* Not much of a surprise since he had to choose between a statewide bid or sure reelection to the Senate…
State Senator Michael E. Hastings (D-Tinley Park) today issued the following statement on his decision to suspend his bid for Secretary of State:
“On March 3rd, I announced my intention to run for the office of the Secretary of State. Since the beginning of this year I have traveled to more than 35 counties and met with voters from every corner of the state. I have been overwhelmed by the enormous outpouring of support and encouragement I have received from so many.
After much thoughtful reflection, however, it is with a heavy heart I am announcing the suspension of our campaign today.
For everyone who supported my campaign these past four months – many of whom have supported me for longer – there are no words to do justice to the sincere depths of my appreciation and gratitude. Know that I do not make this decision lightly, nor do I make it without each of you, and all of your time and sacrifice on my behalf, in the forefront of my mind.”
…Adding… From Senate President Don Harmon…
Though I am saddened the people of Illinois won’t benefit from the leadership and dedication to working families Senator Mike Hastings would bring to the office of Secretary of State, I’m happy that the people of the 19th District and our colleagues in the Senate Democratic Caucus will continue to have him fighting for Democratic values in the General Assembly.
* Looks like the governor got outflanked by the president…
Today @POTUS will sign the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, establishing June 19th as a federal holiday. As the 19th falls on a Saturday, most federal employees will observe the holiday tomorrow, June 18th.
— U.S. Office of Personnel Management (@USOPM) June 17, 2021
* It is my company policy to take off all state and federal holidays…
With President Joe Biden signing legislation to make Juneteenth a federal holiday in 2021, Governor JB Pritzker announced that state government offices will be closed Friday, June 18 in accordance with the new federal law recognizing the importance of emancipating enslaved Americans.
On Wednesday, Gov. Pritzker signed Illinois’ law to make Juneteenth a state holiday at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, in the shadow of the Emancipation Proclamation.
“I’m pleased to see the federal government join Illinois in recognizing Juneteenth as an official holiday, offering all Americans a day to reflect on the national shame of slavery and the work we must do to dismantle systemic racism,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Most importantly, let us stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Black Americans who will celebrate Juneteenth as a milestone in their fight for every ounce of the freedom that is their God-given right – and continue with them in that fight.”
When Gov. Pritzker signed Illinois’ Juneteenth legislation earlier this week with the bill sponsors, he reiterated his commitment to leading the nation in dismantling structural racism.
In addition to closing state offices on Friday, June 18, Illinois will continue the recognition of Juneteenth throughout the state, lowering all flags covered by the Illinois Flag Display Act to half-staff on Saturday. In addition, a Juneteenth flag will fly proudly over the Illinois state Capitol in Springfield on every Juneteenth, starting this year.
…Adding… In addition, the comptroller’s office is giving everyone a floating holiday because some folks need to come in to the office to get the bills paid. From SoS White…
Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White announced that all offices and facilities will be closed Friday, June 18 in observance of Juneteenth, as declared by Governor JB Pritzker following President Biden’s signing of Juneteenth as a federal holiday. Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States.
All Tuesday through Saturday Driver Services facilities will be open for business on Saturday, June 19.
Monday through Friday Driver Services facilities and offices will be open for business on Monday, June 21.
Individuals can visit the Secretary of State’s website, www.cyberdriveillinois.com, to locate the nearest Driver Services facility and the hours of operation.
As a reminder, Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White has extended all expiration dates to August 1, 2021, for driver’s licenses/ID cards. White encourages people to conduct business online at www.cyberdriveillinois.com for services such as renewing license plate stickers, obtaining replacement driver’s licenses/ID cards and if eligible renewing driver’s licenses.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Thursday is set to announce a new promotion to encourage Illinois residents to get vaccinated against COVID-19: a vaccine lottery.
Pritzker will detail the promotion during a news conference at 1:30 p.m. at Access Community Health Network in Chicago, according to his public schedule.
You can watch it live at NBC 5’s site. I’ll likely update this post later.
…Adding… A big one…
First drawing is July 8.
As long as you got a vaccine within the state lines, you're eligible. You don't have to do anything to register.
Illinois state lottery will draw names for prizes ranging between $100K and $1 million.
