’t a policy thing.
* And Leader Harris may have expressed hope, but it’s not the plan…
On Wednesday, anticipating Democrats will try to call the bill again, state Rep. Mike Marron, R-Fithian, said Republicans will oppose the motion. He said passing weak reforms gives cover to kicking the can down the road on real reforms.
“Given the circumstances of where we’re at right now, I don’t think that we can do that,” Marron said. “We have to be honest with people. We have to take meaningful reform.”
Republicans say they have strong reform bills ready to vote on if Democrats would cooperate.
To the governor’s changes to the ethics bill, state Rep. Avery Bourne, R-Morrisonville, said he should have given the legislative watchdog more independence to investigate wrongdoing of legislators and staff. Legislative Inspector General Carol Pope announced she’s resigning the position because of the lack of strong ethics reforms. Instead, Bourne said the governor’s change impacts the inspectors for executive agencies.
“So he’s actually trying to bring less oversight of his own agencies with his amendatory veto,” Bourne said in a news conference Wednesday.
“We say that we’ve fixed the problem and it really does nothing to change anything,” said Rep. Mike Marron (R-Fithian). “That would cause such a lack of faith in confidence in us that it would just be unforgivable.” […]
Rep. Patrick Windhorst (R-Metropolis) served on the Joint Commission on Ethics and Lobbying throughout 2020. That group spent months listening to testimony about necessary changes. Still, they missed the deadline to give a final report to lawmakers. Windhorst is one of several lawmakers upset that the group never submitted the information. He feels ethics fell in importance.
That’s why Windhorst filed an ethics omnibus bill last spring, including many proposals previously introduced by Republicans. His proposal would create a one-year revolving door ban for lawmakers hoping to become lobbyists. The plan also gives more power to the Legislative Inspector General. But, most importantly, the LIG would have subpoena power without prior approval from the Legislative Ethics Commission.
“The Democrats’ ethics package so impaired the LIG’s ability to do her job that our current Legislative Inspector General submitted her resignation after the legislation passed,” said Windhorst. “She pointed out specific deficiencies in the bill in her letter of resignation.
Nobody says they’ve fixed the problem and the bill does change some things. C’mon, Mike.
*** UPDATE *** As expected, the House has accepted the governor’s AV. Republican Reps. Amy Elik and Jeff Keicher joined the Democrats on the motion…
…Adding… Comptroller Mendoza…
Illinois State Comptroller Susana Mendoza’s “no exit bonus/no signing bonus” reform will be enacted as part of a larger ethics package after lawmakers today voted 74-41 to accept the governor’s amendatory veto of the legislation.
The measure ends the shady practice of legislators leaving the General Assembly in disgrace but dating their exit on the first day of the following month to claim an extra month’s pay for a day’s work.
“This is a matter of common sense and accountability,” Mendoza said. “Waitresses and factory workers don’t collect a month’s pay for a day’s work, and legislators don’t deserve that luxury either – especially on the backs of Illinois taxpayers.”
Climate Jobs Illinois issued the following statement regarding the proposed amendment on SB 2408:
“Our coalition has reviewed the proposed amendment and supports the current version of the bill. The legislation sets the strongest clean energy labor standards in the country, requiring project labor agreements on all utility-scale wind and solar projects and sets prevailing wages for non-residential projects. These provisions will raise the standard for other states seeking to enact new labor and employment policies for building and maintaining clean energy developments.
The bill will create thousands of new clean energy union jobs, expand union apprenticeships for Black and Latinx communities, increase energy efficiency for public schools and safeguard thousands of union workers at the state’s nuclear plants that currently generate the bulk of Illinois’ zero-emissions energy. These key components were our top priorities in any clean energy legislation enacted, so we are pleased with the result.
We applaud the hard work of everyone who has come to the table to debate these issues for months, and we’re committed to getting this bill signed and getting to work to build a cleaner, fairer future for all Illinoisans.”
