The Significance of CEJA: How Illinois Became a National Leader in Climate Action

Some of the most comprehensive climate action plans across the entire world have sprung from individual state governments in the United States of America.  States such as California and Washington have developed extensive decarbonization plans to drastically reduce their carbon footprint and create a healthier environment for their citizens.

Earlier this month, Governor JB Pritzker of Illinois signed into law the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA), which has positioned the state of Illinois as a national leader in climate action.  CEJA will place Illinois on a path to 100% clean energy by 2050, create thousands of new jobs in renewable energy, and place 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2030. This law is also unique in its extensive environmental justice and equity provisions, ensuring that disadvantaged communities, who are often disproportionately affected by environmental pollution, will have a chance to benefit in the new clean energy economy.

Starting With Us had the pleasure of speaking with Leah Hartung of Clean Power Lake County, one of the many environmental organizations involved in the creation of CEJA, to hear her insider perspective on how CEJA became a law in Illinois, and the significance of this landmark piece of climate action legislation.

Q:  How was Illinois able to align so many different stakeholders (such as the Illinois State Senate and House of Representatives, local communities, labor unions, etc.) together on such a comprehensive climate and energy policy?

Leah: The biggest stakeholders in CEJA were the environmentalist and labor coalitions, but Governor JB Pritzker was also very invested in passing a nation-leading climate bill.  Illinois also benefits from having a supermajority of Democrats in the State government. Complicating matters was that there were politicians who supported environmentalists, and others who supported the labor coalition.  However, all the different parties were able to come to a compromise on the legislation, since no group or coalition had enough votes to move forward without the support of the others.  One key moment of compromise was the inclusion of a nuclear bailout, because if the nuclear plants did not receive money, thousands of union jobs would have been lost, and the labor coalition would not have supported the bill.

All the stakeholders involved knew that a clean energy transition is inevitable: coal plants are shutting down and Illinois is moving to renewable energy, and if Illinois wants to make this transition equitable, the state needs to work to make that happen. Otherwise, the same people who benefited from the fossil fuel economy would benefit from the new clean energy economy. For example, both labor and environmental stakeholders pushed for re-training programs for coal workers whose plants shut down to make sure those workers were not left behind.

Every stakeholder involved was looking out for the best interest of people, not profit, which helped make CEJA so successful. A major difference in the passage of CEJA versus the failure of the Future Energy Jobs Act (FEJA), CEJA’s predecessor, was that this time, energy utility companies were excluded from talks.  CEJA has all these great equity provisions for minority communities that were supported by many stakeholders, but these measures were not included in FEJA, mainly due to opposition from utility companies.  The removal of this stakeholder allowed us to add these crucial measures to CEJA.

 Q: What do you believe are some of the most important aspects of CEJA that set it apart from similar policies in other states?

Leah: I really believe the equity provisions are the strongest aspect of CEJA.  There are a lot of bills in other states that have decarbonization dates, but what separates CEJA is that CEJA thinks about what those decarbonization dates mean to communities. 

CEJA has plans to prepare communities for these changes, for example the solar industry is making sure minority contractors have the support they need to build generational wealth. The bill will establish workforce hubs to train people for new clean energy jobs in communities affected by environmental justice issues throughout the state, so these communities and others such as Waukegan (whose coal plant is shutting down) can be a part of this new clean energy economy.  Additionally, CEJA states that two years of advanced notice need to be given to fossil fuel plants shutting down to better prepare communities, and it provides a Bill of Rights for displaced fossil fuel workers.

Finally, there are tax base replacements for coal plants such as the one in Waukegan since coal plants provide important revenue for communities.  CEJA also provides community-led grants to help clean up and revitalize the sites of former fossil fuel plants, because local residents know the best ways to revitalize their community.

Q: How will Illinoisans feel the impact of CEJA in their everyday lives?

Leah: Illinoisans from fossil fuel communities are going to feel the impact, as CEJA will have ten workforce training hubs across the state that will train workers for new jobs.  CEJA will encourage more people of color and women into these budding, clean energy fields. All Illinoisans will see cost savings from CEJA’s energy efficiency investments and CEJA is extending oversight on utilities so that they cannot unfairly overcharge customers.  There are also measures to electrify public buses which will remove diesel pollution that negatively impacts public health.

Additionally, CEJA will implement a variety of programs that so many different groups of people across the state can take advantage of such as funding for community solar programs and rebates for electric cars.

Q: CEJA is the culmination of decades of environmental activism in Illinois.  What are some of the main factors that have led to Illinois becoming a national leader in clean energy and climate action? 

Leah: Illinois was the only state left with a Democratic-controlled House of Representatives, Senate, and Governor that did not have a decarbonization date, so the state definitely felt some pressure to act on climate initiatives.

After FEJA failed in 2016, environmentalists spent years building a stronger coalition to come back and pass a major climate action bill.   Environmental groups spent five years going across the state and into all types of socioeconomic communities asking what they needed to see in a clean energy transition, so that all Illinoisans would support and benefit from this policy. 

The strength of CEJA lies in the fact that this omnibus bill reflects our robust coalition structure.  We had over 100 groups and organizations involved in the creation of CEJA, such as environmentalist groups, labor unions, private businesses, and various community organizations, to help write a climate action bill that would be beneficial to all Illinoisans.  

Conclusion

As the United States Federal Government struggles to implement a comprehensive nationwide climate action policy to comply with the Paris Agreement, many of the 50 states such as Illinois have taken bold action to reduce their carbon footprints.  Legislation such as CEJA will continue to serve as a crucial policy component to getting the world on a path to decarbonization and an important blueprint for other states and countries looking to chart an equitable path to carbon neutrality.

Bibliography

“The Climate and Equitable Jobs Act: What It Means for You, Illinois and Our Planet.” Illinois Environmental Council, 24 Sept. 2021, https://ilenviro.org/the-climate-and-equitable-jobs-act-what-it-means-for-you-illinois-and-our-planet/?fbclid=IwAR3-SfrF3OMog8jpwmhqSvQSfnpTZozMmqBwe9E2glr8wBvnybsICMzN0ww.