By Sean Copeland

BLOOMINGTON – Smarter lightbulbs and nearly 80 percent of the City of Bloomington participating in the recycling program were cited as reasons Ameren has named Bloomington a 2017 Progressive City.

The program which has selected specific Illinois municipalities over the last eight years, focusing on a wide array of efforts from energy efficiency to sustainability efforts.

Ameren Illinois leaders presented a $2,500 grant to the city for future energy projects. This comes after the city logged nearly a quarter million dollars in energy cost savings in the last year. The grant will go toward replacing florescent lighting with LEDs in Bloomington City Hall.

Ameren Senior Manager Carla Campbell-Jackson said initiatives like these show Ameren’s commitment to community.

“I hope that the citizens take away the fact that Ameren is deeply rooted in the community and today’s event was not only an acknowledgement of what the Bloomington has done but it shows our commitment to energy efficiency because that matters,” said Campbell-Jackson.

The city was also chosen due to its many initiatives including the Illinois Sustainable Living and Wellness Expo at Illinois Wesleyan University in April. Campbell-Jackson said all of these initiatives go a long way towards helping combat climate change.

“Our goal is that it’s on going because climate change is something that’s major and Ameren wants to make sure we’re doing all we can to protect the climate and certainly to provide for our customers simultaneously,” said Campbell-Jackson.

Ameren Illinois also recognized Bloomington for completing 280 residential and business energy saving projects in the last year.

Sean Copeland can be reached at [email protected].