Years of Buying Off Democrats Paid Off

Springfield, Illinois - Lawmakers were called back to Springfield this week to pass a major clean energy bill. Negotiations, however, fell apart in the Senate yesterday.

The legislation was an aggressive measure that sought to transition Illinois to 100% clean energy by 2050 and set deadlines to decommission coal and natural gas plants throughout the state even earlier. It was opposed by unions like AFSCME, the IBEW, and Plumbers and Pipefitters over the closure of two coal plants. As the bill began to change, opposition then came from the environmental special interests. The proposed bill also included subsidies of $694 million over five years to Exelon to keep nuclear plants operating.

This afternoon, State Reps. Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville) and Chris Miller (R-Oakland) released a joint statement on the bill.

“It’s no surprise Pritzker’s energy bill failed in the Senate. And everyone in the state should understand the reason. The Democrat Party in Illinois has spent decades indebting itself to the entrenched interests in Springfield, rather than simply putting forward the best policy for the citizens. A very large number of their interests were in opposition to Pritzker’s woke energy bill. And so, it fell apart. You see, Democrats serve a constituency, it’s just not you. They serve special interests - who fund their campaigns - and who are now competing against each other for leverage in this energy deal.

“Good policy that benefits ordinary citizens doesn’t have a prayer in the state legislature if unions and other lobbies (who underwrite campaigns) don’t want it. That bill was not good policy. We are glad it did not move, but the special interests will be back twisting arms this summer. We are watching the negotiations on this energy package carefully. For now, good paying jobs in coal and natural gas are safe, but not assured .”

For more information, contact Rep. Halbrook’s office at (217) 782-8398 or (217) 774-1306. Contact Rep. Miller’s office at (217) 558-1040 or (618) 546-0044.