Latest news with #ClimateandEquitableJobsAct
Miami Herald
27-05-2025
- Miami Herald
Clean energy workforce training hub a ‘gamechanger' in this struggling factor town
Decatur, Illinois, has been losing factory jobs for years. A training program at a local community college promises renewal and provides training for students from disenfranchised communities This story is part of a collaboration between the Institute for Nonprofit News' Rural News Network and Canary Media, South Dakota News Watch, Cardinal News, The Mendocino Voice and The Maine Monitor, with support from Ascendium Education Group. It is reprinted with permission. DECATUR, IL. - A fistfight at a high school football game nearly defined Shawn Honorable's life. It was 1999 when he and a group of teen boys were expelled and faced criminal charges over the incident. The story of the "Decatur Seven" drew national headlines and protests led by the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who framed their harsh treatment as blatant racism. The governor eventually intervened, and the students were allowed to attend alternative schools. Honorable, now 41, was encouraged by support "from around the world," but he said the incident was traumatizing and he continued to struggle academically and socially. Over the years, he dabbled in illegal activity and was incarcerated, most recently after a 2017 conviction for accepting a large amount of marijuana sent through the mail. Today, Honorable is ready to start a new chapter, having graduated with honors last week from a clean energy workforce training program at Richland Community College, located in the Central Illinois city of Decatur. He would eventually like to own or manage a solar company, but he has more immediate plans to start a solar-powered mobile hot dog stand. He's already chosen the name: Buns on the Run. "By me going back to school and doing this, it shows my nephews and my little cousins and nieces that it is good to have education," Honorable said. "I know this is going to be the new way of life with solar panels. So I'll have a step up on everyone. When it comes, I will already be aware of what's going on with this clean energy thing." After decades of layoffs and factory closings, the community of Decatur is also looking to clean energy as a potential springboard. Located amid soybean fields a three-hour drive from Chicago, the city was long known for its Caterpillar, Firestone Tire, and massive corn-syrup factories. Industrial jobs have been in decline for decades, though, and high rates of gun violence, child poverty, unemployment, and incarceration were among the reasons the city was named a clean energy workforce hub funded under Illinois' 2021 Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA). Decatur's hub, based at Richland Community College, is arguably the most developed and successful of the dozen or so established statewide. That's thanks in part to TCCI Manufacturing, a local, family-owned factory that makes electric vehicle compressors. TCCI is expanding its operations with a state-of-the-art testing facility and an on-site campus where Richland students will take classes adjacent to the manufacturing floor. The electric truck company Rivian also has a factory 50 miles away. "The pieces are all coming together," Kara Demirjian, senior vice president of TCCI Manufacturing, said by email. "What makes this region unique is that it's not just about one company or one product line. It's about building an entire clean energy ecosystem. The future of EV manufacturing leadership won't just be on the coasts - it's being built right here in the Midwest." Related: Want to read more about how climate change is shaping education? Subscribe to our free newsletter. The Decatur CEJA program has also flourished because it was grafted onto a preexisting initiative, EnRich, that helps formerly incarcerated or otherwise disenfranchised people gain new skills and employment. The program is overseen by the Rev. Courtney Carson, a childhood friend of Honorable and another member of the Decatur Seven. "So many of us suffer significantly from our unmet needs, our unhealed traumas," said Carson, who was jailed as a young man for gun possession and later drag racing. With the help of mentors including Rev. Jackson and a college basketball coach, he parlayed his past into leadership, becoming associate pastor at a renowned church, leading a highway construction class at Richland, and in 2017 being elected to the same school board that had expelled him. Carson, now vice president of external relations at the community college, tapped his own experience to shape EnRich as a trauma-informed approach, with wraparound services to help students overcome barriers - from lack of childcare to PTSD to a criminal record. Carson has faith that students can overcome such challenges to build more promising futures, like Decatur itself has done. "We have all these new opportunities coming in, and there's a lot of excitement in the city," Carson said. "That's magnificent. So what has to happen is these individuals who suffered from closures, they have to be reminded that there is hope." Richland Community College's clean energy jobs training starts with an eight-week life skills course that has long been central to the larger EnRich program. The course uses a Circle of Courage practice inspired by Indigenous communities and helps students prepare to handle stressful workplace situations like being disrespected or even called a racial slur. "Being called the N-word, couldn't that make you want to fight