As Illinois continues to lead the Midwest in vaccinating our residents, Governor Pritzker announced a new $10 million ‘All In for the Win’ promotion that will reward vaccinated Illinoisans by automatically entering them into a series of cash and scholarship lotteries with prizes up to $1 million.
More than 70% of Illinois adults have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the CDC, making Illinois the first state in the Midwest to reach President Biden’s goal.
“All In For The Win is yet another way we’re working to ensure every single resident is protected from COVID-19, and especially, this virus’ more dangerous variants,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Vaccines are incredibly effective and keep you protected – and they also make your community safer. Getting the shot is how we truly end this thing, so vax up, Illinois. If you do, you might even hit the jackpot.”
“While our vaccination numbers in Illinois are good, in fact the best in the Midwest, we still need more people – as many people as possible – to get vaccinated,” said Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. “The pandemic is not over and as long as the virus is allowed to circulate, it can mutate and form new variants. We need to slow the virus’ activity – and the best way to do that is through vaccination.”
All In for the Win offers $7 million in cash prizes to vaccinated adults, ranging from $100,000 to $1 million, and $3 million in scholarship awards to vaccinated youth, held in Bright Start 529 College Savings Plan. Residents who received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in Illinois are automatically entered into the lotteries. There are no sign ups, no forms, and no lines to wait in.
Residents are encouraged to get vaccinated before July 1st to ensure they’re entered into every draw and have the most chances to win a prize, including the first million-dollar top prize on July 8th. The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) will continue to check their records before each drawing. Once entered, residents remain eligible in all future drawings, unless they win.
The first drawing will take place on Thursday, July 8, 2021, and the promotion will run until Thursday, August 26, 2021, with a series of drawings for 43 cash prizes — including three million-dollar jackpots — and 20 scholarship awards.
One million-dollar cash winner and three $150K scholarship winners will be drawn on July 8th, and weekly drawings will continue throughout the summer. Drawings include weekly $100K cash prizes and regional lotteries to ensure people from every part of the state are among the lucky winners. The grand finale — which includes two million-dollar cash prizes and seventeen scholarship awards – will be drawn on August 26. To view the complete drawing schedule, visit allin.illinois.gov.
After each draw, IDPH will reach out to the winners to ask for authorization to share their name and contact information with the Illinois Lottery. At no time will any state entity other than IDPH have information about a participant or winner without their consent. The Illinois Lottery will then help the winner through the claim process to receive their prize.
The fate of a $1.3 billion natural gas plant under construction in Grundy County is mainly what kept the Senate from acting yesterday on the most ambitious state energy bill in 25 years.
Competitive Power Ventures, a Silver Spring, Md.-based power generator, threatened to pull the plug on a massive gas-fired facility it’s building in Morris if the bill as drafted yesterday was passed, the company confirmed today.
That was what Senate President Don Harmon was referring to yesterday after the Senate’s adjournment when he said somewhat cryptically: “There are significant investments and significant jobs associated with those (gas) plants. People could be out of a job Monday if we passed that bill today.”
The issue for CPV is provisions environmentalists have championed that not only would set a firm “decarbonization” date for the burning of natural gas to generate electricity, but also would require steady declines in emissions over the years leading up to that.
* The governor’s office believed, however, that they had found a way to address the issue. This is from the testimony that Deputy Gov. Christian Mitchell was prepared to deliver to a Senate committee on Tuesday morning, several hours before the plug was pulled…
We also clarified that declining caps on natural gas would be in the aggregate and would both allow the potential build of new plants like JPower and CPV Three Rivers, and then advantage them to stay open the longest.
*** UPDATE *** From the governor’s office…
• The language in the Governor’s bill never had individual plant declining caps. There is an aggregate cap on the total of emissions from gas plants that goes down 20% every five years. So, if for example, there are 1,000 tons of GHG emissions, they would have to be at 800 in five years—not that Plant A would have to reduce by 20 percent.
• The language was clarified after this issue arose in the legislators’ meeting Saturday morning, and labor had both a walk-through of the language Monday evening, as well as bullet points that we gave them which reiterated this point. So, I’m not sure where Mr. Rumsey got his information, but it was wrong.
