Illinois’ push to train workers for solar industry jobs is paying off

A state-funded hub for clean energy workforce development is creating employment and business opportunities in the surrounding community.

Advocates applauded the law’s impact at a celebration of the Alton hub at Lewis and Clark last month. ​“Now because of CEJA,” said Francisco Lopez Zavala, climate policy program associate of the Illinois Environmental Council, hubs like the community college ​“are helping to build Illinois’s clean energy future, which in turn makes our air easier to breathe, our communities healthier, and our grid more resilient.”

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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.