Illinois
Illinois' green energy climate goals are pushed back as demands prompt more fossil fuel use
More than three years after Gov. JB Pritzker signed into law a major climate change plan to usher in solar and wind energy and phase out polluting, planet-warming coal and natural gas, fossil fuels are making a comeback.
In Illinois and around the Midwest, coal and gas plants are extending their planned retirement dates even after a 2021 state law aimed to phase them out. Meanwhile, solar and wind projects are having a hard time getting up and running.
The reason: Electricity needed for data centers, particularly those dedicated to artificial intelligence, is creating enormous demand for power — even sources that are polluting the air and contributing to global warming.
In Illinois, renewable energy sources are supposed to fill the gaps as the dirty power from coal and gas would be eliminated once plants are closed. But the clean energy sources are not coming online fast enough because there is a delay in getting them connected to the electric grid.
This spring, Illinois officials will examine their goals for clean power, which may affect ambitious targets to eliminate carbon dioxide emissions, the most common greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change.
The high demand for electricity and the inability of clean power to get connected is not just bad for electric customers facing bigger monthly bills, it’s inhibiting the battle to slow climate change and is harmful to human health.
“More coal equals more emissions equals more health problems and deaths,” says Brian Urbaszewski, director of environmental health programs at Respiratory Health Association in Chicago.
The state’s Climate and Equitable Jobs Act is aimed at reducing emissions of carbon dioxide. But lawmakers say they didn’t expect the explosive demand for energy across the country due to development of AI and other data centers.
“No one foresaw this demand from data centers,” says Illinois state Sen. Bill Cunningham, who represents Southwest Chicago and nearby suburbs and is a key lawmaker pushing forward climate and energy legislation.
Under the climate law, the state has a goal of renewable power delivering at least 40% of electricity sold in Illinois by 2030. The state isn’t even halfway to that goal.
The reason for the slow growth is the inability to connect renewable energy sources to the electric grid either because of transmission issues or approval from the multi-state electric grid operator. In Northern Illinois, hundreds of clean energy projects are waiting to be connected to the grid.
“There are surely challenges on the horizon,” says Will Kenworthy, Midwest regulatory director at advocacy group Vote Solar. “I’m always an optimist but I think it will require some deliberate policy to accelerate reliable generation” of clean power.
Battery storage will be important for optimizing renewables’ power production. Because solar farms don’t produce electricity at night and since wind farms are not producing when the wind dies down, there has to be a way to store power using large battery operations.
“The default position shouldn’t be, ‘let the fossil fuel plants keep burning,’” Cunningham said.
Illinois lawmakers are going to address the problems in legislation expected to be introduced in the coming months.
Pritzker promises to fix the problem.
“Gov. Pritzker is committed to working with the General Assembly to increase the state’s clean power supply and reduce costs for working families,” Alex Gough, the governor’s press secretary, says.
While it may seem President Donald Trump would upend climate goals in Illinois because of his shutdown of federal climate programs, it’s actually market forces challenging Illinois. The fixes are within the state’s powers.
As renewable power developments struggle to get connected to the electric grid, Wall Street is betting on natural gas.
The recently announced deal by Constellation Energy — owner of all six Illinois nuclear plants — to buy natural gas company Calpine left no doubt that gas and coal as power sources aren’t exiting anytime soon.
“Natural gas capacity will support the electric system for decades,” Constellation boasted in its presentation to investors, who cheered the acquisition.
There were other signals about the comeback of fossil fuels noted before the Constellation deal was announced.
In December, Vistra, the owner of three coal plants in Illinois, said it will keep one of those operations running an additional two years because of surging power demand. The Baldwin coal plant in Southern Illinois was scheduled to shut down this year but will stay open until at least 2027, according to Texas-based Vistra.
The coal-fired Baldwin Power Plant in southern Illinois was supposed to close this year, but will stay open at least an additional two years, the owner says.
In September, the private equity owner of a sizable natural gas plant in Elgin reversed plans to close that facility by June. The company, Chicago-based Middle River Power, had announced the closure just months earlier.
Private equity — investment firms that look for struggling businesses they can snap up and later sell — have become a big player in fossil fuel energy, according to research from nonprofit Private Equity Stakeholder Project.