• In addition, because we specifically didn’t want to discourage the construction of the plant referenced in the article, as well as two other gas plants that are in permitting stages, we clarified that under the EPA rulemaking that will determine which plants needed to close sooner rather than others, that the newest plants would have the advantage because of the environmental technology that’s installed on the newer plants.
• So, while other gas plants may rightfully be thought of to be in danger of closing in 5 years or ten, it isn’t likely that any of the new plants would be in the early closure mix.
* Make sure you click here to keep an eye on the live coverage post today while the House is in session. Speaker Welch will be doing a media availability after session ends, so you may want to monitor that, too.
You can use this post to comment on whatever happens.
*** UPDATE 1 *** The budget fix just passed 71-44-1 after some spirited debate.
*** UPDATE 2 *** The FOID bill, HB562, just passed 75-40.
*** UPDATE 3 *** HB1092, the Firearms Restraining Order Act, passed 61-47 (it only required 60 votes).
*** UPDATE 4 *** HB2908, the Chicago elected school board bill, passed 70-41.
In response to House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch’s announcement temporarily permitting remote voting, State Rep. Steve Reick (R-Woodstock) has issued the following statement:
“Intraparty strife among Democrats has resulted in their inability to come to terms on an energy bill that they’ve been negotiating amongst themselves for months, having never taken Republican and downstate members’ concerns into account. Yet we’ve still been called back to Springfield under the pretense of voting on a so-called ‘climate bill’.
But we have another reason for being in Springfield today. The 3,088-page, $42.3 billion dollar budget that the supermajority Democrats shoved down the throats of hardworking Illinoisans minutes before the midnight deadline on May 31 was so full of drafting errors that the state cannot legally spend the money it appropriates until almost a year from now. Consequently, Gov. Pritzker issued an amendatory veto of the budget yesterday and sent it back to us for approval.
The problem is that there won’t be enough Democrats on hand in the House today to approve his veto and fix the mistakes they themselves made.
But fear not, the Speaker is temporarily amending the House rules to permit remote ‘participation’ in today’s House session. Remote legislating was not permitted in the House chamber throughout the entirety of the COVID-19 pandemic, yet now that the state is fully reopened, the Speaker is allowing its use to cover for rank incompetence.
I’m sure my colleagues on the other side of the aisle who are unable to join us in Springfield today have valid reasons for their absence. After all, this session was scheduled with only one week’s notice. But if you can’t be here, you shouldn’t be able to cast a vote. Any lawmaker not physically under the dome today who chooses to vote remotely is not only committing a dereliction of his or her elected duty but is perpetuating the Speaker’s affront to the legislative process.”
One member is attending to his dying father. Another has a family medical issue. The Senate has allowed remote voting since last year, but a quorum has to be present.
* The Question: Do you favor or oppose allowing remote floor voting as long as a quorum is physically present in the chamber? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please…
We have come a long way in assisting all parties in getting to yes. And I continue to work to bring comprehensive clean, equitable, and ethical energy reform to the state of Illinois. That, and nothing less, is what the people of this state deserve the proposed climate bill, worked on by all parties, preserves for decades jobs that already exists, and creates new clean energy jobs, too. Most importantly, it does so well protecting consumers and fighting climate change.
But let me make myself perfectly clear. Our long-term goal is to create meaningful, climate change policy that makes Illinois, a leader in protecting our people, the environment, and the clean energy industry that we can grow. I will not sign a bill that does not match the gravity of this moment.
That means that a bill claiming to contain meaningful decarbonization measures, but does not pass muster on the details and does not move us toward a clean energy economy is not a real climate bill.
The bill I put forward is about the health and the well-being of our communities and a measurably precious resource, as reinforced by the events of the last year.
We can decarbonize while creating and maintaining good-paying union jobs. That’s why I held working group sessions to put all the multiple clean energy on the table for negotiations. My door remains open to all parties willing to find reasonable compromise that secures Illinois clean energy leadership.
Here’s what’s happening: People are bringing up issues that they had settled on months ago, to try to bring them up now at the last minute hoping that everybody will say, well that’s okay we’ll just let that one go, so that we can get a bill. That’s not how it works.
