FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, August 31, 2021
Contact: Renner Barsella, renner.barsella@sierraclub.org
Hannah Flath, hannahlee.flath@sierraclub.org, 860-634-0225
SPRINGFIELD, IL -- Today, an amendment to HB3666 was introduced in the General Assembly, which fails to act on the urgency of the climate crisis and gives a free pass to the Prairie State coal plant, the largest polluter in Illinois. Despite widespread approval for an energy bill that sets firm deadlines to equitably decarbonize our electric grid and grow Illinois’ clean energy economy, legislators continue to cater to fossil fuel interests. The amendment to HB3666 currently allows Prairie State to continue burning coal without any pollution reductions before 2045, leaves frontline communities vulnerable to short-term pollution increases, and allows fossil fuel companies to appeal to the Illinois Commerce Commission for pollution bailouts. Sierra Club joined other environmental advocates in opposing any bill that jeopardizes people and a livable climate.
Despite Governor Pritzker, legislators, and the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition staring down Exelon, ComEd, and Ameren to demand climate leadership for our state, fossil fuel corporations and special interests on behalf of Prairie State continue to hold Springfield hostage.
In response, Sierra Club Illinois Director Jack Darin released the following statement:
“We remain confident that an agreement on a comprehensive energy package is absolutely possible, but as currently drafted, Sierra Club cannot support this bill. This summer alone, we have witnessed the hottest July ever documented, extreme weather, and flooding across Illinois. A report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change sounding the alarm of an even graver climate crisis than we thought. This bill must match the urgency of the moment. While it includes many of our priorities to grow an equitable, clean energy economy across Illinois, it does not currently have a decarbonization plan that holds the state’s biggest climate polluters accountable or protects our frontline communities. Coal plants like the Dallman Power Plant and the Prairie State Coal Plant continue to pollute Illinois communities at alarming rates, with the Prairie State Coal Plant killing 76 Illinoisans annually and costing $2 billion a year in damage to our health and environment.
“The fossil fuel industry has time and again left Illinois workers in a lurch and left communities with toxic legacies and broken promises. Other states are tapping the potential of a booming clean energy economy and without action, Illinois will not only fail to meet the challenges of the climate crises, but will deny the opportunity of clean energy prosperity to generations of Illinoisans. We remain committed to working with legislators and stakeholders to come to an agreement that prioritizes equity, clean energy jobs, and decarbonizes Illinois’ electric grid.”