Senate Departs Springfield Without Energy Deal
The Prairie State Energy Campus near Marissa has a reprieve after the Senate left Springfield without a deal on an energy bill that would likely force closure of coal plants in the state.
Negotiations between lawmakers, Governor JB Pritzker’s office, energy utilities, environmentalists, and unions broke down again Tuesday, sending the Illinois Senate home without a deal on a major energy package.
“Over the last 36 hours, much progress has been made,” said Senate President Don Harmon after lawmakers were sent home late Tuesday afternoon. “There are still some some points on contention between two critical constituencies, between labor and the environmental activists. I believe they’re going to be continuing to meet as early as [Tuesday] evening to continue to work out those differences.”
For weeks, unions, backed by Harmon, and environmentalists, backed by Pritzker, have been at odds over coal plants like Prairie State Energy in Marissa in southern Illinois and other municipal facilities like the City Water Light & Power (CWLP) plant in Springfield. Green energy advocates want them shut down by 2035, while unions have argued they don’t want to lose the jobs and without clean energy replacements, would likely be buying coal fired energy from elsewhere.
“We have a much, much better chance of passing a major bill when we have three ingredients,” said Harmon. “When we have the support of environmental activists, when we have the support of organized labor, and when we have the support of Democrats and Republicans. We are this close to reaching that agreement and I am confident that we will get that done.”
Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris), who represents nuclear plants which would receive a nearly $700 million bailout in the package, said in a statement Tuesday night she’s frustrated the nuclear part of the deal is held up because of what she calls “unrealistic expectations” of green energy advocates like Gov. Pritzker.
“I am disappointed that we weren’t able to pass legislation that would keep our nuclear plants open. This is a bill that we have been working on for well over a year and a half and we had come to an agreement on the nuclear portion of the bill,” she said. “Unfortunately, the Governor’s unrealistic demands in his bill, proposals that would cost thousands of jobs and potentially increase our electric bills up to 20 percent, were the reason the Illinois Senate did not take a vote on any energy legislation. There simply was not enough support for the Governor’s plan, and he was not willing to negotiate with the unions.”
The Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition, which is generally made up of environmental and climate groups, issued a statement following adjournment saying they were “deeply disappointed” by the failure of the Senate to pass a bill.
“Thousands of union workers and solar installers may now lose their jobs, while the climate crisis worsens and Black and Brown communities continue to struggle,” the group said in a statement. “We are deeply disappointed the Senate adjourned without taking action on a carbon-free energy future, but stand ready to enact the Governor’s plan as soon as possible.”
In the end, Democrat lawmakers don’t want to be in the middle of the fight between labor and environmentalists.
“The caucus made it very clear to all of us that we don’t wanna vote for something that pits us in the middle of a fight between friends, between key constituencies, between organized labor and the environmental community,” Harmon said. “There is a deal to be reached and we just need to get them back at the table and push a little harder. I’m confident we’re going to be able to do that.”