Energy, Transit Bills Still Not Done as Veto Session Heads into Final Week
A sample Commonwealth Edison electric bill.
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As energy bills spiked this summer, both Republicans and Democrats seem aligned in the belief that energy prices need to come down.
But getting there during the final week of veto session seems like a difficult job.
An energy omnibus bill, titled the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act (CRGA) also appears to be teetering on the line of having enough votes to pass.
Business groups Monday rallied against the legislation.
Illinois Manufacturers’ Association President & CEO Mark Denzler said in a news conference Monday in Springfield the state’s energy policy is failing to meet the demands of businesses and consumers.
“Energy bills have skyrocketed because we don’t have enough energy supply to meet the growing demand created by increasing manufacturing, quantum, AI, and data centers,” Denzler said. “And that growth has continued. It’s simply supply and demand.”
Denzler claimed the bill would “raise rates on businesses and families.”
Illinois Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Lou Sandoval told me on the radio Monday it’s time to reverse policies that are driving up energy costs.
“We have to start to get serious about energy,” Sandoval said. “Maybe it is time to admit that CEJA wasn’t the right thing to do and we need to back it up a bit. We’re going to have two successive years of double digit [price] increases, and yet we want to continue to sunset gas inputs, supply side inputs. It’s unrealistic.”
The Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition, a group of environmental groups, disputed the business groups and said energy legislation will actually reduce costs for consumers.
“We applaud the Governor’s Office and lawmakers in the General Assembly who have worked hard for months to produce the commonsense solutions in the CRGA Act that put consumers first,” the group wrote in a statement. “While large corporations will always look out for their own profits, we are confident that lawmakers will prioritize helping Illinoisans reduce rising energy bills by passing the CRGA Act this week.”
We’re told transit negotiations continue but a funding solution to bail out Chicago area mass transit has yet to be agreed upon. A House working group meeting scheduled for Monday was canceled.
