In addition to fixing budget errors, the Senate was called back to the Capitol June 15 to a vote on an omnibus energy bill that would eliminate coal-powered energy by 2035 and natural gas by 2045. No deal was reached and lawmakers were sent home.
In addition to closing the Prairie State Energy Campus and Springfield’s City Water, Light and Power facility before the ends of their useful lives, the proposal included another massive bailout for scandal-ridden Exelon/ComEd, which once again is threatening to close nuclear energy plants if the state does not provide significant financial support. Negotiations are ongoing, and legislators expect to return to Springfield for at least one more day later this summer.
Greg Hinz of Crain’s Chicago Business noted this of the energy negotiations process: “It’s a story that says a lot about how the legislative sausage gets made in Springfield—and it’s not terribly pretty.” Read more at https://www.chicagobusiness.