Latest news with #ComEd
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
CUB STATEMENT: CAPACITY AUCTION LEADS TO RECORD PRICE SPIKE FOR SECOND STRAIGHT YEAR, THREATENS EVEN HIGHER COM ED BILLS IN 2026-27
CUB says record-high capacity price points to urgent need to reform PJM policy, pass comprehensive energy legislation in Illinois CHICAGO, July 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- While we are relieved that the negotiated price cap prevented capacity costs from soaring even higher, this record price spike is unacceptable. CUB is deeply concerned that ComEd customers will continue to bear painfully high costs for another year, largely because of policy shortcomings from PJM. The power grid operator's policy decisions too often favor outdated, expensive power plants and needlessly block low-cost clean energy resources and battery projects from connecting to the grid and bringing down prices. This extended price spike was preventable. It ramps up the urgency of implementing long-term reforms at PJM and comprehensive energy legislation in Illinois, such as the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act, to protect customers from price spikes that serve only to give power generators windfall profits. –CUB Executive Director Sarah Moskowitz Background: On Tuesday, July 22, PJM Interconnection, a "Regional Transmission Organization," announced the results of an auction that determines the price for reserve power, or "capacity." Capacity costs are a key component of the price Commonwealth Edison customers pay for electricity. PJM is the largest grid operator in the country, serving 67 million customers across all or parts of 13 states and the District of Columbia (including Commonwealth Edison's 4.2 million customers). The auction (technically referred to as the "Base Residual Auction") was held July 9-15. It set a record-high capacity price of $329.17 per Megawatt-day from June 1, 2026 through May 31, 2027. The capacity cost hit a cap negotiated by Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and is about 22 percent higher than the price that was set last year for ComEd territory and about 11 times higher than what the price was two years ago. Capacity costs are payments consumers make to power generators–the companies that own power plants–and they have a key impact on the supply price ComEd customers pay. ComEd has not yet announced what the supply price will be in June of 2026. The 2024 capacity auction set a price of about $269.92 per MW-day, about 830 percent higher than the $28.92 per MW-day capacity price set in the auction the year before. The prices in the 2024 auction were even higher in two eastern sections of PJM: The Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE) zone in Maryland ($466.35 per MW-day) and in the Dominion zone in Virginia and North Carolina ($444.26 per MW-day). Following the price spike in the last auction, consumer and environmental advocates pushed for several changes: RMR reform: Environmental advocates successfully pushed for changes in the way PJM handles Reliability Must Run (RMR) arrangements. RMRs allow PJM to funnel extra consumer money to an otherwise retiring plant to keep it open past its closure date. Under previous PJM policy, the electric capacity of an RMR plant was NOT included in the capacity auction. Consumers thus ended up paying double: first for the price of the RMR contract, and then again because of the high capacity prices that result from not counting the RMR plant. For example, the Independent Market Monitor estimated that not including Brandon Shores and Wagner--two RMR fossil fuel plants near Baltimore, Maryland--in the last capacity auction increased the cost by as much as 40 percent. Changes made since the last auction mean that coal-fired units for the Brandon Shores plant and oil-fired units for the H.A. Wagner plant will be included in the latest capacity auction and the next one after that. (Note: PJM stakeholders are still developing a long-term solution. CUB opposes keeping expensive, outdated power plants open past their closure date–but agrees that RMRs should be included in the capacity auction, since they are operating anyway at ratepayer expense.) More renewable, battery resources will participate in the auction. After the last auction, consumer advocates flagged that there was an existing source of supply that wasn't necessarily being counted in the auction: renewable resources. PJM then removed an exemption that had previously left many renewable and energy storage facilities out of the capacity auction. For the first time, this required wind, solar and battery generations with Capacity Interconnection Rights (CIRs) to participate in the auction. Capacity Price Collar: Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, concerned about the impact future capacity auctions would have on consumers, filed a complaint at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) asking for a price cap on the capacity auction until PJM's interconnection queue delay was sorted out. He and PJM subsequently entered into negotiations and agreed to a $329.17 per MW-day cap on capacity prices for the next two auctions. Unfortunately, PJM, while