Illinois could close all coal plants by 2035 under proposal up for vote this week

Lawmakers could provide $700 million over five years for Exelon nuclear plants in Byron, Morris, and Braidwood. The Illinois Environmental Council says the plan can support workers at those plants and secure reliable, carbon-free electricity without an unjustified bailout. IEC Executive Director Jennifer Walling explained Exelon would receive $5 billion less than what the utility hoped for.

“Instead of $560 million a year over 10 years, we’ve provided them an amount that will keep the plants open, make them competitive, but not contribute to excess profits for this company,” Walling said.

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Every year, the Illinois Environmental Council (IEC) issues a voting scorecard that grades members of the Illinois General Assembly on how they voted for bills affecting the environment.
Richard Chew is joined by Dany Robles, senior legislative director at the Illinois Environmental Council (IEC); he talks about IEC's 2026 Legislative Environmental Scorecard.