Grundy Reporter

Illinois State Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris) is sponsoring legislation to build a 100% clean energy economy in the state and put hundreds of thousands of union employees to work.

The Climate Union Jobs Act (CUJA) was created in partnership with the labor coalition Climate Jobs Illinois (CJI).

"For decades, union men and women have built the infrastructure that powers Illinois' future," CJI executive director Joe Duffy said. "We should put them to work again as the state sets out to build a clean energy economy. Passing this ambitious yet achievable legislation, we can lower unemployment, reduce emissions and close income inequality from Chicago to Cairo and Moline to Mahomet."

CUJA would establish a process for communities economically reliant on fossil fuel industries to transition to clean energy jobs, provide $150 million annually in rate relief to low-income families and reduce the state's emissions from buildings and transportation all while preserving 28,000 nuclear fleet jobs.

"This legislation puts working families at the center of Illinois' clean energy efforts, where they should be," Rezin said. "By preserving the Dresden nuclear plant, we can keep delivering hundreds of middle-class jobs for families and carbon-free electricity for the state. I look forward to working with my colleagues to make this legislation law."

The bill is receiving bipartisan support.

State Sen. Michael Hastings (D-Frankfort), Rep. Marcus Evans (D-Chicago), Larry Walsh, Jr. (D-Elwood) and Jay Hoffman (D-Swansea) and others have joined Rezin in sponsoring CUJA.

"The Climate Union Jobs Act will help protect thousands of well-paying jobs while reducing the state's carbon energy footprint," Rezin said in a March 29 Facebook post. "I look forward to working with David Allen Welter (R-Morris) state representative 75th, state representative Lance Yednock (D-Ottawa) and the other co-sponsors as we move forward with this legislation."

CUJA will also increase accountability and transparency requirements for utilities by ending formula rates and returning to traditional rate-making, requiring utilities to participate in annual standards and compliance audits and require utilities to disclose revenues and expenses.

The bill will allocate $5 million to the Illinois Works program to support the recruitment of a diverse workforce into pre-apprenticeship training programs and also create reporting requirements to increase the diversity in the renewable energy sector.

Visitors can find more information about the Climate Union Jobs Act here.