somebody? But now you lose your job," said Carson. "We really dive deep into what's motivating their attitude and those traumas that have significantly impacted their body to make them respond to situations either the right way or the wrong way." The training addresses other dynamics that might be unfamiliar to some students - for example, some male students might not be prepared to be supervised by a woman, Carson noted, or others might not be comfortable with LGBTQ+ coworkers. James said that at first, he showed up late to every class. But soon the lessons sank in, and he was never late again. He always paid attention when people talked, and he gained new confidence. "As long as I put my mind to it, I can do it," said James, who would like to work as a home energy auditor. Richland partners with the energy utility Ameren to place trainees in such positions. "I like being out in the field, learning new stuff, dealing with homes, helping people," James said, noting he made energy-efficiency improvements to his own home after the course. Related: To fill 'education deserts,' more states want community colleges to offer bachelor's degrees Illinois' 2017 Future Energy Jobs Act (FEJA) launched the state's clean energy transition, baking in equity goals that prioritize opportunities for people who benefited least and were harmed most by the fossil fuel economy. It created programs to deploy solar arrays and provide job training in marginalized and environmental justice communities. FEJA's rollout was rocky. Funding for equity-focused solar installations went unspent while workforce programs struggled to recruit trainees and connect them with jobs. The pandemic didn't help. The follow-up legislation, CEJA, expanded workforce training programs and remedied snafus in the original law. Melissa Gombar is principal director of workforce development programs for Elevate, a Chicago-based national nonprofit organization that oversaw FEJA job training and subcontracts for a Chicago-area CEJA hub. Gombar said many community organizations tasked with running FEJA training programs were relatively small and grassroots, so they had to scramble to build new financial and human resources infrastructure. "They have to have certain policies in place for hiring and procurement. The influx of grant money might have doubled their budget," Gombar said. Meanwhile, the state employees tasked with helping the groups "are really talented and skilled, trying their best, but they're overburdened because of the large lift." CEJA, by contrast, tapped community colleges like Richland, which already had robust infrastructure and staffing. CEJA also funds community organizations to serve as "navigators," using the trust and credibility they've developed in communities to recruit trainees. Richland Community College received $2.6 million from April 2024 through June 2025, and the Community Foundation of Macon County, the hub's navigator, received $440,000 for the same time period. The other hubs similarly received between $1 million and $3.3 million for the past year, and state officials have said the same level of funding will be allocated for each of the next two years, according to the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition. CEJA hubs also include social service providers that connect trainees with wraparound support; businesses like TCCI that offer jobs; and affiliated entrepreneur incubators that help people start their own clean energy businesses. CEJA also funded apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs with labor unions, which are often a prerequisite for employment in utility-scale solar and wind. "The sum of the parts is greater than the whole," said Drew Keiser, TCCI vice president of global human resources. "The navigator is saying, 'Hey, I've connected with this portion of the population that's been overlooked or underserved.' OK, once you get them trained, send their resumes to me, and I'll get them interviewed. We're seeing a real pipeline into careers." The hub partners go to great lengths to aid students - for example, coordinating and often paying for transportation, childcare, or even car repairs. "If you need some help, they always there for you," James said. Related: Losing faith: Rural, religious colleges are among the most endangered In 1984, TCCI began making vehicle compressors in a Decatur plant formerly used to build Sherman tanks during World War II. A few decades later, the company began producing compressors for electric vehicles, which are much more elaborate and sensitive than those for internal combustion engines. In August 2023, Gov. JB Pritzker joined TCCI President Richard Demirjian, the Decatur mayor, and college officials for the groundbreaking of an Electric Vehicle Innovation Hub, which will include a climatic research facility - basically a high-tech wind tunnel where companies and researchers from across the world can send EV chargers, batteries, compressors, and other components for testing in extreme temperatures, rain, and wind. A $21.3 million capital grant and a $2.2 million electric vehicle incentive from the state are funding the wind tunnel and the new facilities where Richland classes will be held. In 2022, Pritzker announced these investments as furthering the state goal of 1 million EVs on the road by 2030. Far from the gritty industrial environs that likely characterized Decatur workplaces of the past, the classrooms at TCCI feature colorful decor, comfortable armchairs, and bright, airy spaces adjacent to pristine high-tech manufacturing floors lined