Energy bill could see a vote as state lawmakers return for redistricting session
By JERRY NOWICKI
and PETER HANCOCK
Capitol News Illinois
news@capitolnewsillinois.com
SPRINGFIELD – Lawmakers will return to the Statehouse on Tuesday for what is scheduled as a one-day special session to reconsider the legislative redistricting plan they passed during the spring session.
But the General Assembly might also vote on an energy regulatory overhaul bill that has stalled on numerous occasions, including at the end of the regular session in May and during a follow-up session called weeks later.
A 980-page proposal, filed as Senate Amendment 1 to House Bill 3666 by Sen. Michael Hastings, D-Frankfort, received a subject matter hearing Monday night, meaning it did not receive a vote.
The major sticking point has been the phase-out of coal-fired power plants, specifically the Prairie State Energy Campus in the Metro East near St. Louis.
Two key Democratic interest groups – labor unions and environmental groups – have been at odds during the negotiations, with the former favoring looser carbon cap requirements for coal-fired plants, while environmentalists favored a strict 100 percent reduction or shutdown of the coal-fired plants.
Sen. Bill Cunningham, D-Chicago, said at the committee hearing, “some differences remain right now but I don’t think any of them are insurmountable.” He also noted “we seem to, every five or six years in the General Assembly, work on a new omnibus energy bill. That’s not likely to change because of this bill.”
Hastings said the language filed Monday would require Prairie State to reduce carbon emissions by 50 percent by 2040. He said it also requires that municipal coal plants “attain 105 percent carbon emission reduction by 2045 through use of carbon sequestration and/or direct air capture.”
The bill states the plant must capture 95 percent of its own carbon emissions through sequestration or plant retirement, while the remaining carbon reduction would be accomplished “through direct air carbon capture or any other available technology proven to directly remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.”
Outside of the decarbonization of coal plants, many facets of the bill have long been negotiated.
That includes the goal of putting Illinois on a path to 50 percent renewable energy by 2040 and 100 percent carbon-free by 2050 through an increased fee on ratepayer bills to invest in renewables; a goal of putting 1 million electric vehicles on Illinois roads by 2030 through rebates and incentives; and increasing diversity in the renewable energy job force with training and other assistance through “clean jobs workforce hubs,” among other wide-ranging provisions.
Pat Devaney, secretary treasurer of the powerful AFL-CIO federation of labor unions, as well as representatives of the Path to 100 Coalition, which is focused on renewable energy development, testified in favor of the bill as amended.
The union groups are aiming to protect workers at fossil fuel plants as well as those at nuclear plants, while Path to 100 is focused on making more funding available for renewable projects.
Terry McGoldrick, of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, said lawmakers must act as soon as possible to prevent the closure of at least two Exelon nuclear plants.
The governor has offered about $694 million in subsidies over five years to three nuclear plants in an effort to keep them profitable. Nuclear plants produce the vast majority of the state’s non-carbon-emitting energy, and two – one in Byron and one in Dresden – are already scheduled for potential closure without state action.
“We literally have 14 days to save these two nuclear plants and thousands of jobs in the communities that those facilities are located,” McGoldrick said.
Jack Darin, of the Illinois Sierra Club, said his group is opposed to the bill as written due to carbon capture language, but “we have every intention of working as hard as we can to become proponents on a final bill.”
J.C. Kibbey, of the National Resource Defense Council, said “the things in this bill that claim to address emissions from these coal plants are uneconomical, they are ineffective, and they involve technologies that are unproven, and have never been deployed at scale.”
“The science tells us that we need to reduce emissions 50 percent by 2030 to avoid catastrophic climate change, and wealthy countries like the United States must do so even faster,” he said. “We are out of time for half measures that sound nice, but push action on climate off decades into the future.”
It’s unclear how long lawmakers would stay in town for the session that was originally scheduled for a one-day event to address legislative maps, which have to be redrawn to address concerns over the current maps’ constitutionality.
Despite not having official U.S. Census data in May at the end of the regular session, Democrats pushed through the current maps in order to beat a June 30 deadline spelled out in the Illinois Constitution. Thus far, that has helped them avoid sending the process to a bipartisan commission where Republicans would have a 50-50 chance of controlling the proceedings.
Since then, official census numbers have been released showing the new districts would be vastly unequal in population and would likely be held unconstitutional.
The House and Senate Redistricting committees held a series of hastily-called public hearings over the past few days, most of which were sparsely attended.
At a House committee hearing Sunday in Aurora, only one person testified – Aviva Patt, of the Decalogue Society of Lawyers – who complained that she hadn’t been notified of the hearing schedule, despite having testified in the spring, and that she wasn’t even given the web address of the virtual meeting until after the meeting had started.
Rep. Tim Butler, R-Springfield, tweeted from that meeting, saying the doors to the building were locked well past the meeting’s 10 a.m. start time.
“No committee Dems in-person,” he wrote. “Five members of public present. No big screen/TV available for public to see those online & (PowerPoint) slides.”
Many of those who did testify at the hearings urged lawmakers not to vote on any new maps until after the public has had time to review and analyze any new proposal. New proposed drafts of Illinois House and Senate maps were posted online Monday.