Surrounding states are seeing similar trends. In Indiana, a large coal plant may extend its life in the midst of rising demand for power. The Gibson plant, the second-largest coal operation in the U.S., is just across the Wabash River from Mount Carmel in Southern Illinois.
The fossil fuel plant owners are delaying their retirement dates as renewables have been slow to connect to the electric grids, saying they fear a potential supply shortfall.
This trend is occurring even as electric customers in Chicago’s suburbs are questioning the environmental impacts from their sources of power.
In Naperville, St. Charles and Winnetka, residents are pushing back on plans for their municipal utilities to continue to buy power from a cooperative known as Illinois Municipal Electric Agency. The cooperative provides power that it purchases from a large coal plant in southern Illinois known as Prairie State as well as a coal plant in Kentucky. The cooperative also co-owns those coal plants.
The power keeping the lights on in Naperville and the other two communities is 80% sourced from coal.
This has led to movements in all three suburbs to end ties with Illinois Municipal Electric in five years.
“This is our future,” says Libby Gardner, a senior at North Central College in Naperville.
Gardner, 21, is a member of the Say No to Coal coalition as well as a student organization focused on climate and environmental issues.
In a statement, Illinois Municipal Electric says it is looking to change its mix of power sources, including adding renewable energy in coming years. At this time, it’s trying to get communities, including the three suburbs, to recommit for 20 years.
“Traditionally renewable energy commitments are secured for 20 years in order to get the lowest cost pricing,” spokesperson Staci Wilson says.
A spokesperson for Prairie State, an hour southeast of St. Louis, says plant owners are looking at ways to reduce carbon emissions, “serving as a bridge to a cleaner energy future.”
The Prairie State coal plant southeast of St. Louis helps power Naperville, St. Charles and Winnetka under a long-term contract. Residents want their suburbs to end ties to the dirty power source.
Burning coal to create electricity will be largely banned in Illinois in 2030. But plants in Waukegan, Romeoville, elsewhere burned more in 2021 than a year before. One day, their emissions will end — but not yet.
The suit says BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil and Shell have hurt the city by discrediting science even as their products lead to “catastrophic consequences,” including strong storms, flooding, severe heat and shoreline erosion.
The Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, signed by the governor, set a timeline for phasing out fossil-fuel energy sources by 2050.
A major overhaul to the Illinois justice system could be officially underway.
House Bill 3363 lays the foundation for a brand new agency, the state public defender office.
The goal is to bring more consistent legal representation for Illinois residents who can’t afford an attorney.
Joining us now to discuss the rolled-out timeline is the bill’s sponsor, State representative Dave Vella, who actually started his legal career as a public defender, before heading to Springfield.
Illinois
Illinois Democrats face backlash after blaming Trump in Chicago cross-burning case | Fox News Video
‘Outnumbered’ reacts to Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson blaming President Donald Trump for a cross-burning incident in Grant Park.
Illinois Democratic leaders Governor JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson are slammed for weaponizing a Chicago cross burning incident by blaming former President Trump. Despite the suspect, Murlin Lue, admitting his motive was to protest Trump, not racism, Pritzker and Johnson doubled down. Critics, including Illinois GOP State Rep. Chris Miller, accuse them of playing politics and fostering division rather than seeking truth.
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) – November ballots will feature a repeat of top billing in the race for governor. Illinoisans can once again choose between Governor JB Pritzker or Darren Bailey to lead the Land of Lincoln.
But beside their spots, new names will appear for voters.
The Democratic and Republican candidates for governor picked new running mates for their rematch. With Lieutenant Governor Julianna Stratton running for U.S. Senate, Pritzker picked Christian Mitchell to join his ticket. On the Republican side, Aaron Del Mar joins Bailey, who previously ran with Stephanie Trussell in 2022.
Mitchell and Del Mar spoke Thursday with WIFR on what inspires them to run, their campaign priorities and ideas to improve the Rockford region.
Backgrounds
Starting with the Democratic ticket, Mitchell joins the race as a former state representative from Chicago as well as a deputy governor with the Pritzker administration.
“Before anything else, I’m Debbie’s son, and I’m James’s grandson,” Mitchell introduced. “They’re the ones who really instilled in me the value of hard work and made sure that I was going to have a very bright future.”