We set out principles here. We’re going to get those principles, hard and fast in this bill, and that is what we need. I mean honestly, who here does not believe that we are headed for a future that we should be headed for a future in Illinois, of leadership in clean energy. We should have an industry, a whole industry of electric vehicles in Illinois based upon the clean energy principles that we set out. We should have a cleaner environment as a result of what we do in this bill. Those are enormously important principles to have in the bill and they are in the bill. Everything that gets brought up that takes us back from decarbonisation is a backward movement. I’m not going to let it happen.
He then predicted the process would take another few weeks or a month.
A potential energy deal lawmakers were expected to take up in the Illinois Senate on Tuesday has stalled.
The Senate was called into session to take up an energy deal Gov. J.B. Pritzker wanted to subsidize nuclear energy and lay out a path toward more renewables over the next few decades.
During a Senate committee Tuesday, state Sen. Bill Cunningham, D-Chicago, said the good news is there was broad agreement on major provisions of the bills, including increasing investments in renewable energy and subsidizing nuclear energy with the goal of having 100% renewable energy sources by 2050.
But, he said the bad news is there’s a difference among stakeholders about whether to order coal-fired plants closed in 2035 or 2045.
“I don’t believe it’s a gigantic gulf,” Cunningham said. “I believe that it is a difference that can be corrected. I don’t think the two parties are too far apart but they are far apart right now and unfortunately, because of that the work of the working group has stalled.”
[The energy bill] contains goals of putting the state on a path to 40 percent renewable energy by 2030 through an increased fee on ratepayer bills; encouraging adoption of electric vehicles through rebates and incentives; and getting the state to 100 percent carbon-free energy by 2050. It also strengthens several ethics measures for public utilities.
It also provides several ratepayer subsidies for the development of renewable energy and preserving the profitability of nuclear energy.
That includes, but is not limited to, $694 million in subsidies to three nuclear plants owned by energy giant Exelon at a cost of about 80 cents on the average monthly ratepayer bill; an added $1.22 to an average bill to fund new renewable development; 86 cents for an expanded low-income weatherization program; about 18 cents per month to incentivize the transition of closed or closing coal plants to solar facilities; and another 9 cents per month for the conversion of coal sites to battery storage.
After adjournment, Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, made a statement similar to one he made June 1 after the Senate failed to call an energy bill for a vote ahead of the regular session adjournment.
“There are still some points of contention between two critical constituencies — between labor and the environmental activists — I believe they’re going to be continuing to meet as early as this evening to try to work out those differences and the Senate stands ready, willing and able to return as soon as an agreement is reached,” he said Tuesday.
Harmon did not say how many Democratic lawmakers peeled support from the proposed energy package, but noted he was “confident that the bill as proposed would not have passed today,” if brought for a floor vote.
Still, he said he is also “confident” an energy bill will pass this summer.
A spokesman from Exelon said in a statement the company is “disappointed” a bill didn’t come up for a vote and “absent quick passage of legislation, Exelon has no choice but to proceed with retiring Byron in September and Dresden in November, as previously announced.”
In a statement, the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition said they were disappointed the Senate was heading home without a deal.
“Thousands of union workers and solar installers may now lose their jobs, while the climate crisis worsens and Black and Brown communities continue to struggle,” the statement reads in part. “We are deeply disappointed the Senate adjourned without taking action on a carbon-free energy future, but stand ready to enact the Governor’s plan as soon as possible.”
“I think everybody has digested the fact that coal is going to have to go offline in 2035 unless some significant technology improvements become available and affordable and I think people are coming to terms with that,” Harmon said. “Really the conversations over the last 36 hours have revolved around this newfound emphasis on the pace of decarbonization in the natural gas space.”
The holdup now, Harmon said, is over the elimination of another fossil fuel. Environmentalists want natural gas capped until it’d be gone in Illinois come 2045, a deadline that labor organizations contend is a job-killer.
Meanwhile, Illinois’ burgeoning solar industry is standing at a so-called cliff, as the lack of an omnibus energy law means structural and financial problems with an existing law meant to prop up renewable energy via state-backed credits remains unfixed.
The lack of accord this spring on a plan that aims to set the state on a path to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s goal of 100% carbon-free energy by 2050 was seen as a sign of a growing disconnect between the legislature and the Democratic governor.