consulting with select unnamed generators, successfully pushed for a first-ever floor of $177.24 per MW-day on the capacity price. In filings with FERC, CUB has expressed deep concern about the floor, and joined other watchdogs in questioning why no consumer advocates were at the negotiating table. For more than 40 years the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) has been Illinois' leading nonprofit utility watchdog group. Created by the Illinois Legislature, CUB opened its doors in 1984 to represent the interests of residential and small-business utility customers. Since then, CUB has saved consumers more than $20 billion by helping to block rate hikes and secure refunds. For more information, call CUB's Consumer Hotline at 1-800-669-5556 or visit CUB's website, View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Citizens Utility Board
Chicago Tribune
17 hours ago
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Some ComEd customers seeing triple-digit bill increases as supply rate jump, heat wave converge
The first ComEd bills with a massive baked-in supply rate increase are hitting home for Chicago-area customers, and after a record heat wave in June, they may be in for some sticker shock. The spike in the wholesale cost of electricity, which ComEd buys at an annual auction and then passes through to its customers, paired with increased energy usage, added $67.28 month-over-month to the average June 30 bill, the utility said. Some ComEd customers saw a triple-digit increase in their total June bills, the utility said. 'It's a double whammy when you think about capacity price auctions and a very hot, unusually hot June,' Brad Perkins, ComEd's director of rates and revenue policy, told the Tribune. ComEd had warned that the supply portion of the bill would go up about $10.60 per month beginning in June because of last year's electricity auction, which set a higher price for the utility. But the projected increase was a 12-month average, and most customers were hit with a much bigger hike as the summer air conditioning season kicked off with a bang. Things could get even worse next year, based on another record rate increase at an annual capacity auction held Tuesday, which will set ComEd's price beginning in June 2026. The supply charge generally represents about half the monthly bill and does not benefit ComEd, which makes its profit on the delivery charges. The average residential ComEd customer pays about $108 per month for the total bill across the full year, not including the projected $10.60 supply charge increase, the utility said. But the impact of the increased supply rate varies based on actual usage, which is significantly higher during the hot summer months, when air conditioners work overtime to keep homes cool. The average June 30 bill was $146.08, driven primarily by increased supply charges, up $28.45 over the same month last year, ComEd said. For ComEd customers across the Chicago area, the June and July bills have been an unwelcome surprise. Olivia Odendahl, 26, who shares a Lakeview two-bedroom walkup apartment with a roommate, saw her July 18 ComEd bill more than double month-over-month to $120.83. Her supply charge increased by $36.39 for the monthly cycle dating back to mid-June. 'It was complete sticker shock,' Odendahl said. 'I feel like always in the summer, of course, it goes up just because you have your AC unit running, so I'm used to seeing an increase. But it's never quite been this high.' Her total June/July bill was up $35.23 over the same period last year, driven by a $28.37 year-over-year supply charge increase. In addition to the higher supply charge rate, her energy usage was up 26% over the 2024 June/July bill. Odendahl, a public relations professional who has lived and often worked remotely in the apartment just a few blocks from Wrigley Field for four years, said she is contemplating ways to cut down on her air conditioning and electricity usage, a challenging task this summer. 'It's hard because it's been so hot here,' Odendahl said. 'I don't want to have to turn off the AC all the time, but if my bill continues to be $120 every month … that's very not affordable.' The ComEd bill breaks out the supply costs as a separate line item that shows the number of kilowatt-hours used multiplied by the electricity rate. The cost of electricity rose from 5 cents per kilowatt-hour to 8.3 cents from kilowatt-hour beginning in June, which paired with increased energy usage, nearly doubled the average residential bill in Chicago over the previous month, ComEd said. The increased supply charge is slightly offset by a provision of the state's Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, which requires ComEd to issue a credit when energy prices go above a certain level. The 1.7 cent per kilowatt-hour credit shows up as a Carbon-Free Energy Resource Adjustment under the taxes and fees section of the bill. The credit didn't make much of a dent in the current ComEd bill for many customers, however, as the Chicago area experienced the sixth hottest June on record, according to the National Weather Service. Sweltering under a heat dome that brought oppressive triple-digit temperatures