Work Highlights
Since our founding in 2008, our work has amplified our mission and our focus to help avert climate catastrophe by linking environmental, social, and economic challenges and opportunities. We have:

• Cofounded a coalition to stop the 1300-mile CO₂ pipeline proposed by Navigator Ventures that will pass through five states and "dump" carbon dioxide into a reservoir near Taylorville, IL. Carbon capture and storage at this scale is unproven and risky. CO₂ pipelines are a threat to human health; restrict landowners' use of their land; damage farmland; and support the fossil fuel industry, rather than renewables. Initiated.

• Carried out a campaign to pressure Dynegy-Midwest Generation to move its coal ash out of the floodplain of Illinois’ only National Scenic River. Success! After five years of organizing, Dynegy will be moving its toxic waste.  EJC will, with partners Prairie Rivers Network and Earthjustice, be reviewing plans and hosting meetings to prepare the public for a public hearing the spring of 2022.. Ongoing.

• Worked as part of a 10-person team created by the RE-AMP Network to develop strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and creating carbon sinks in the Midwest via regenerative agriculture. Report was released January 2022, and highlights presented to RE-AMP members and allies on February 10, 2022..

• Created a working group of the Illinois Clean Jobs  Coalition's Downstate Caucus that focuses on Natural Climate Solutions and links to the newly-formed 30 x 30 statewide initiative. The group's focus is on tree equity and agrivoltaics. An equity summit, based on the Jemez principles of democratic organizing is planned for the Spring of 2022. Ongoing.

• Organized to pass the groundbreaking Climate and Equitable Jobs Act. This bill puts Illinois on a path to 100% renewable energy by 2050, boosting Illinois' economy along the way. The bill's jobs training  and jobs creation programs will help workers and coal communities transition from fossil fuels, and build equity and wealth in communities of color. Passed September 2021!

• Helped found and served on the leadership team for the Downstate Caucus of the Illinois State Climate Table, created to coordinate work between the downstate advocacy organizations across Illinois with the State Climate Table in support of reducing carbon and other greenhouse gases and building resilient communities with clean, renewable energy and natural climate solutions. Work is ongoing, and focused on implementing the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act of 2021.

• Joined forces with Prairie Rivers Network, Earthjustice, Sierra Club Illinois, the Environmental Law and Policy Center, and Illinois Environmental Council and community groups living near toxic coal ash to develop and pass the Coal Ash Pollution Prevention Act. Illinois was the third state in the country to pass comprehensive coal ash legislation. The bill passed in July 2019. EJC then worked o ensure the adoption of strong coal ash rules. Final rules went into effect on April 21,  2021.

• Served as lead organizer in 2017 to bring forums and workshops about Illinois' groundbreaking Future Energy Jobs Act  to downstate Illinois communities who have experienced significant job loss associated with reduced production of coal, and closures of coal mines and coal plants.

• Co-Founded the Community Futures Initiative, a group of advocates and front-line communities working for a coal severance tax in Illinois. Monies from this fund were planned to go back to communities struggling to diversify their economies and break free from their dependence on coal. This initiative was stalled with the promise of continued support for Illinois coal after the 2016 election.

• Led delegations to West Virginia and central and southern Illinois to expose the impacts of coal mining (including mountaintop removal mining), burning, and disposal of waste. These experiences transform the lives of those who join us, and motivate delegates to support coal-producing communities working to move to an economy based on clean, safe, renewable energy.

• Worked to bring an end to the state-subsidized Illinois Coal Education Curriculum. Success! The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity stopped distributing its climate-denying curriculum in 2013.

• Served as lead organizer for Great Lakes Bioneers Chicago in 2012 and 2013, bringing together more than 600 professionals, educators, the faith community, students and the general public around innovative solutions to today’s social, economic and environmental challenges. Videos of plenary speakers can be found here and here.

• Organized a Women’s Tribunal on Gender and Climate Justice, one of just two in the nation. Through story, the Tribunal emboldened women in the Chicago metropolitan area and Appalachia to continue to work for energy justice and an end to a reliance on dirty coal.

• Re-ignited the fight to close the Fisk and Crawford coal power plants, two old polluting coal-fired power plants that operated in neighborhoods of color on Chicago’s southwest side. This included the founding of the Chicago Clean Power Coalition, which included faith-based groups, environmental organizations, businesses, environmental justice groups, health organizations, and students. Victory! Both plants were permanently closed in 2012.

• Co-founded the Heartland Coalfield Alliance to transition our state and region from coal to safe, clean, renewable energy. EJC and its partners Prairie Rivers Network and the Sierra Club continue to support coal-producing communities with technical expertise and legislative solutions.

• Co-led an experiential course on eco-justice and cities as part of the Seminary Consortium on Urban Pastoral Education programming.