*** UPDATE 1 *** Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition Statement…
“After more than three years of community collaboration, the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition is proud to support this legislation that meaningfully addresses our climate emergency, takes bold action on creating equitable jobs all across the state, and enacts tough utility accountability measures including the end of automatic formula rate hikes.
“Throughout recent negotiations, our diverse coalition’s values have been simple and clear: a climate bill must include a specific timeline for decarbonization as well as interim pollution reductions demanded by science and public health. And, it must create good-paying jobs and wealth for working families in Illinois’ Black and Brown communities, which are often the first to suffer negative consequences of pollution but the last to reap the health and economic benefits of a clean energy future.
“This agreed upon legislation accomplishes those goals. We would like to thank Governor Pritzker, legislative leaders, and stakeholders for their hard work and urge lawmakers to vote yes on this historic legislation.”
Despite the active involvement of Speaker Welch, I’m told there still may be some issues with the House roll call. Stay tuned.
…Adding… One of the roll call problems is with Lake County House Democrats. They want some property tax relief for Zion because the town is struggling since its nuclear power plant shut down. They also want some help cleaning up after a Waukegan coal plant shuts down next year. But I’m told that language is in the bill, so those folks should be fine.
…Adding… Lake County delegation is now on board…
Today, Rep. Jonathan Carroll (D – Northbrook), Rep. Daniel Didech (D – Buffalo Grove), Rep. Joyce Mason (D – Gurnee), Rep. Rita Mayfield (D – Waukegan), Rep. Bob Morgan (D – Deerfield), and Rep. Sam Yingling (D – Grayslake) released the following statement regarding the General Assembly’s efforts to pass historic clean energy legislation:
The Lake County House Delegation strongly supports SB 2408, sponsored by Leader Marcus Evans, which will make Illinois the nation’s leader in fighting climate change, expanding our renewable energy economy, saving and creating energy sector jobs, holding utilities accountable, and investing in historically disinvested communities like Waukegan and Zion. We are incredibly grateful for everyone who has spent so much time drafting and negotiating this compromise bill, especially Rep. Jay Hoffman, Rep. Marcus Evans, Rep. Robyn Gabel, Rep. Ann Williams, Rep. Kam Buckner, Rep. Larry Walsh, our colleagues in the Senate and the Governor’s office, and all the stakeholders who have helped craft a bill that will be in the best interests of the people of Illinois. We are especially pleased that this package includes provisions we requested that address some of the unique energy-related issues facing Lake County. This is an historic opportunity to create a truly inclusive, clean energy future for our state. The time to act is now, and we are eager to finalize and pass this bill today.
There are other issues, however. Stay tuned.
…Adding… Sierra Club statement is here. IEC statement is here. Rep. Ann Williams’ statement is here. Path to 100 statement is here. The Illinois Chamber’s statement in opposition is here.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Gov. Pritzker…
“I would like to thank Speaker Welch and Leader Evans for their collaborative leadership in reaching a compromise amendment that puts consumers and climate first, while protecting and creating jobs. I look forward to this amendment advancing in the House and Senate and making its way to my desk where I will sign this historic agreement into law.
…Adding… By my count, 7-10 House Dems are at this moment against the bill. Two HGOPs are considered to be for it. But, leadership and lobbyists are working it hard. Stay tuned.
…Adding… Subscribers already knew this…
CLEAN ENERGY: Big change under Senate Bill 2408 - Illinois could give Prairie State and Springfield's CWLP $20 million per year from 2026-2035 to help reduce carbon emissions. They'll have to reduce the emissions by 45% by 2035. Full closure by 2045. #twill
[Rep. Mark Batinick, R-Plainfield] wrote the governor a letter detailing a proposal with regionalized metrics to give assurances things like school mask mandates aren’t open ended.
“I think you’re able to actually maybe pick out breakouts sooner, and maybe put in some mitigations sooner but that also allows mitigation to be taken off sooner if you’re successful,” Batinick said.
He noted the governor’s economic restrictions last year imposed unilaterally that kept restaurants from having indoor dining was throttled with regionalized metrics triggering different phases and tiers of mitigation for different regions of the state. That’s not the case with the school mask mandate in place now. […]
In a letter to Batinick Wednesday the Republican shared with The Center Square, the governor said he does have some metrics in mind for relaxing the school mask mandate.
