Will County Gazette

Illinois Democratic State Rep. Janet Yang Rohr recently boasted that the Illinois Environmental Council (IEC) rated her 100% on its "environmental scorecard." Yang Rohr and the IEC both supported SB 2408, a radical green energy bill that was passed in September. SB 2408 is part of the reason that Illinoisans can expect rolling blackouts and higher energy bills this summer.

Yang Rohr voted in favor of SB 2408 and took to Facebook to voice her support for the green energy legislation.

"I am proud to announce that I received a 100% scorecard rating by the @ Illinois Environmental Council!" Yang Rohr wrote in a June 15 Facebook post. "My voting record reflects where I stand on tackling climate change; fighting for clean air and water; and protecting open spaces we all enjoy. I stand with IEC in making it a priority to safeguard our environment for generations to come. #greenchampion"

The IEC also voiced their support for SB 2408, according to a press release. 

"This is a story about the power of people and the environmental movement in Illinois standing up to big fossil fuel and utility companies–and winning," Executive Director Jen Walling said, according to the press release. "The passage of this bill is proof that years of education, advocacy and movement building have secured a strong climate action majority in the Illinois General Assembly." 

"Gov. JB Pritzker and environmental champions in the House and Senate sided with their constituents over polluting fossil fuel industries who, until today, dictated energy policy in our state. IEC extends our sincere thanks for their dedication to passing a true climate bill with nation-leading equity standards, which will create thousands of good-paying jobs and put Illinois on a path to a 100% clean energy future. These legislators have provided a just transition for workers and communities historically dependent on dirty fossil fuels. They have enacted some of the toughest utility accountability measures in the nation. And, through this legislation, they will create jobs and wealth in Illinois’ Black and Brown communities, who have too often been the first to suffer the negative consequences of pollution, but the last to reap the health and economic benefits of a clean energy future."

The green energy bill's passage comes at a time of energy insecurity in Illinois. Midcontinent Independent System Operators (MISO), the energy grid that serves the majority of Illinois, issued a “maximum generation alert” for June 15, spiking concerns about potential rolling blackouts later this summer, according to The Center Square. MISO's alert stated, "The reason for the Event is because of Forced Generation Outages, Above Normal Temps, High Congestion." City Water Light and Power (CWLP) chief engineer Doug Brown told WMAY that rolling blackouts are a "last resort" and "something that we don’t want to do but in order to support the regional grid, we’re really required to do that.”

The Washington Post described southern Illinois as "among the most vulnerable places in the country heading into the summer," pointing to coal plants shutting down rather than investing in upgrades to meet government regulations, Wirepoints reported. Energy costs have already soared across the entire state, not just the part covered by MISO. The City of Springfield has already requested that Illinoisans reduce energy consumption. The president of Amaren, which supplies electricity to MISO, predicted in an op-ed that Amaren customers could see increases of up to 54% in their energy bills this summer.

Inflation, the conflict in Ukraine, and the closure of coal plants have contributed to the soaring prices, but Illinois’ Clean Energy and Jobs Act (CEJA) has also played a major role in driving up costs and reducing capacity, according to Wirepoints. The legislation, which its sponsors called “the most aggressive, most progressive climate bill in the nation," will require Illinois to be powered by 100% renewable energy by 2050. “Illinois has continued to fail miserably to provide enough renewable energy, and we’ve told them repeatedly you can’t shut down coal and gas plants unless you have enough energy to backfill it, and that’s what happening now,” said Mark Denzler, president of the Illinois Manufacturers Association.