Climate activists and union members who live in Illinois’ 19th State Senate District will deliver a letter to senator Michael Hastings at 3 p.m. Friday, Aug. 27 urging him to pass a strong climate bill without the $700 million nuclear bailout. Hastings is the chairman the Energy and Public Utilities Committee. The Illinois General Assembly probably will vote on some form of energy legislation when they return to session August 30 and 31.
The event will be held at Hastings’ office, 20855 South LaGrange Road, Frankfort.
The group organizing the event at Hastings office recently held a similar event at State senator Linda Holmes district office August 13. In addition to opposing a bailout of Exelon’s CEO, Chris Crane, the letter urges lawmakers to shut down the Prairie State Coal Plant by 2025, not 2035 as proposed by governor Pritzker. Prairie State is the ninth-largest emitter of CO2 in the United States and the largest emitter in Illinois.
The same group organized a large-scale climate strike in 2019 and organized multiple events supporting the Green New Deal around the Chicago suburbs during the same year. Spearheaded by progressives of Kane County, the group is not connected to organized labor or environmentalists negotiating a bill in Springfield.
—John Laesch