The Senate Redistricting Committee was scheduled to hold one final virtual hearing at 6 p.m. Monday.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government and distributed to more than 400 newspapers statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
Local News
Man charged with child abduction in Stickney Township
Spread the loveFrom staff reports A Chicago man was charged last week with child abduction and luring of a minor after Cook County Sheriff’s Police detectives found he attempted to lure a minor into his vehicle, said Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart. According to police, about 4:43 p.m. on Monday, April 22, officers responded…
Worth Library celebrates 60th anniversary
Spread the loveBy Kelly White The Worth Public Library has been around for decades. Resting in the heart of the village at 6917 W. 111th St., the library held an event focusing on its rich background story on April 23 with a historical photo exhibit. “It’s amazing because this library is still so important to…
Rose Zubik, Woman’s Club veteran, installed as 3rd District president
Spread the love Rose Zubik, of Palos Heights, the new president of the 3rd District General Federation of Women’s Clubs-Illinois, lights a candle during the installation ceremony held April 27 at Fox’s Restaurant in Orland Park. Heather Linehan, the outgoing president, is beside her.By Dermot Connolly A longtime member of the Palos Heights Woman’s Club…
Shots fired in Chicago Ridge Commons parking lot
Spread the loveFrom staff reports Shots were fired Wednesday night in the parking lot at Chicago Ridge Commons mall. Police said they received reports of the shooting about 9:45 p.m. No injuries were reported. Multiple witnesses told police four men were walking through the parking lot from the XSport Fitness area. They approached two vehicles…
Hair salon with a ‘flair’ marks first year in Chicago Ridge
Spread the loveBy Joe Boyle Melissa Kowalski wanted to do something meaningful to mark the first-year anniversary of her Flair With Hair Salon in Chicago Ridge. “We did not have a grand opening last year so I wanted to do something really special,” Kowalski said. “We wanted to say thank you to our clients.” Kowalski,…
Palos East fifth-grader wins Scholastic Storyworks writing contest
Spread the loveGabriel Chowaniec, a fifth-grader at Palos East Elementary School, has been named a winner of the Scholastic Storyworks Magazine writing contest. Gabriel, who is a student in Cathy Casey’s fifth-grade classroom, was named one of only five winners nationally for the December 2023/January 2024 competition. Garbriel’s submission for the nonfiction story “The Shattered Land,” “showed a strong understanding of the text along with the ability to author a well-organized…
Shepard celebrates Autism Week
Spread the loveBy Kelly White World Autism Acceptance Week is organized by the National Autistic Society in the first week of April and aims to raise awareness about the challenges autistic people face across all areas of society. Not missing out the opportunity to celebrate all-inclusion was Shepard High School, 13049 S. Ridgeland Ave., Palos…
Billions of cicadas get ready to raise a racket
Spread the loveBy Kelly White If you haven’t heard the buzz yet, you will soon. With 2024 marking a big year for periodical cicadas in Illinois, billions of the red-eyed buggers will soon be making an appearance. Periodical cicada broods XIII and XIX will be emerging throughout much of the state at the same time.…
‘A man of honor, a beacon of kindness’
Spread the love. Chicago weeps for Officer Luis Huesca . By Tim Hadac People across the Southwest Side shed tears earlier this week, as throngs of police officers and other filled the St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel at 77th and Western for a funeral Mass for CPD Officer Luis M. Huesca. Officer Huesca was…
Neighbors
Experienced bakers buy The Great American Bagel in Palos Heights
Spread the loveNew owners nearly double the menu for breakfast, lunch By Cosmo Hadac When The Great American Bagel’s shop in Palos Heights changed hands late last year, the new owners who walked in the door weren’t exactly new. Manny Rios Sr. and his wife, Silvia, have nearly 50 years of combined experience in…
New owner will keep Palmer Place name and burgers Copy
Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch Palmer Place Restaurant and Biergarten, a mainstay in downtown La Grange for nearly 40 years, will soon have new owners. But not much else will change. The name on 56 S. La Grange Road will still read Palmer Place. The employees now there will still have their jobs. And the…
Palos Park could be making its decision on gaming on Monday
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Will Palos Park make its decision on bringing in gaming machines to the village on Monday? The world will have to wait until Monday to find out. The village council will meet for the first time in 2022 on Monday after its Jan. 10 meeting was cancelled because of a…
Pekau takes Rubin and Foxx to task over mandate punishments
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Orland Park has Cook’s County’s attention. The village’s decision to vote against enforcing Cook County COVID-19 mandates at a special meeting Dec. 28 has been a hot topic. The village’s position is that businesses need not require proof of vaccination for patrons to enter. Some businesses are taking the board…
‘These bruises won’t heal’
Spread the loveCPS kids back in school, but bitterness remains By Tim Hadac Teachers who walked off the job in the new year returned last week after the Chicago Teachers Union rank and file voted to accept Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s offer of increased safety measures at schools. But it was a divided vote, with just…
Smooch from a pooch
Spread the loveMutts of the Midway volunteer John Shaker smiles as he gets a smooch from Burt, a 5-year-old American Pit Bull/Boston Terrier mix. Shaker works as a transporter, driving dogs to and from veterinarian appointments. The 37-pound Burt was rescued by the non-profit Mutts of the Midway from a shelter in Texas. For several…
Here’s a sure sign of spring
Spread the loveBy Joan Hadac Your correspondent in Clearing and Garfield Ridge (708) 496-0265 • joan.hadac@gmail.com Hi everyone. How have you been surviving January? This is one month I always hope flies by. If the sun is out, the temperatures are, or feel like they are in the subzero range. If it’s cloudy, which is most…
Justice swears in new police officer
Spread the loveBy Carol McGowan The Justice Village Board approved the recommendation of the Justice Fire and Police Commission to hire Police Officer Kady Sassenger at its January 10 meeting. Her move from the Coal City Police Department to Justice is considered a lateral move, which means the officer transfers from one department to another…
Medeisis promoted to fire battalion chief in Bridgeview
Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch The Bridgeview Fire Department has a new battalion chief. Michael Medeisis, 55, was promoted from the rank of lieutenant at the Jan. 5 meeting of the Bridgeview Village Board. “Hey, hot diggity dog, we’ve got a great guy (promoted),” village Trustee Michael Pticek said. Trustee James Cecott said the promotion…