Committee on Environmental Protection and Energy
SUBSTITUTE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Illinois is not keeping up with climate and energy policies being enacted in other states, nor is it on track to meet the clean energy goals already on the books, and
WHEREAS, Renewable energy comes from natural, inexhaustible, and safe sources that diminish reliance on fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and
WHEREAS, Clean and renewable energy provides substantial benefits for our climate, public health, and economy and is the way of the future; and
WHEREAS, In 2016, The State of Illinois passed The Future Energy Jobs Act (FEJA) allowing the creation of and investment into an equitable and just transition for a clean and renewable energy future; and
WHEREAS, FEJA stimulated job creation, training, and clean and renewable energy markets, attracting investment and new companies to the State, while preserving Illinois' low energy rates for residents and businesses; and
WHEREAS, There are nearly 90,000 energy efficiency jobs in Illinois; and over 120,000 clean energy jobs in Illinois; and
WHEREAS, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is poised to order changes to electricity
capacity markets designed to prop-up coal, natural gas and oil power plants that will require Illinois consumers to pay an estimated $864 million a year in higher electric bills; and
WHEREAS, In the spring of 2019, The Clean Energy Jobs Act (CEJA). SB2132/HB3624 was introduced and aims to achieve a carbon-free power sector by 2030 and put Illinois on the path to 100% renewable energy by 2050, while growing the clean energy economy in a way that expands equitable access to public health, safety, a cleaner environment, and quality jobs and economic opportunities; and WHEREAS, CEJA includes a plan to responsibly phase out coal, support communities and workers affected by the decline of coal, and transition to 100% renewable energy by 2050; and
WHEREAS, CEJA is expected to save the State a potential $700 million per year from gas energy efficiency, generate nearly $50 billion in net benefits from 2020-2035, and create more than $30 billion in new investments; and
WHEREAS, CEJA reforms capacity markets by requiring ComEd to prioritize clean energy over energy from oil, natural gas and coal power plants and to pass along the savings to Illinois consumers resulting from the unneeded purchase of capacity from harmful fossil fuels; and
WHEREAS, CEJA will lead to healthier communities by improving air and water quality through expanding access to clean energy careers, building wealth in disadvantaged communities, and ensuring new opportunities to continue building a new clean energy economy; and
WHEREAS, investments needed to integrate more renewables should be made in a manner that ensures that system reliability is preserved and the benefits of clean and renewable energy are enjoyed by all of our citizens; and
WHEREAS, Strong climate and clean energy policies at every level of government are essential to avoiding the worst impacts of climate change; and
WHEREAS, The City of Chicago recognizes its responsibility as a global city to fight the Climate Crisis and build equity in communities that have been traditionally excluded from the energy field and marketplace; and
WHEREAS, The City of Chicago also recognizes its responsibility to improve the local air quality which presently ranks as the third worst city in the nation in terms new childhood respiratory illnesses; and WHEREAS, the American Lung Association, the Respiratory Health Association and the Journal of American Medicine, all have found that air pollution from fossil-fueled power plants as well as gas and diesel trains, buses, trucks and cars is a primary cause of respiratory illnesses in the City of Chicago; and WHEREAS, poor, underserved and underprivileged families in the City of Chicago disproportionately are impacted by local air pollution caused by gas and diesel trains, buses, trucks and cars that emit air pollution at ground level on crowded streets where the toxic pollutants are inhaled pedestrians, including children, the elderly and others that are at high-risk of illness; and
WHEREAS, In 2019, the City ofChicago passed a resolution that established the City's 100% renewable energy goals for an equitable renewable energy transition; and
WHEREAS, That resolution declared all buildings in the City of Chicago will run on renewable energy by 2035, and the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) will electrify the entire bus fleet by 2040; and WHEREAS, The City's commitment to a clean and renewable energy transition will stimulate the manufacturing, construction, operations, and procurement sectors of the local economy by creating safe, clean jobs in the renewable energy industry; and
WHEREAS, Passing the Clean Energy Jobs Act to further expand the City's access to renewable energy is critical; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, Members ofthe City Council ofthe City ofChicago, assembled this sixteenth day of October 2019, support the passage and implementation of the Clean Energy Jobs Act, with an immediate focus to support statewide goals set by the State of Illinois:
100% renewable energy by 2050, and
shifting to a carbon-free power sector by 2030, and
reducing gas and diesel vehicles from the transportation sector, and
creating good-paying jobs and fostering economic opportunity for all of Illinois, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That we, the City Council ofthe City ofChicago, call on the Governor Of the State of Illinois, and the General Assembly to pass the Clean Energy Jobs Act BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That suitable copies ofthis resolution be delivered to Governor J. B. Pritzker. Senate President John Cullerton, and House Speaker Michael Madigan.
George A. Cardenas Alderman, 12,hWard