with machines. "This hub is a game changer," said Keiser, noting the need for trained tradespeople. "As a country, we place a lot of emphasis on kids going to college, and maybe we've kind of overlooked getting tangible skills in the hands of folks." A marketing firm founded by Kara Demirjian – Richard Demirjian's sister – and located on-site with TCCI also received clean energy hub funds to promote the training program. This has been crucial to the hub's success, according to Ariana Bennick, account executive at the firm, DCC Marketing. Its team has developed, tested, and deployed digital billboards, mailers, ads, Facebook events, and other approaches to attract trainees and business partners. "Being a part of something here in Decatur that's really leading the nation in this clean energy initiative is exciting," Bennick said. "It can be done here in the middle of the cornfields. We want to show people a framework that they can take and scale in other places." With graduation behind him, Honorable is planning the types of hot dogs and sausages he'll sell at Buns on the Run. He said Tamika Thomas, director of the CEJA program at Richland, has also encouraged him to consider teaching so he can share the clean energy skills he's learned with others. The world seems wide open with possibilities. "A little at a time - I'm going to focus on the tasks in front of me that I'm passionate about, and then see what's next," Honorable said. He invoked a favorite scene from the cartoon TV series "The Flintstones," in which the characters' leg power, rather than wheels and batteries, propelled vehicles: "Like Fred and Barney, I'll be up and running." The post Clean energy workforce training hub a 'gamechanger' in this struggling factor town appeared first on The Hechinger Report.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Illinois lawmakers consider fixes to energy policy that's been outpaced by power-hungry technology
CHICAGO — When Illinois enacted a sweeping clean energy law in 2021, the state was seen as ahead of the curve in promoting renewable energy standards and creating clean energy jobs. But with advances in technology such as generative artificial intelligence driving up energy usage across the country, Illinois lawmakers from both parties, as well as environmental advocates, say the state's energy policy has fallen behind. In the final days of the spring session, lawmakers are working on a legislative package aimed at addressing the state's growing energy needs and rising costs without derailing the ambitious goals championed by Gov. JB Pritzker to make the state carbon-free by midcentury. 'What we're trying to do is find ways to ensure those capacity spikes don't continue for years into the future, and there's really only two ways of doing that, and that's by either decreasing demand for electricity or increasing supply,' said state Sen. Bill Cunningham, a Chicago Democrat who's leading energy legislation efforts in the Senate. 'I think that's really the underlying impetus for energy bills this session.' Due to supply cost increases, the average bill for a residential Commonwealth Edison customer is expected to increase this summer by $10.60 per month. The typical Ameren customer's monthly bill is expected to increase by approximately 18% to 22%, depending on their usage. Cunningham said while lawmakers don't have control over the expected increased electricity charges going into effect this June, they can work to mitigate future spikes. The state's past energy legislation, such as the 2021 Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, which aims for 40% renewable energy by 2030, did not account for the dramatic rise in energy usage from data centers and other large energy developers, Cunningham said. There are several business developments, such as data centers, being planned in Illinois that could bring a total of 30 gigawatts of electricity, the equivalent of 3 billion light bulbs, to the grid starting in 2029, according to Anna Markowski, Midwest director of Place-Based Advocacy on Climate and Energy for the Natural Resources Defense Council. That's more than double the grid's current maximum capacity, Markowski said. A study by the Illinois Commerce Commission released early May estimated that the state could lose approximately $12 billion in direct development investments, along with $60 billion in hardware and systems investments, for every gigawatt of power that can't be provided. 'The markets are screaming at us, saying build more generation,' said Mark Denzler, president and CEO of the Illinois Manufacturers' Association. 'Everyone's bidding for a limited amount of power.' Lawmakers sent a 600-page draft of energy legislation to stakeholders in early May, less than two weeks before the end of session. The measure's proposals range from expanding nuclear energy to increasing large-scale energy storage in batteries. One proposal would require new data centers and other large energy users building in Illinois to bring their own renewable energy to the grid, or pay a higher fee into the state budget that would fund other renewable projects. The measure is backed by environmental interests and others who say the companies building large data centers and other businesses that sap energy resources should pay more, instead of having the burden fall on homeowners and small-business users. 'Once those big loads start to come on the grid, we're going to start to see instability,' Markowski said. 