and humidity to large swaths of the Midwest and East Coast, average daily highs in Chicago topped 84.1 degrees in June, 3.7 degrees above normal. As such, Chicago-area ComEd customers used 836 kWh for the month, up 367 kWh over May and 90 kWh year-over-year, according to the utility, exacerbating the initial impact of the higher supply rate. While hotter summers may be here to stay, the wholesale price of electricity will definitely increase next year. PJM Interconnection, a Pennsylvania-based regional transmission organization, manages the electricity supply grid for 13 states, including ComEd's 4.2 million customers in northern Illinois. It holds an annual capacity auction for expected reserve electricity needed during peak demand, and last year those supply prices skyrocketed. Results for the annual PJM capacity auction Tuesday saw prices jump up again, rising from $269.92 per Megawatt-day last year to a record $329.17 per Megawatt-day, a 22% increase which will set higher supply prices for ComEd and its customers beginning in June 2026. The annual auction price Tuesday could have been even higher, but was limited by a newly implemented price cap agreed to by PJM following a complaint to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission filed by Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, with support from Gov. JB Pritzker. 'While we are relieved that the negotiated price cap prevented capacity costs from soaring even higher, this price spike is unacceptable,' Jim Chilsen, a spokesperson for nonprofit watchdog group Citizens Utility Board, said in a statement. 'CUB is deeply concerned that ComEd customers will continue to bear painfully high costs for another year, largely because of policy shortcomings from PJM.' ComEd issued a statement Tuesday in the wake of the capacity auction results. 'ComEd remains committed to keeping energy affordable today and planning for a more reliable future; and we recognize that rising electricity costs are challenging for families across northern Illinois,' the utility said. 'The latest PJM auction reflects broader market challenges, like increasing demand and fewer available generation resources.' Beyond the higher supply rate and oppressive heat wave, ComEd customers are potentially paying more than they should because of what may be the most inefficient electrical system in the nation, according to Whisker Labs, a Maryland-based company which monitors the safety and reliability of the grid. Whisker Labs has distributed its Ting plug-in sensor to more than 1 million homes in the U.S. to detect electrical faults in the home and on the grid, primarily as a fire prevention tool. In the process, the company has accumulated data on electric service nationwide, ranking regions based on the distortion in power delivered to homes, which reduces energy efficiency and damages appliances. The ComEd territory essentially has the least efficient electrical grid in the country, with 40% of homes experiencing power distortion at 8% or greater, according to Whisker Labs. That means roughly 1.7 million ComEd customers are paying upward of $500 per year in energy waste, according to Bob Marshall, CEO and co-founder of Whisker Labs. 'ComEd in particular shows that they by far have the highest percentage of homes that have harmonics that are outside of industry acceptable limits,' Marshall told the Tribune. 'It causes a reduction in the energy efficiency of everything that uses electricity in the home.' Marshall said there are more than 50,000 homes in the ComEd territory using the Ting sensor, some of which were provided by insurance companies to minimize the risk of electrical fires. The devices monitor power surges, distortion and outages. In turn, the total harmonic distortion levels provide a real time health report on the quality of the electric utility's grid infrastructure, which delivers the power to customers. Chicago-area hotspots for elevated power distortion include Northbrook, Lincolnwood, Schaumburg, Long Grove, Kildeer, Norwood Park, South Holland and Country Club Hills, according to a Ting map supplied by the company. 'It is an accurate measurement, and with 100% certainty, we can say that these problems are originating on the grid,' Marshall said. ComEd questioned the methodology behind the Whisker Labs data, and said it has one of the most reliable electric grids in the nation. At the same time, the utility acknowledged that the increased cost of the electricity is impacting many of its Chicago-area customers this summer, with low-income customers being hit the hardest. Anticipating this summer's one-two punch of the supply rate increase and higher energy demand, ComEd launched a $10 million relief fund July 7 to help struggling customers catch up with rising bills and keep the electricity flowing this summer. But nearly 60,000 customers applied for the one-time grants in the first week, and the fund is fast running out, the utility said. 'The $10 million fund was a step in the right direction, but it's painfully short of what is needed to answer this price spike,' Citizens Utility Board spokesperson Chilsen said. 