Don’t bet against a deal. Too many interests have too much at stake, including the unions that Mitchell noted were in line to secure many more jobs in newer industries than the coal-fired and nuclear power ones they’re trying to save now if the bill becomes law.
But, so far, no one that the enviros or the unions will listen to has been able to tell either to stand down.
I disagree in part. The enviros have moved a lot. Labor is being labor, however.
There seems to be a massive knowledge disconnect here. This is about decarbonizing the electric sector. This has literally zero to do with how you heat your home if you use natural gas. Zero.
Natural gas will continue to flow into your homes for home heating and cooking, etc.
Too many of y’all are way overreacting based on false information.
We have a much much better chance of passing a major bill when we have three ingredients: When we have the support of environmental activists; when we have the support of organized labor; and when we have the support of Democrats and Republicans.
We are this close to reaching that agreement, and I am confident that we will get that done.
There are still some points of contention between two critical constituencies, between labor and the environmental activists. I believe they’re going to be continuing to meet as early as this evening to try to work out those differences and the Senate stands ready, willing and able to return as soon as an agreement is reached.
* More Harmon…
The caucus made it very clear to all of us that we don’t want to vote for something that puts us in the middle of a fight between friends, between key constituencies, between organized labor and the environmental community. There is a deal to be reached, and we just need to get them back at the table and push a little bit harder. I’m confident we’re going to be able to do tha. […]
I am confident that the bill as proposed would not have passed today.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Press release…
The following statement may be attributed to the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition:
“On May 31, there was a tentative deal on a comprehensive energy bill, but it was stopped at the last minute. On June 1, Senate President Harmon said he ’stand[s] with the Governor on de-carbonization targets that need to be in a final deal,’ but now the Senate is headed home without action on that plan. Thousands of union workers and solar installers may now lose their jobs, while the climate crisis worsens and Black and Brown communities continue to struggle. We are deeply disappointed the Senate adjourned without taking action on a carbon-free energy future, but stand ready to enact the Governor’s plan as soon as possible.”
* Back to Harmon…
I don’t think we’re gonna have to wait until August. I think parties are going to sit down again as early as this evening and recommence negotiations. And I think there’s a fairly clear path to a relatively rapid resolution. That said, Exelon is on the cusp of a $700 million subsidy. If they close plants out of spite tomorrow, they were going to close those plants anyway. So I think we have a little bit of time here. And if we don’t, it’s not because of the failure to act legislatively today. We’ll be back this summer I predict.
* Climate Jobs Illinois…
We agree with Sen. Harmon’s statement this evening that there is a deal to be reached on clean energy legislation that addresses climate change and protects Illinois workers. Like everyone involved in these discussions, we recognize that we collectively face the biggest challenge of our generation, and we cannot afford inaction. We applaud the hard work of everyone who has come to the table to debate these issues for months, and we remain committed to seeing through a comprehensive, equitable clean energy plan that protects good-paying union jobs, secures communities and allows for a just transition to a cleaner, fairer future for all Illinoisans.
Today, after the completion of his first legislative session, Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch announced he has promoted Tiffany Moy to be his new Chief of Staff. Moy has served as the Issues Development Director since January and was the unit’s Deputy Director prior to that. In addition to having strong experience managing a wide range of people and functions, Moy brings the necessary institutional knowledge to help the Speaker operationalize a new leadership ethos within the Illinois House of Representatives. As Moy is also the first person of color in this position, this selection represents Speaker Welch’s continued commitment to uplift a new generation of leadership that reflects the diversity of our state.
“I am proud to announce Tiffany Moy as the new Chief of Staff. Tiffany has an incredibly impressive background and has fostered strong relationships within the Illinois House of Representatives. She understands the legislative process, but even more so, Tiffany knows the issues that matter most for working families throughout the state. I am so grateful for the work and service of our current Chief of Staff, Jessica Basham, and I know that she will help Tiffany grow into this role before she leaves the Office of the Speaker. I am excited for this fresh path forward as we continue fostering a new day here in Springfield.”
…Adding… Moy won the Golden Horseshoe Award in 2020 and in 2018.
To the Honorable Members of The Illinois Senate, 102nd General Assembly:
Today, I return Senate Bill 2800 with specific recommendations for change so that the various sets of appropriations included in the bill will take effect at the necessary time.