“That could include a significant reduction in transmission, the availability and utilization of vaccines for school-aged children under 12, an improving vaccination rate for children 12 to 17 and for adults that interact with the school community, and/or additional guidance from the CDC,” Pritzker’s letter said.
But using localized data “would be inaccurate, unfair and unworkable for example to tell kids that masks can be off on Tuesday only to put them back on by Thursday – and that chaos would be our reality until we might reach herd immunity as a state and as a nation,“ Pritzker said.
Batinick said of the letter: “It’s thoughtful.”
* The full letter…
Dear Representative Mark Batinick,
Thank you for your thoughts and proposals throughout this pandemic. Constructive discourse with other Illinois elected leaders has been very helpful, and I value your efforts to engage in it.
Regional differences have been a feature of the COVID-19 pandemic. We can see it even now nationwide – as the transmission of the Delta variant slows in some parts of the country and hastens in others – just as we have time and time again in the last 18 months. We also see it when we look at statewide vaccination progress, where communities with high uptake rates tend to conceal those that are struggling to keep their neighborhoods safe.
That’s why local considerations have been a very important part of Illinois’ pandemic response. As you’ll remember, regional metrics guided our state from the spring of 2020 into the season of widespread vaccine availability. As cases and hospitalizations dropped significantly in every region last spring, the entire state of Illinois entered the Restore Illinois plan’s Phase 5, marking the full reopening of all industries, on June 11th, 2021.
Unfortunately, every time we think we have become familiar with the R naught and the percent of cases that lead to hospitalizations, this virus mutates. By late July, large areas of the country were in the thrusts of one of the pandemic’s worst waves of new cases yet. With students and teachers preparing for the beginning of the school year, the Centers for Disease Control recommended universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status, later adding universal indoor masking recommendations in all areas of substantial or high transmission which the CDC tracks on a by-county basis.
For weeks now, and still at the time of this writing, every single county in Illinois falls into those categories.
When the Illinois’ statewide school masking requirement was announced, I made it clear that this requirement could change for the better as the situation evolves. That could include a significant reduction in transmission, the availability and utilization of vaccines for school-aged children under 12, an improving vaccination rate for children 12 to 17 and for adults that interact with the school community, and/or additional guidance from the CDC. As for the statewide indoor mask mandate, I have repeatedly said that once Illinois has established a consistent downward trend on this current wave, we could reevaluate what the current recommendations are from the CDC and return to mask recommendations instead of a mandate. The experts are still evaluating how Delta and other new variants impact the spread of this virus and what that means for this current wave of substantial new cases, hospitalizations and deaths. Creating rigid metrics in this changing landscape wouldn’t result in safer communities. While I wish I could provide a specific end date for the sake of convenience for all of us, this virus’ danger to people is diminished as our deterrence of it improves. The CDC as well as the leading epidemiologists, virologists, immunologists and other experts have been clear that vaccinations and masks are two of the most effective tools we have to keep each other safe during a surge of the virus.
In the short-term, it’s simply not feasible to operate using positivity rates on a day-by-day, county-by- county basis. As you yourself said, a county’s transmission rates are impacted by every county that borders it – and in the world of statistics, that means a few extra negative tests could throw a small population county in and out of mitigations on a whim. It would be inaccurate, unfair and unworkable for example to tell kids that masks can be off on Tuesday only to put them back on by Thursday – and that chaos would be our reality until we might reach herd immunity as a state and as a nation.
Specifically to your second suggestion: while many have proposed innumerable ways to slice Illinois’ 57,000 square miles — by townships, cities, counties or regions — given that pandemic is a health emergency, my administration has been guided by a focus on healthcare availability for all our state’s residents, specifically guided by the IDPH Emergency Medical Service regions, with some minor adjustments as suggested by members of the General Assembly last year. These are the same regions that set parameters for ambulance drivers and hospital collaborations. Using the existing medical regional breakdown allows our public health professionals when necessary to manage and monitor capacity in an existing framework. The state has tried to set a baseline of pandemic mitigations with the understanding that, as necessary, local governments can provide additional health mitigation measures that work best for each community. We continue to encourage them to do so.