'And the fact that this fund depleted so quickly is a sign of the urgency of fixing the problems behind the spike: PJM's policy shortcomings.' ComEd plans to launch a low-income discount program for qualifying customers in January, and envisioned the $10 million relief fund as providing 'a bridge' to next year, Perkins said. Relief can't come too soon for Liliana Olayo, 51, who lives in a 65-year-old house in Aurora with her daughter, grandson and mother. On a budget billing plan, Olayo pays ComEd about $80 per month year-round, but she had already fallen behind by about $380 when the June 17 bill landed. The supply charges nearly doubled from May, jumping from $39.27 to $75.36 — a more than $36 monthly increase. The total current charges were up nearly $50 to $143.13, meaning Olayo will likely fall deeper in the red during the sizzling summer of '25, with another blast of heat and humidity descending on Chicago this week. 'It's frightening,' she said. 'I hate to see the bills like that and I'm hoping for a miracle that the charges will be less. But the electricity is always higher in the summer and it's a necessity.' While Olayo qualifies for low-income utility assistance, she likely has missed the window to apply for ComEd's $10 million customer relief fund, and will need to wait until January for cooler weather and the utility's discount program to arrive. In the meantime, she and her family are looking to navigate the sharply rising electricity costs and temperatures this summer, turning off lights and appliances when not in use and visiting the library or mall during the day to cool off. 'So we give a break to our air conditioning and the electricity,' she said. 'But it's very hard.'
Chicago Tribune
2 days ago
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
‘You had the power to stop this:' Ex-ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore sentenced to 2 years in prison in scheme to bribe Speaker Madigan
Once a rising corporate star, former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore was sentenced Monday to 2 years in federal prison for her role in an elaborate scheme to funnel more than $1.3 million and other perks to associates of then-House Speaker Michael Madigan in exchange for help with the utility's ambitious legislative agenda. In handing down the sentence, U.S. District Judge Manish Shah acknowledged Pramaggiore's transformative leadership at ComEd and her history of charitable works, but said the evidence at trial showed she also participated in a nearly decade-long scheme that undermined the public's trust in government. 'This was secretive sophisticated criminal corruption of important public policy,' Shah said. 'When it came to Mr. Madigan … you didn't think to change the culture of corruption. Instead you were all in.' Shah said the dichotomy in Pramaggiore's life led him to 'conclude that people like you, good people in positions of power and authority, need to be deterred too.' 'You had the power to stop this,' the judge said. 'You could have said 'No, this is not how legislation should be done.' You had the power to change the culture at ComEd.' He also found that she had lied repeatedly during her testimony at trial, particularly in denying knowledge of the connection of ComEd's no-work subcontractors to the powerful Democratic speaker and telling the jury she made no effort to cover it up. Pramaggiore, who turns 67 in two weeks, showed little outward reaction as Shah announced his sentence, which also included a $750,000 fine. A few minutes earlier, Pramaggiore had been given the chance to address the judge but declined to do so. 'Thank you your honor. I will stand on my able attorney's commentary and submissions,' she said while remaining seated at the defense table. Shah ordered Pramaggiore to report to prison by Dec. 1. However her attorney, Scott Lassar, told the judge he will ask for Pramaggiore to remain free on bond pending appeal, given what he said are significant legal issues in the case. Shah asked Lassar to submit something in writing in three weeks. After the hearing, Pramaggiore walked out of the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse without comment. Lassar also declined to make a statement to reporters. The defense later issued a statement through a spokesman maintaining Pramaggiore's innocence and vowing to appeal all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary. 'We are disappointed by the sentence imposed today,' the statement read. 'It is nearly impossible to reconcile the sentence — two years in prison — with the federal Probation Department's recommendation of no jail time and probation.' The sentencing comes more than two years after Pramaggiore's conviction in the 'ComEd Four' case, one of the biggest political corruption scandals in state history. Last week, her former colleague, ex-ComEd executive John Hooker, was given to a year and a half in prison. Sentencing for the other two defendants, Michael McClain and Jay Doherty, remain pending. The investigation, which came to light more than six years ago, ended Pramaggiore's stellar career in Chicago's male-dominated C-suite corporate world, where she'd recently been named chief executive of Exelon, a major Fortune 100 energy company that delivered power to millions of customers in the Chicago area and beyond. Prosecutors asked for a stiff prison term of almost 6 years and a $1.75 million fine, writing in a recent filing that despite all her success, money and professional status, 'she made the choice to participate in a years-long conspiracy that corrupted the legislative process in Springfield' and subverted her own company's internal controls. In asking for a 70-month prison term, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah Streicker, Julia Schwartz and Diane MacArthur also wrote that Pramaggiore lied repeatedly in her testimony during the 2023 trial. which ended in sweeping guilty verdicts. 