Groups push for Clean Energy Jobs Act in Illinois

Posted on January 28, 2020
The groups held a rally Monday in the Capitol Rotunda. (Dave Dahl/WJBC)

 

By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – A bill to promote renewable energy and preserve jobs – as Illinois phases out coal – was the subject of a rally in the Capitol Rotunda Monday. A couple of dozen environmentalists representing such groups as the Faith Coalition for the Common Good, Illinois Environmental Council, and Citizens Utility Board, took 23,000 signatures to Gov. Pritzker’s office.

They want the legislature to pass, and the governor to sign, the Clean Energy Jobs Act. It’s currently under negotiation.

“It is young people with so much life ahead of us,” said Alli Fry of the Illinois Environmental Council, “who have the most to lose if we do not take bold action to combat the climate crisis immediately.

“CEJA will ensure a clean and bright future and is something where I will see the positive impacts of it in my lifetime.”

Added Mary Ellen DeClue, who lives south of Springfield, “Presently, the property taxes in Illinois are the second highest in the country. And the loss of power plant taxes exacerbates this crisis for communities.”

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]

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