The Illinois Climate and Equitable Jobs Act Passes both Chambers!
SPRINGFIELD – After more than three years of grassroots community organizing and leadership by the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition (ICJC), today the Illinois State Senate passed comprehensive climate legislation (SB2408), the most equitable clean energy jobs bill of its kind in the nation.
The bill includes many of the tenets of the Clean Energy Jobs Act and has the support of climate and environmental justice advocates, underserved businesses, the clean energy industry, labor unions, and the Governor’s office.
Following Senate passage, ICJC released this statement:
“The Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition applauds the Senate on today’s passage of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act. We are on the verge of history in Illinois, poised to take significant steps to address our climate crisis, create equitable, good-paying jobs across the state particularly in Black and Brown communities, and enact tough utility accountability measures.
We would like to thank Governor Pritzker, House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, Senate President Don Harmon, and legislative champions in addition to thousands of diverse advocates who have been organizing for a clean energy future for more than three years.”
The bill now moves to the Governor's desk for signature.
Click on the image to download a factsheeet.
What's in the Bill?
CEJA addresses climate, equity, and jobs. This urgent, job-creating plan puts Illinois on a path to a 100% clean energy future while providing a just transition for workers and communities historically dependent on dirty fossil fuels, enacting some of the toughest utility accountability measures in the nation, and creating jobs and wealth in Illinois’ Black and Brown communities, which are often the first to suffer negative consequences of pollution but the last to reap the health and economic benefits of a clean energy future.
Click here to read more about CEJA. Learn more about ICJC’s work and provisions of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act here.
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Eco-Justice Collaborative has been a member of the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition since its founding. The ICJC is made up of more than 200 consumer, business, environmental, environmental justice, health care, faith-based and student organizations.