'She could have remained silent,' Streicker argued in court Monday. 'She had every right to do so, but instead she chose to try and obstruct the jury's process…With her back against the wall she chose to testify and lie in order to protect herself.' Pramaggiore's attorneys, meanwhile, argued for probation, writing in a court filing of their own that the conduct for which she was convicted was 'a true aberration' in an otherwise exemplary life, not only in her professional path but also in her dedication to her family and charitable works. They also submitted nearly a hundred letters from friends and supporters attesting to her good character. 'She has lost her reputation, her career, and her law license, and she faces even more potential consequences, including further enforcement actions,' Lassar wrote in a 49-page filing. 'Imposing a prison sentence that takes her away from her family, friends, and community will not serve the ends of justice.' In court Monday, Lassar argued the arrangement to pay Madigan's associates as subcontractors 'was set up by other people,' including McClain, Hooker and former ComEd CEO Frank Clark, who preceded Pramaggiore. Lassar said ComEd's Smart Grid legislation, which was at the center of the alleged bribery scheme, only became law because of years of tough negotiating and broad coalition building in Springfield, bringing in including big labor, environmentalists, and myriad legislative caucuses. 'She never asked Madigan for help in passing legislation,' Lassar said. '…And she was never aware that Madigan helped do anything to get it passed.' Pramaggiore and her three co-defendants — McClain, a former ComEd lobbyist and longtime Madigan confidant, Hooker, who was ComEd's vice president for legislative affairs, and Doherty, a consultant and former City Club of Chicago leader — were convicted on all counts in May 2023 after a two-month trial. The case was then beset by a series of delays, first due to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that reset the rules for a key federal bribery statute and then again after the death of the judge who'd presided over the trial, Harry Leinenweber. After he was selected to take over the case, Shah earlier this year tossed the underlying bribery counts due to the Supreme Court's decision, but kept intact the main conspiracy count as well as guilty verdicts for falsifying ComEd's books and records, which were charged under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. In their statement Monday, Pramaggiore's legal team referenced both the Supreme Court's decision and President Donald Trump's recent pausing of enforcement of the FCPA, citing overreach and prosecutorial abuse. 'That has happened here,' the statement read. 'Ms. Pramaggiore faces jail despite the documents at issue being true. Chicago is not a foreign jurisdiction…There is nothing foreign or corrupt about the facts here.' The bulk of the ComEd allegations centered on a cadre of Madigan allies who were paid a total of $1.3 million from 2011 through 2019 through allegedly do-nothing consulting contracts. Among the recipients were two former aldermen, Frank Olivo and Michael Zalewski, precinct captains Ray Nice and Edward Moody, and former state Rep. Edward Acevedo. In addition, prosecutors alleged ComEd also hired a clouted law firm run by political operative Victor Reyes, distributed numerous college internships within Madigan's 13th Ward fiefdom, and backed former McPier chief Juan Ochoa, a friend of a Madigan ally, for an $80,000-a-year seat on the utility's board of directors, the indictment alleged. In return, prosecutors alleged, Madigan used his influence over the General Assembly to help ComEd score a series of huge legislative victories that not only rescued the company from financial instability but led to record-breaking, billion-dollar profits. Among them was the 2011 smart grid bill that set a built-in formula for the rates ComEd could charge customers, avoiding battles with the Illinois Commerce Commission, according to the charges. ComEd also leaned on Madigan's office to help pass the Future Energy Jobs Act in 2016, which kept the formula rate in place and also rescued two nuclear plants run by an affiliated company, Exelon Generation. Pramaggiore is the second of the ComEd Four to be sentenced. Shah handed a 1 1/2-year prison term to Hooker last week. A hearing for McClain, a retired ComEd lobbyist who doubled as Madigan's right-hand man, will be sentenced Thursday, while the fourth defendant, Doherty, is scheduled to be sentenced in