Senate Bill 2800 is the omnibus appropriation bill for Fiscal Year 2022. It includes the Fiscal Year 2022 appropriations for both the operating budget and the capital budget. In addition, it includes a number of necessary supplemental appropriations for Fiscal Year 2021. Appropriations to implement the Fiscal Year 2022 budget require an effective date of July 1, 2021 so that they take effect on the first day of the fiscal year. In contrast, supplemental appropriations for Fiscal Year 2021 require an immediate effective date so that they can be available for use during the remainder of Fiscal Year 2021.
Article 999 – the effective date provision in Senate Bill 2800 – references many of the bill’s articles and, depending on whether the particular article contains new appropriations for Fiscal Year 2022 or supplemental appropriations for Fiscal Year 2021, specifies either a July 1, 2021 or an immediate effective date for each article. However, as is evident from the language in the bill, some articles were assigned the incorrect effective date, and many articles of the bill were not referenced in Article 999 and thus were not assigned a specific effective date.
It is evident that the errors and omissions in the effective date provision of Senate Bill 2800 were inadvertent as all appropriations bills traditionally have effective dates that align with the language of the appropriations. I believe that the legislative intent for Senate Bill 2800 was for new appropriations for Fiscal Year 2022 to have a July 1, 2021 effective date and for supplemental appropriations for Fiscal Year 2021 to have an immediate effective date. Without this amendatory veto, many of the appropriations in the bill would not take effect until June 1, 2022, eleven months into Fiscal Year 2022.
Therefore, pursuant to Article IV, Section 9(e) of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby return Senate Bill 2800, entitled, “An ACT concerning appropriations,” with the following specific recommendations for change:
On page 3088, delete lines 8 through 12 and insert in lieu thereof the following:
“ARTICLE 999
Section 999. Effective Date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law, except that Articles 25 through 129, Articles 137 through 173, and Article 997 take effect July 1, 2021.”
With this change, Senate Bill 2800 will have my approval. I respectfully request your concurrence.
Sincerely,
JB Pritzker
GOVERNOR
Suffice to say it was a massive error in a tiny paragraph.
…Adding… Press release…
In response to Governor Pritzker issuing an amendatory veto on the state budget, SB2800, Deputy Minority Leader Tom Demmer (R-Dixon) released the following statement:
“Governor Pritzker’s amendatory veto once again highlights the need for an honest and transparent process in budgeting. Dropping a massively flawed budget in the last minutes of session is unfair to democracy and the residents of Illinois. Instead of working to fix a budget that increases lawmaker’s salaries, hikes taxes on businesses and has over $1 billion in new unvetted pork spending, the Governor chose to just make sure the law goes into effect sooner.”
Facing almost certain defeat, Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Monday threw the kitchen sink of arguments against a proposed 21-member elected board to run Chicago Public Schools — a plan favored by the Illinois General Assembly. […]
“A lot of the conversation that has been had over the course of this last legislative session is about dividing up the spoils of CPS. It’s about power. It’s about paying back somebody’s political patron. But it’s not been centered around our children. That’s telling. But it’s also frightening.”
*** UPDATE *** One of the compromises being proposed by House members is to run a trailer bill later to try and address some of the mayor’s concerns. From the above story…
“We fought too long and too hard over the course of many, many years to make sure that we’re providing real supports for people who have come to the city who want to raise their families, do the right thing, contribute to our tax base. Yet, we’re gonna vote on a bill that disenfranchises them and then say, ‘We’ll take care of it on a trailer bill?’” said Lightfoot, her voice rising as she referenced plans to pass followup legislation to address issues like how undocumented parents could vote, among other issues.
“Too little, too late. If you know that the bill is flawed, wait. Fix it.”
As a lobbyist on another issue said to me last night, “If you don’t pass a bill, you can’t fix it later.” Just sayin…
*** UPDATE 1 *** The Senate has apparently given up on a comprehensive bill and is now working on what’s being called a “skinny bill” which would address “time sensitive matters.” Provisions include a moratorium on nuclear plant closures (which would certainly prompt a court challenge), some Exelon ethics provisions and a “solar cliff fix” with related equity issues. “Yep, so a bill that cuts out everything environmentalists want,” said one top enviro lobbyist.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Senate President Pro Tempore Bill Cunningham is confirming to the Senate Energy and Public Utility Committee that the decarbonization process is still the sticking point. The enviros and the Pritzker administration, he said, want “descending caps” that could lead to plant closures before 2035 and 2045.