Again, I appreciate your willingness to reach out and share your ideas and perspective. You’ve offered constructive thoughts during the pandemic, some have been workable and adopted. Working together will help us all make progress. With widespread vaccination as our greatest tool – we will find our way.
Getting Illinois on a path to clean energy is a laudable goal, but not if the compromises empty the wallets of households and businesses.
Even with the recent change in leadership, they still have a bad habit of writing editorials as if they were drafting campaign TV ads.
* But, taken literally, that overheated rhetoric means even this hotly disputed estimate from Crain’s would fall well within their demand…
AARP Illinois estimates the energy bill state lawmakers are inching toward finally passing will cost the average household $15 more a month on their electric bill. Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration says it’s between $4 and $5. Who’s right?
A Crain’s analysis shows the reality is between the two, although people can have legitimate differences over what increases are due to the bill and what might have happened without it. […]
A $363 million [delivery] rate hike would amount to about $2.77 more per month [above almost $5] for the average household and about $3.83 for the typical single-family home.
The Pritzker administration believes it’s unfair to include ComEd’s likely future rate hikes among the bill’s effects. The bill requires the ICC to audit ComEd’s past investments and eliminate those it determines shouldn’t have been made to recalibrate the rate base on which to set future profits. The ICC also would have leeway now to set a new return on equity. […]
“There are assumptions here that have no basis in fact,” Pritzker spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh says in an email. “We don’t know what the base will be. The audit, followed by the multi-year rate plan, are designed to only spend money on the things that are needed, instead of what formula rates have been. It is a bit reckless to try to decipher what the ICC will do in terms of rate base several years down the road, after getting more information than they have ever had upon which to make grid decisions.”
United Airlines told employees Wednesday that anyone granted a religious or medical waiver from an accelerated Sept. 27 vaccination deadline will be placed on temporary leave beginning Oct. 2.
Employees whose requests for a vaccination exemption are denied will have five weeks to get the shots or be terminated by the airline. […]
For customer-facing roles such as pilots, flight attendants and gate agents, employees granted a religious vaccine exemption will be placed on unpaid personal leave beginning Oct. 2, and would be able to return to work only after the pandemic “meaningfully recedes,” the airline said. […]
Mechanics, ramp service employees and other operational positions exempted from vaccinations for religious reasons would remain on unpaid leave until United “develops and implements” new testing and safety procedures to allow their return, the airline said. […]
Those granted medical exemptions to the vaccine requirements will face the same return-to-work timetable, but will be placed on medical leave, which can include some form of compensation.
In what he says is his first interview since leaving office in 2019, [Bruce Rauner] tells WTAX News why he thinks he lost in 2018.
In a word, Trump.
“Anytime a new president comes in, that president’s party tends to get shellacked at the state level and on the local level” in the election at that president’s midterm, Rauner said. “Republicans were cleaning up when Obama was in the White House, and when the Republicans took the White House under Trump, Republicans got shellacked. It was pretty clear that, in a state like Illinois, that was rabidly against Trump, that there were going to be a lot of headwinds for Republicans.” […]
Asked how he would have handled the pandemic as governor, Rauner said it’s wrong to discourage vaccines, masks, and social distancing. But he also ripped Democrats for keeping schools closed and, quoting Rauner, “spending money like confetti.”
Yeah, his 16-point loss had nothing whatsoever to do with his own term in office. Also, he didn’t say if he would’ve imposed mask or vax mandates.
* Rauner said he was in town for some charity work and for dove hunting season. Full interview…
* He still drops his g’s and hasn’t seemed to change much…
I’m not really a politician. I’m just a guy who was born and raised in Illinois. I love Illinois, I always have always will. And I got involved personally for the simple reason that I thought I could win, and I thought I could make a difference and it was frustrating to see Republicans lose in the state for so many years, and we pulled a miracle and won in 14 and kept trying and kept fighting, and we should never give up in Illinois, it’s a wonderful state.