August. Madigan, meanwhile, was convicted in a separate trial of an array of schemes that included the ComEd bribery payments. He was sentenced in June to seven and a half years in prison. Defense attorneys for the ComEd Four have repeatedly argued the government was seeking to criminalize legal lobbying and job recommendations that are at the heart of the state's legitimate political system. They ripped the government's star witness, former ComEd executive Fidel Marquez, as a liar and opportunist who was so terrified when FBI agents confronted him in January 2019 that he flipped without even consulting a lawyer and also agreed to secretly record his friends. Marquez testified in March 2023 that the roster of 'subcontractors' hired by ComEd was curated by McClain and read like a who's who of Madigan's vaunted political operation, including two legendary precinct captains, a former assistant majority leader in the House and two former Chicago aldermen at the center of Madigan's Southwest Side base of power. Over the course of eight years, ComEd paid them hundreds of thousands of dollars, even though they had no particular expertise and ultimately did virtually no work for the utility. Some seemed to be downright incompetent, Marquez told the jury. On cross-examination, Marquez, who pleaded guilty to bribery conspiracy and is awaiting sentencing, acknowledged there was 'no guarantee' that Madigan was going to help pass ComEd bills. But he added the company still tried to make Madigan happy because 'not doing it would cause us to be negatively looked on by' the speaker. He also admitted he initially told the FBI he didn't believe any of it was bribery. Pramaggiore's lawyers argued in their sentencing memo that she should be punished only for the remaining counts of conviction, which all have to do with falsifying ComEd's books. But prosecutors say the entire scope of the scheme is still fair game, even if the specific bribery counts were dropped — a position that Shah has agreed with. At Hooker's sentencing July 14, Shah said the evidence at trial showed the four co-defendants 'were jointly undertaking the quid pro quo bribery of Mr. Madigan, paying out his cronies in exchange for favorable official action.' 'The instructional error doesn't change my factual assessment,' Shah said. 'Not only could a jury reach that conclusion, I reached that conclusion based on my own review.
Chicago Tribune
2 days ago
- Chicago Tribune
Afternoon Briefing: Dangerous heat expected this week
Good afternoon, Chicago. After a spell of rain and cooler weather, high temperatures will roll across Chicago and the suburbs later this week. Dangerously high heat and humidity are forecast for Wednesday and Thursday, with the National Weather Service issuing a extreme heat watch today. A heat watch indicates that the weather is right for high temperatures in the Chicago area but has yet to occur. Here's what else is happening today. And remember, for the latest breaking news in Chicago, visit and sign up to get our alerts on all your devices. Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History Once a rising corporate star, former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore was sentenced today to two years in federal prison for her role in an elaborate scheme to funnel more than $1.3 million and other perks to associates of then-House Speaker Michael Madigan in exchange for help with the utility's ambitious legislative agenda. Read more here. More top news stories: Adient, a leading global manufacturer of auto seats, is investing more than $8 million to repurpose an 85,000 square-foot-warehouse adjacent to the Rivian plant to make front and rear seats for the EVs. Read more here. More top business stories: The White Sox hadn't won their first three games coming out of the All-Star break since 2005. Miguel Vargas and Mike Tauchman helped the 2025 Sox accomplish that feat yesterday. Read more here. More top sports stories: Perhaps in an effort to rest his pipes, Lyle Lovett allocated plenty of time for banter and dialogue. He talked. And talked. He shared memories of his first Chicago appearance at Park West in 1988. He gushed about his 8-year-old twins. Read more here. More top Eat. Watch. Do. stories: As the Trump administration intensifies deportation activity around the country, some immigrants — including many who have lived in Texas's southern tip for decades — are unwilling to leave their homes, even for necessary medical care. Read more here. More top stories from around the world:
Chicago Tribune
2 days ago
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Hundreds attend Waukegan resource fair; ‘We want people to know what we can do for them'
