Clean Energy Jobs Act Aims To Make Illinois Completely Green By 2050
State Sen. Scott Bennett, D-Champaign, and Rep. Carol Ammons, D-Urbana, right, express their support of the Clean Energy Jobs Act during a press conference at the Mass Transit District in Urbana. Anna Casey/Illinois Public Media
State lawmakers in Springfield introduced legislation Thursday aimed at creating more renewable energy jobs in Illinois, particularly in disadvantaged communities, and cutting carbon pollution entirely from the state’s power sector by 2030.
The legislation, known as the Clean Energy Jobs Act, has local support from Sen. Scott Bennett, D-Champaign, and Rep. Carol Ammons, D-Urbana, as well as the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District and the Prairie Rivers Network, a state affiliate of the National Wildlife Federation.
“We’re trying to tie the job training programs to the actual industry and get people working,” Ammons, a co-sponsor of the bill in the Illinois House, said. “We also want to make sure that this bill has the ability to make it affordable for people who live in low-income communities and seniors.”
The bill would create Clean Job Workforce Hubs, a network of organizations that would provide support to disadvantaged and minority communities. It would also put incentives in place for companies to ensure equitable representation in their clean energy workforce.
Another pillar of the legislation aims to dramatically cut carbon emissions by making Illinois 100 percent renewable by 2050 through the installation of more than 40 million solar panels and 2,500 wind turbines in the coming decades.
Bennett, a co-sponsor of the 365-page bill, said during a press conference Friday at the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District that it was up to state lawmakers to take action.
“Given the current federal administration’s lack of leadership on growing clean energy economies, Illinois must create a path forward to ensure that both the jobs and economic benefits created by smarter energy and transportation come to our state," Bennett said.
The legislation was drafted by the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition, a network of environmental groups, healthcare professionals, businesses and other stakeholders from around the state. State Sen. Cristina Castro, D-Elgin, and Rep. Ann Williams, D-Chicago, introduced the Clean Jobs Act that emerged from the coalition's efforts. A spokeswoman for Gov. J.B. Pritzker told the Chicago Sun-Times that “Governor Pritzker applauds the Clean Jobs Coalition’s previous work, and looks forward to reviewing the bill.”