'We're going to start to see costs transferred onto every household, and so what we're trying to do within the bill is protect against that by making them bring new energy. You can't just cannibalize whatever we have here.' Illinois electrical consumers, from residential consumers to commercial data centers, are already required to pay a fee to the state's renewable portfolio standards, which fund the part of the state budget used to award grants to renewable energy developers. But the fee for new data centers and other large energy users would be three times larger under the latest proposal. Denzler warned the higher fee could have an adverse impact on economic development in the state. 'I mean your costs right there are going to be astronomical for a large user, and they're just going to go to Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan and other states,' Denzler said. Another proposal that's received increased support this year is a plan that could expand nuclear power by lifting a moratorium on the construction of new nuclear plants, an idea organized labor and manufacturers have historically backed while environmental groups have opposed. Gov. Pritzker has indicated support for the idea of allowing flexibility on new nuclear plants, a shift from his previous position against large-scale nuclear plants. He vetoed a bill to lift the state's decade-old moratorium on new nuclear plants in 2023. 'We're looking forward to having a bill that comes to my desk that will allow us to expand the options for nuclear in the state of Illinois,' Pritzker said in mid-April. 'But it has to be done in the right way, and I think the legislature and my team are working together to make sure that that happens.' The legislative draft also would create an ambitious new goal for large-scale energy storage through large batteries that would absorb excess wind and solar power for later use, along with goals to deliver clean, low-cost energy, while also promoting several efficiency measures supporting virtual power plants. Cunningham said that if the larger legislative package does not come together, proposals within the measure could still be pushed as individual bills. 'We'll see if it bears fruit,' Cunningham said. ____
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lawmakers consider fixes to energy policy that's been outpaced by power-hungry technology
When Illinois enacted a sweeping clean energy law in 2021, the state was seen as ahead of the curve in promoting renewable energy standards and creating clean energy jobs. But with advances in technology such as generative artificial intelligence driving up energy usage across the country, Illinois lawmakers from both parties, as well as environmental advocates, say the state's energy policy has fallen behind. In the final days of the spring session, lawmakers are working on a legislative package aimed at addressing the state's growing energy needs and rising costs without derailing the ambitious goals championed by Gov. JB Pritzker to make the state carbon-free by midcentury. 'What we're trying to do is find ways to ensure those capacity spikes don't continue for years into the future, and there's really only two ways of doing that, and that's by either decreasing demand for electricity or increasing supply,' said state Sen. Bill Cunningham, a Chicago Democrat who's leading energy legislation efforts in the Senate. 'I think that's really the underlying impetus for energy bills this session.' Due to supply cost increases, the average bill for a residential Commonwealth Edison customer is expected to increase this summer by $10.60 per month. The typical Ameren customer's monthly bill is expected to increase by approximately 18% to 22%, depending on their usage. Cunningham said while lawmakers don't have control over the expected increased electricity charges going into effect this June, they can work to mitigate future spikes. The state's past energy legislation, such as the 2021 Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, which aims for 40% renewable energy by 2030, did not account for the dramatic rise in energy usage from data centers and other large energy developers, Cunningham said. There are several business developments, such as data centers, being planned in Illinois that could bring a total of 30 gigawatts of electricity, the equivalent of 3 billion light bulbs, to the grid starting in 2029, according to Anna Markowski, Midwest director of Place-Based Advocacy on Climate and Energy for the Natural Resources Defense Council. That's more than double the grid's current maximum capacity, Markowski said. A study by the Illinois Commerce Commission released early May estimated that the state could lose approximately $12 billion in direct development investments, along with $60 billion in hardware and systems investments, for every gigawatt of power that can't be provided. 'The markets are screaming at us, saying build more generation,' said Mark Denzler, president and CEO of the Illinois Manufacturers' Association. 'Everyone's bidding for a limited amount of power.' Lawmakers sent a 600-page draft of energy legislation to stakeholders in early May, less than two weeks before the end of session. The measure's proposals range from expanding nuclear energy to increasing large-scale energy storage in batteries. One proposal would require new data centers and other large energy users building in Illinois to bring their own renewable energy to the grid, or pay a higher fee into the state budget that would fund other renewable projects. The measure is backed by environmental interests and others who say the companies building large data centers and other businesses that sap energy resources should pay more, instead of having the burden fall on homeowners and small-business users. 