Of the 38 service providers participating in the second-annual Hope and Opportunity Community Resource Fair & Block Party, Commonwealth Edison utilized eight of the allotted spaces to help a large percentage of the people there. Operating out of a series of tents on Genesee Street in Waukegan, ComEd representatives helped more than 100 people make payment arrangements on their bills, and the same number of individuals began working with the company's workforce development program. Kimberly Hobson, ComEd's external affairs manager, said opportunities like the resource fair give the company the opportunity to bring its services directly to customers rather than using telephone communication for assistance. 'We're helping people with job and bill assistance,' Hobson said. 'We're right here, and they're not waiting a long time on the phone. We're bringing our services to them. We're (also) making them aware of financial assistance and workforce development to find a permanent job.' More than 300 people visited with representatives of service organizations, businesses and government offices at the second-annual Hope and Opportunity Community Resource Fair & Block Party Friday in downtown Waukegan, learning ways to improve their lives. Waukegan Township Supervisor Marc Jones was one of the primary organizers of the event, along with Mary Roberson, the CEO of Northern Illinois Community Recovery Organization. He said the number of people receiving help from ComEd is a testament to the need for the event. 'It's tremendous that such a need for an essential service was met for more than 100 members of our community,' he said. 'This is a barometer of the success and importance of this event. We will do it each year.' Hobson said the effort in Waukegan is the third such event this year for the company. She said, 'We are going to do this in every corner of our territory.' ComEd serves people throughout Illinois. While ComEd was helping people with their electric bills and finding jobs, the Digital Navigators of Lake County, part of the county's digital growth initiative, offered an opportunity to earn a free laptop computer by taking a 12-hour basic computer course. There is no cost. Rashaun Lewis, one of the digital navigators, said anyone taking the 12-hour, six-session course would receive the free laptop upon completion. Students will learn the basic operation of the machine, as well as how to use it in their everyday lives. 'Technology is an important part of people's lives in 2025,' Lewis said. 'Computers are used in most jobs today.' A year ago, the fair was held in the parking lot of Jesus Name Apostolic Church at the corner of Genesee and Lake streets. With the township office, the church and NIRCO, nearby, as well as other services within a few blocks, Jones dubbed the area the 'Corner of Hope and Opportunity.' With the help of the city of Waukegan — one of the 38 participants — Genesee was closed for the afternoon south of the Waukegan River bridge to enable organizations to have their booths in the area and allow people to walk around freely. There was music and free food. 'We want people to know about the variety of resources available,' Jones said. 'Life is unpredictable. You never know when something is going to happen, and someone is going to need a hand up.' Roberson and other people from NIRCO were educating visitors about the value of Narcan and giving a package of the medicine to those interested. She said it is a drug which reverses the effects of an opioid overdose. 'This is phenomenal,' Roberson said, referring to the growth of the event in one year. 'ComEd is here helping people. We are educating people about Narcan. We want people to know what we can do for them.' State Sen. Adriane Johnson, D-Buffalo Grove, has an office inside the township building. She said though services represented at the event are well-established, people are not necessarily aware of them. The fair made access easier. She spent most of the four hours helping constituents with needs. 'This timely community event removed barriers from accessing key resources and demonstrated the importance of cooperation and partnership with local organizations, with the shared goal of amplifying resources to ensure that everyone thrives,' Johnson said. Waukegan Mayor Sam Cunningham was walking through the crowd, stopping to answer questions. He said it is important for residents to know what is available when they or a loved one needs it. 'This shows people the agencies which partner with each other to offer wraparound services to help the underserved and working-class residents of Waukegan,' Cunningham said. 'This shows the spirit of our community.' Located a few tables from each other, Community Partners for Affordable Housing (CPAH) and the Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) are examples of the partnerships that can form to help people. Janina Hall sat at her table telling people about CPAH. She said the organization counsels individuals and gets them ready for home ownership by educating them on what they need to do to qualify for a mortgage. They also help people find affordable housing. Bill Foltz, the outreach coordinator for YCC, said the group's mission is to help people between 16 and 24 years of age complete their education and develop the skills to earn a good living. They get skills to become plumbers, electricians, HVAC technicians and more. Foltz said youths in their program also build homes allowing young people to ply the skills they are learning under appropriate supervision. Jayden Ragin, who is part of YCC, said the group is building a house in Zion. He did now know the future owner. 'CPAH will find the owner of the home,' Ragin said.
