Progress Illinois

That's the number (rounded from $289.3 million) the state owes to the Regional Transportation Authority in late payments before the end of the year. It is just the latest example of an agency that would have to make drastic changes to account for the state's delinquent ways. If the payments are not made, we could see adjusted budgets leading to possible fare hikes and service cuts. (And it won't get any easier in 2011. The state has already built up another $124 million in debt for appropriations approved this spring.)

Gov. Pat Quinn vowed to make the payments before the end of the year. Thanks to revenue from a tobacco bond sale and a tax amnesty plan, the comptroller's office reported last week that it will be able to pay providers and schools for all services rendered during FY 2010 before an extended December 31 deadline. Hopefully, their estimates are accurate.

Financial instability at RTA isn't just a problem in the short-term. A new study by the National Resources Defense Council finds that while Illinois compared fairly well to most states in the efficient of its transit infrastructure, it doesn't devote nearly enough resources to keep it running effectively. The report (PDF) showed the state ranked 13th overall in its efforts to reduce carbon emissions, but 33rd in transportation investment decisions. It's further proof that budget cuts in the middle of a global warming crisis would set transit officials back even further.

With Chicago's mayoral election 12 weeks away and the news cycle easing up a bit locally, candidates are slowly starting to unveil portions of their potential City Hall agenda.

State Sen. James Meeks, who launched a "50 wards in 50 days" tour Sunday, announced that he would visit different neighborhoods on every Friday while in office. Although Meeks called downtown Chicago the city's "centerpiece," he said that Chicago's communities should be the "city's true core." On this front, we have to agree; the Daley years weren't always kind to the 2.5 million or so residents who don't live in the Loop or adjacent neighborhoods. Still, listening is different than acting. By February, we hope Meeks brings to the table some concrete plans to develop economic opportunities across the city.

One of Meek's main contenders, Rahm Emanuel, made known that he would spend $10 million in unused stimulus and economic development money to improve the energy efficiency of 21,000 homes and businesses during the first year of his administration. According to the Sun-Times, the investments would be targeted in "12 of the least energy efficient areas of the city," could leverage $100 million in additional capital from public and private funds, and would reduce carbon emissions by 5,000 tons. Buildings account for approximately 70 percent of all city carbon emissions; Chicago's Climate Action Plan calls on officials to retrofit 50 percent of Chicago's homes and commercial and industrial buildings by 2020. In the residential sector alone, that would mean fixing up 400,000 units. So Emanuel's initial plan, while encouraging, is pretty modest.

Expect more coverage from us on the candidate's policy proposals as we edge closer to February 22, 2011.

ComEd wants Illinois to be a leader in the green economy, so long as Illinoisans keep their lights running.

Over the past year, the region's largest utility companion and its parent company Exelon helped beat back several pieces of legislation in Springfield that would beef up the state's wind and solar power capacity (and potentially cut into their profit margin.) Now, Crain's Steve Daniels finds that the Chicago-based electric supplier wants to kill a new plan by the Illinois Power Agency -- which works with utility companies to ensure they purchase the cheapest electricity available -- that would provide incentives for large power consumers who want to increase their energy efficiency. From the piece:

IPA Executive Director Mark Pruitt thinks that paying to lower energy consumption can be significantly cheaper than buying the juice itself, even at today's low prices. His plan proposes to contract only with power-cutting customers whose projects would be cheaper to the state than buying electricity and where the conservation results can be verified.

ComEd itself found last year that Illinois could reduce electricity demand by 14 percent using efficiency projects alone. But doing so, as Howard Learner of the Environmental Law and Policy Center reminds Crain's, would cut into Exelon's bottom line. The Illinois Commerce Commission will rule on the legality of IPA's power-procurement proposal by the end of the year.

In a related development, the Illinois House Environment and Energy Committee is planning to take up a bill (SB 3388) this afternoon that would lift the moratorium on the construction of nuclear power plants in Illinois. The State Senate approved the measure last spring.