'Once those big loads start to come on the grid, we're going to start to see instability,' Markowski said. 'We're going to start to see costs transferred onto every household, and so what we're trying to do within the bill is protect against that by making them bring new energy. You can't just cannibalize whatever we have here.' Illinois electrical consumers, from residential consumers to commercial data centers, are already required to pay a fee to the state's renewable portfolio standards, which fund the part of the state budget used to award grants to renewable energy developers. But the fee for new data centers and other large energy users would be three times larger under the latest proposal. Denzler warned the higher fee could have an adverse impact on economic development in the state. 'I mean your costs right there are going to be astronomical for a large user, and they're just going to go to Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan and other states,' Denzler said. Another proposal that's received increased support this year is a plan that could expand nuclear power by lifting a moratorium on the construction of new nuclear plants, an idea organized labor and manufacturers have historically backed while environmental groups have opposed. Gov. Pritzker has indicated support for the idea of allowing flexibility on new nuclear plants, a shift from his previous position against large-scale nuclear plants. He vetoed a bill to lift the state's decade-old moratorium on new nuclear plants in 2023. 'We're looking forward to having a bill that comes to my desk that will allow us to expand the options for nuclear in the state of Illinois,' Pritzker said in mid-April. 'But it has to be done in the right way, and I think the legislature and my team are working together to make sure that that happens.' The legislative draft also would create an ambitious new goal for large-scale energy storage through large batteries that would absorb excess wind and solar power for later use, along with goals to deliver clean, low-cost energy, while also promoting several efficiency measures supporting virtual power plants. Cunningham said that if the larger legislative package does not come together, proposals within the measure could still be pushed as individual bills. 'We'll see if it bears fruit,' Cunningham said.
Chicago Tribune
27-05-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Lawmakers consider fixes to energy policy that's been outpaced by power-hungry technology
When Illinois enacted a sweeping clean energy law in 2021, the state was seen as ahead of the curve in promoting renewable energy standards and creating clean energy jobs. But with advances in technology such as generative artificial intelligence driving up energy usage across the country, Illinois lawmakers from both parties, as well as environmental advocates, say the state's energy policy has fallen behind. In the final days of the spring session, lawmakers are working on a legislative package aimed at addressing the state's growing energy needs and rising costs without derailing the ambitious goals championed by Gov. JB Pritzker to make the state carbon-free by midcentury. 'What we're trying to do is find ways to ensure those capacity spikes don't continue for years into the future, and there's really only two ways of doing that, and that's by either decreasing demand for electricity or increasing supply,' said state Sen. Bill Cunningham, a Chicago Democrat who's leading energy legislation efforts in the Senate. 'I think that's really the underlying impetus for energy bills this session.' Due to supply cost increases, the average bill for a residential Commonwealth Edison customer is expected to increase this summer by $10.60 per month. The typical Ameren customer's monthly bill is expected to increase by approximately 18% to 22%, depending on their usage. Cunningham said while lawmakers don't have control over the expected increased electricity charges going into effect this June, they can work to mitigate future spikes. The state's past energy legislation, such as the 2021 Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, which aims for 40% renewable energy by 2030, did not account for the dramatic rise in energy usage from data centers and other large energy developers, Cunningham said. There are several business developments, such as data centers, being planned in Illinois that could bring a total of 30 gigawatts of electricity, the equivalent of 3 billion light bulbs, to the grid starting in 2029, according to Anna Markowski, Midwest director of Place-Based Advocacy on Climate and Energy for the Natural Resources Defense Council. That's more than double the grid's current maximum capacity, Markowski said. A study by the Illinois Commerce Commission released early May estimated that the state could lose approximately $12 billion in direct development investments, along with $60 billion in hardware and systems investments, for every gigawatt of power that can't be provided. 'The markets are screaming at us, saying build more generation,' said Mark Denzler, president and CEO of the Illinois Manufacturers' Association. 