*** UPDATE 3 *** From Jordan Abudayyeh…
Reporters—
Since Deputy Gov. Christian Mitchell was not called to testify in committee this afternoon, I’ve attached his remarks as prepared for delivery here. The latest draft of the bill is also attached. The administration has not seen any other language that has been presented at this time.
We can’t understand why those who oppose this measure would ignore the jobs I’ve just listed to try to preserve jobs that may go away decades in the future
*** UPDATE 4 *** It doesn’t sound like the “skinny” bill has any real support outside the Senate, including with labor.
[ *** End Of Updates *** ]
* From Gov. Pritzker’s policy advisor…
See attached for the last draft of the energy proposal, reflecting the Governor’s most recent offer on decarbonization, in response to labor’s continued requests. A summary of the new structure is as follows:
• Prairie State and CWLP: no unit-specific emissions cap; with IEPA approval of carbon capture and sequestration (must capture and store at least 90% of greenhouse gas emissions) by 2034, they can stay open until 2045
• Declining caps with a 20% aggregate emissions reductions requirement over a 5-year period (does not apply to specific units)
• Units with best available control technology can stay open longer than dirtier units
• Ripcord provision allows a plant to stay open if the RTO deems it necessary for reliability purposes
• IEPA rulemaking must consider the impact on the ability of resources to meet reliability requirements
• Phase out coal by 2035 (except PS/CWLP w/ 90% capture)
• Phase out natural gas by 2045
The two other substantive changes are: insertion of two low income pilot solar projects in Peoria and East St. Louis, as requested by Ameren Illinois and approved by the legislative workout group, and a clarification that the 10% set aside for equity eligible contractors applies specifically for those with that designation (responsive to a request by members of the black caucus).
There are a few other technical changes caught by various parties, including a telecom clarification requested by AT&T.
We stand by for questions, but believe this bill is ready for passage, and the Governor is ready to sign it.
The 2035 deadline for coal was a huge sticking point for organized labor, their legislative allies and some Republicans, particularly when it came to two coal-fired plants, Prairie State Energy and Springfield’s CWLP. Then they raised the natural gas issue, which was a big issue during last night’s negotiations.
* Organized labor still won’t budge, however. “If a plant is clean — why should they be forced to shut down?” texted a top labor leader to me this morning when I asked about the status of the proposal.
If they won’t bite on 2045, then I don’t know how much further the enviros can move. From an enviro lobbyist…
If in 2045 we have technology that allows for 100% CCS, then we can change the law in the next 25 years and they’ll be able to stay open. But why shouldn’t we plan for the likelihood (if not inevitability) that such technology is not feasible and/or affordable?
The carbon capture technology is at least four times as expensive as a carbon tax, which the governor proposed and the unions and the Senate President both opposed. WBEZ…
The Prairie State Energy Campus is represented by the lobbying firm that once employed Harmon’s chief of staff, Jacob Butcher, a relationship that has drawn scrutiny and questions about a potential conflict of interest from within some political circles at the statehouse.
But Harmon sharply defended his top aide in his first public comments on the issue and insisted Butcher’s past association “does not factor in at all” in the push by Senate Democrats to find some way to keep Prairie State from the green-energy chopping block.
“Jake Butcher left lobbying behind when he returned to public service at my request, and he works for me and he gives me good advice and I appreciate his wealth of knowledge. But his prior representations of anybody, including renewable companies, has no bearing on energy policy in the Senate Democratic caucus,” Harmon said.
And when asked about how he viewed some at the statehouse questioning Butcher being in the room as Prairie State’s future is debated, Harmon said going after legislative staffers is off-limits.
“I’m trying to bite my tongue,” Harmon said. “I would not call out the governor’s staff or the speaker’s staff for decisions or actions that the governor or the speaker take. Our caucus operates as a collection of elected representatives of the people who send us here to Springfield. We couldn’t do our jobs without an incredibly able staff. But we don’t throw staff under the bus. We’re the ones who are accountable to the people who send us here.”