I’ve been a big funder, supporter of Republicans in the state of Florida and the state legislature, both in the House and the Senate. I’m a fan of Ron DeSantis. I think he’s done a fantastic job as governor in the state of Florida.
Orlando Utilities Commission says this is not the time for customers to stop conserving water.
Last month, OUC said it is facing a liquid oxygen shortage because, while the company uses it to purify water, hospitals are seeing an increased demand to use it to treat COVID-19 patients in hospitals.
Well, I’ve been asked to run for various offices in various locations. And, you know, I’m flattered by that. But you know, I’m really not a politician, per se, I’m just a guy who wants to try to make things better and create a better future for all our kids here in Illinois and around the country and, and make sure that our government is working for people and we maintain our freedoms. I’m a big, big believer in freedom and the fundamental views of our nations was founded on individual liberty and personal responsibility. And I’ll always be advocating for that.
TOMORROW: Business Leader and Illinois Native Jesse Sullivan to Make Major Announcement in Republican Race for Governor
Petersburg, IL – Jesse Sullivan, who was born and raised in Petersburg, will make a major announcement on his intentions regarding the Republican race for Illinois Governor tomorrow, from Lincoln’s New Salem. He will be joined by friends and family and will make remarks about what he sees for the future of Illinois.
What: Major campaign announcement
Who: Jesse Sullivan
When: Thursday, September 9, 2021, 4:30 PM CST
Where: Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site Visitor’s Center, 15588 History Lane, Petersburg, Illinois 62675
Session day, half an hour from the Statehouse. Not sure what sort of media turnout he’ll get.
The Securities and Exchange Commission filed charges Tuesday against Ripple, the fintech company best known for cryptocurrency XRP, and two of its executives.
The SEC alleged that Ripple, co-founder Christian Larsen and CEO Bradley Garlinghouse, raised more than $1.3 billion through an unregistered, ongoing digital asset securities offering.
Garlinghouse said the SEC’s suit was “fundamentally wrong as a matter of law and fact” and questioned its timing.
Sullivan, who has promoted his Roman Catholic faith along with family and service as his core values, said he believed a Republican could be successful in an increasingly Democratic state by avoiding a focus on “wedge issues” and instead concentrating on ways to improve the economy and reducing taxes, corruption and crime.
But while he said his background in technology and finance could “serve as a bridge” to suburban voters, his opposition to abortion rights could become an issue for a key regional demographic — moderate suburban women. […]
Sullivan also said he has been vaccinated for COVID-19 and encourages vaccination, in contrast to Rabine and Bailey. […]
“I am not an ideologue,” Sullivan said, before making a reference to Rauner. “I actually think it’s really not healthy to be an ideologue if you want real outcomes — especially if you’re going to run as a Republican in a Democratic-leaning state where they’re the supermajority in the legislature. I think we tried that experiment previously and it did not work.”
*** UPDATE 2 *** Press release…
Gary Rabine, a candidate for Governor, is issuing the following statement on Jesse Sullivan declaring his candidacy for Illinois Governor.
“It is important for Illinois Republican voters to choose a candidate who best reflects the values of this party and the working class families of our state. Most all of Mr Sullivan’s campaign cash has come from Silicon Valley. The values of Silicon Valley are not the values of the Republican Party here in the heartland. To defeat Pritzker’s War on Families, Illinois will elect a candidate who is vested in the culture of small businesses and families in Illinois, not California. While Jesse Sullivan has been partnered with Silicon Valley elites, I have been creating jobs for working families right here in Illinois.
I have been at the forefront of recruiting and funding initiatives to support leaders in freedom and small business for a long time. I have been in the trenches since the beginning of great national organizations, such as Job Creators Network and TPUSA, supporting the fight against socialism and bad regulations that kill small businesses. Republican voters know I am the candidate best able to end the war on families in Illinois.
