An amendment outlining the key provisions of the Clean Energy Jobs Act mentions “environmental justice” at least 30 times.
“We are getting pushback from communities that have coal plants that would be predicted to close under this,” said Jen Walling, executive director of the Illinois Environmental Council, a group promoting the Clean Energy Jobs Act. “They need to see the financial and environmental benefits from whatever we do.”
Illinois legislators skip on several environmental bills
Some big environmental bills — dealing with transit, clean energy, plastics and more — fizzled last week in Springfield. Advocates say they’re ready to pick up