'Everyone's bidding for a limited amount of power.' Lawmakers sent a 600-page draft of energy legislation to stakeholders in early May, less than two weeks before the end of session. The measure's proposals range from expanding nuclear energy to increasing large-scale energy storage in batteries. One proposal would require new data centers and other large energy users building in Illinois to bring their own renewable energy to the grid, or pay a higher fee into the state budget that would fund other renewable projects. The measure is backed by environmental interests and others who say the companies building large data centers and other businesses that sap energy resources should pay more, instead of having the burden fall on homeowners and small-business users. 'Once those big loads start to come on the grid, we're going to start to see instability,' Markowski said. 'We're going to start to see costs transferred onto every household, and so what we're trying to do within the bill is protect against that by making them bring new energy. You can't just cannibalize whatever we have here.' Illinois electrical consumers, from residential consumers to commercial data centers, are already required to pay a fee to the state's renewable portfolio standards, which fund the part of the state budget used to award grants to renewable energy developers. But the fee for new data centers and other large energy users would be three times larger under the latest proposal. Denzler warned the higher fee could have an adverse impact on economic development in the state. 'I mean your costs right there are going to be astronomical for a large user, and they're just going to go to Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan and other states,' Denzler said. Another proposal that's received increased support this year is a plan that could expand nuclear power by lifting a moratorium on the construction of new nuclear plants, an idea organized labor and manufacturers have historically backed while environmental groups have opposed. Gov. Pritzker has indicated support for the idea of allowing flexibility on new nuclear plants, a shift from his previous position against large-scale nuclear plants. He vetoed a bill to lift the state's decade-old moratorium on new nuclear plants in 2023. 'We're looking forward to having a bill that comes to my desk that will allow us to expand the options for nuclear in the state of Illinois,' Pritzker said in mid-April. 'But it has to be done in the right way, and I think the legislature and my team are working together to make sure that that happens.' The legislative draft also would create an ambitious new goal for large-scale energy storage through large batteries that would absorb excess wind and solar power for later use, along with goals to deliver clean, low-cost energy, while also promoting several efficiency measures supporting virtual power plants. Cunningham said that if the larger legislative package does not come together, proposals within the measure could still be pushed as individual bills. 'We'll see if it bears fruit,' Cunningham said.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Bring Your Own New Clean Energy': a proposed fix for Illinois' power grid shortcomings draws criticism from manufacturers
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (NEXSTAR) — Illinois has a growing energy problem. There are a few reasons for why that is — coal and natural gas plants are closing, and regional grid operators are acting too slowly in connecting new wind and solar projects to the larger grid, but above all else, the state is using more energy than it ever has. Data centers, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing projects all are utilizing more energy than state lawmakers say they could have imagined when they passed the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act. 'When we negotiated the bill, no one talked about data centers. We had heard of them, but no one ever saw them becoming an issue,' Senator Bill Cunningham said. 'They've become a gigantic issue.' Environmentalists want the state to require any new project looking to set up shop in Illinois that needs over 25 megawatts of energy will have to supply their own clean energy. 'I think the whole country is going to face this the demands of data centers,' Jen Walling with the Illinois Environmental Council said. 'You know, nothing is free. We're paying for it somehow. So that is a way that we need to address that by bringing cheap renewable energy.' They even have a name for the idea. 'We're looking at 'bring your own new clean energy,' Walling said. 'We have our anagram of B.Y.O.N.C.E' Businesses say the idea will have a very different economic impact than the global sensation its named after. 'If you're going to add significant cost to the state of Illinois in energy, you're going to see less economic development and less large projects coming to the state of Illinois,' President and CEO of the Illinois Manufacturers Association Mark Denzler said. Illinois would be the only state with this policy, according to Denzler, and he says it would put the state at a huge disadvantage, 'Illinois is competing, for example, against Wisconsin and Michigan and Ohio. And they can assure that company that they can hook up to the grid and they can start constructing within a few months versus Illinois. It might take a couple of years to build this new project and get hooked up,' Denzler said. Other ideas included in the draft energy package included a partial lift of the nuclear moratorium. The ban on new nuclear construction was first put in place in the 1970's. New nuclear energy is seen as a long term play for more energy production. Illinois already has one of the biggest nuclear fleets as part of it's power grid. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