Mitchell sees the role of lieutenant governor as a partner to the state’s executive.
“I’m really lucky to be running with somebody who I respect, and who I think is the best governor in the nation… Governor JB Pritzker,” he said.. “My first thing is going to be supporting his agenda, which right now is all about lowering costs and raising wages.”
On the Republican side, Del Mar hails from suburban Chicago and considers his first priority to be raising his family.
“I wanted nothing to do with politics, did not want to be involved — wanted just to raise my kids and work my job,“ said Del Mar. He described his start in public service as something he ”kind of got pulled into.”
The Republican worked his way from a city council member in Palatine, at 29-years-old, to co-chair of the Illinois GOP. Although he says he “wanted nothing to do with being on” Bailey’s campaign, Del Mar sees strength in unity — offering a Chicago area perspective alongside Bailey’s southern Illinois roots.
“How about everybody in the state of Illinois, regardless of where you come from, has a seat at the table. If you’re from a southeast farming community, or you’re from the city of Chicago, where I grew up, everybody has a stake in the game.”
Priorities
Mitchell points to economic development as his focus for the gubernatorial campaign.
“I see vacancies on State Street in Chicago. I see vacancies on Main Street in Belleville and Alton and in Carbondale,” he recounted. “I want to make sure that we’ve got the kind of amenities and economic development, that kind of affordability, that allow us to make sure that folks want to stay in the towns that they’re born in if they want to.”
The Democratic candidate also eyes long-term planning for the state, including an “Illinois 2050 Plan.”
“How do we have the kind of educational undergirding that means that no matter where you’re from, you have a chance to have one of those jobs, whether it’s in new agriculture technology and new farming techniques or biotech, quantum.”
When asked how to achieve these priorities, Mitchell turned to investing in public education, retaining residents with better wages and improving health care.
“Making sure that we are able to protect our health care system, so that folks aren’t going broke when they get sick, that’s another big way that we can make an impact.”
Del Mar outlined a cost-of-living focus as central to his campaign.
“You wanna succeed, you do the basics really well, and the basics are affordability,” he contended.
The Republican repeatedly highlighted the state’s property taxes — reportedly the highest in the nation — as an issue to tackle. He suggested redirecting Illinois’s budget as one measure to ease the burden on homeowners.
“Number one is fully funding the state’s portion of local taxes, because that will offer people property tax relief.” Del Mar clarified this wouldn’t mean redirecting funds for public education.
“We’re looking at how we fund schools, how we make sure to empower teachers to have the best educational outcomes that we can have here in Illinois, regardless of what your zip code is, regardless of what your parents do for a living or how much money they make,” added Del Mar.
Reflecting on Rockford
Each candidate provided their vision for boosting the Rockford region.
For Mitchell, improvements continue with infrastructure funding, building on the state’s roughly $500 million investment in the area.
“The things that we have already worked on, through the capital plan that I helped lead as deputy governor, that the governor signed and is implementing, are already having benefits that the people of Rockford can see.”
The Democrat also pointed to the Chicago Rockford International Airport as an opportunity.
“Investing in that regional airport where we’ve already helped with a matching grant to get additional funds, that helps build out the economy,” said Mitchell. “There’s so much that’s happening there that it is really good for the economy and bringing more people back to Rockford.”
Del Mar shared his local priority as supporting unionization in the area.
“Union families deserve to be able to have a livable wage, and that’s something that’s important to Darren and I,” said Del Mar. He mentioned pensions were another item that a Republican executive wouldn’t touch for the public and private sector unions.
“I know that area up there has strong union backbone,” described Del Mar. “We want to make sure they know that they’re not going to have a bigger supporter in the governor’s mansion than Darren and I.”
Election Day
When asked for thoughts on their opponent, Mitchell criticized the Bailey campaign as a “repacking” of his 2022 run.
“The only record that they have to run on is extremism,” he exclaimed.
The Republican candidate also reflected on records, pointing to Pritzker’s years in office.
“Why are we underfunding education? Why are property taxes at all-time high? Why are businesses leaving?” asked Del Mar.
Voters can decide on who will lead Illinois November 3. Early voting starts September 24, with applications for voting by mail opening August 5.
Extended Interviews
Copyright 2026 WIFR. All rights reserved.
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