Progress Illinois

Earlier this month, the White House called out some suspect lobbying by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Just a year after the national business lobby was more than willing to bend its free-market philosophy to help big business snag its share of the federal bailout, presidential advisor Valerie Jarrett noted their awfully "self-serving" position in favor of protecting big polluters and health insurance companies from government regulation. In fact, the chamber is so bent on weakening climate change and health care reforms that they shelled out $34.7 million on lobbying between July and September alone. Encouragingly, some of the group's most high-profile members -- including Apple, Nike, and Illinois' own Exelon -- have quit the business lobby in protest. As the chamber met for a regional conference on government affairs in downtown Chicago today, more business owners and environmental activists came out to make it clear that they too think the chamber's positions are out of step with its members' priorities.

"We hope that they learn something here in Chicago," Jack Darin of the Illinois Sierra Club said, "that Americans here in Illinois,  in the heartland of America, they don't want the status quo, they want change. They want health care, they want workers' rights, and they want clean energy solutions for America." Watch:

Despite the denials made by the corporate lobby (and the Illinois GOP), there's plenty of evidence demonstrating that the Midwest will soon face peril because of its disastrous environmental habits. Even more emerged today.

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The facts are pretty clear. If not addressed immediately, global warming is going to have serious consequences for how Americans, including those in the Midwest, live and work.  International leaders will attempt to forge a strong global treaty in December to replace the expiring Kyoto Protocol that would cut greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.  At the federal level, the Senate is set to debate a climate bill that, while imperfect, could bolster the nation's emerging clean energy economy and limit our carbon footprint. But what about Illinois? As a state, how prepared are we to safeguard our environment?

Compared to other states, we're about average. So says the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), which ranked Illinois 26th overall (tied with North Carolina) in its third-annual state efficiency scorecard.

First, let's start with what we do well. ACEEE approved of the state's Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard, which stipulates that 25 percent of the electricity sold by 2025 must be generated by renewable energy sources. (The General Assembly approved of the measure in 2007 and buffeted it with similar restrictions on natural gas companies this spring.) Our climate mitigation targets, set in conjunction with the establishment of the Illinois Climate Change Advisory Group three years ago, are relatively robust. The state has promised to cut emissions  to 1990 levels by 2020 and 60 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. Lawmakers have developed clear incentives for the development of energy-efficient affordable housing and public sector building construction and set aside rebates for low-income households inpacted by any utility cost increases. Finally, the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) has taken steps to make smaller, more efficient energy producers viable. (State laws, influenced by large utilities, often restrict  small generators from connecting to the energy grid.)

Where we struggle won't surprise anyone who has paid attention to environmental policy in Illinois over the past several years.

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As part of its ongoing Chicago Matters: Beyond Burnham series, WTTW's Chicago Tonight took a closer look at plans to create a smart grid in the region last night. As we've previously noted, smart grid technology -- which includes digitalizing meters, offering consumers a real-time breakdown of their energy use (including power sources like wind, solar, or coal), and enabling power companies to reroute energy with the flick of a switch -- is still in its infancy. ComEd's pilot project to install 130,000 new residential meters has put Illinois on the cutting edge of developing the technology. And with another $4.5 billion federal stimulus money on the table, the Chicago Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) is hoping for a cut to begin implementing the technology in Chicago's Loop. WTTW highlights the projects. Watch an excerpt (full video here):

At his health care townhall in Northbrook today, GOP Rep. and U.S. Senate candidate Mark Kirk received an off-topic question regarding his support earlier this summer for the House climate bill (which would curb carbon emissions via a cap-and-trade system).  In response, Kirk reiterated that he would vote to oppose the bill as a senator because, beyond the North Shore congressional district he currently represents, "we are overwhelmingly a manufacturing, agriculture and coal state."  Watch it:

KIRK: Bottom line: When I worked with Midwest Generation -- by the way, just about everybody in here, you get your electrons from Midwest Generation in Waukegan -- it [cap-and-trade] costs $14 per year, per household.  But when you look beyond the 10th Congressional District to the wider Illinois economy, we are overwhelmingly a manufacturing, agriculture and coal state.  If I'm to be a senator, I need to be a strong advocate for all Illinois family incomes.  And so I've announced, as senator, I would not support that legislation.

We've repeatedly noted why Kirk's current position contradicts his explanation back in July of his support for cap-and-trade.  But beyond that, here's the question that reporters need to ask Kirk at this juncture: What other positions do you plan to abandon over the course of your U.S. Senate campaign in order to appeal to statewide Republican interests? 

We'll have more health care-related coverage from Kirk's town hall tomorrow morning.

It's no secret that the biggest barrier to creating a state-of-the-art public transportation system here in Illinois is funding. No one has made that more clear than the state's regional transit agencies, who've threatened to cut even basic services under recent doomsday scenarios. As we've pointed out repeatedly, one of the root causes of those financial problems is the way the federal and state governments divvy up transportation money. Surface projects --  namely road construction -- continue to be prioritized over mass transit. In a report (PDF) released yesterday, Environment Illinois (EI) explains how that's playing out in Illinois and across the nation:

In 2002, total revenues for public transportation provided $4.71 per transit trip from all sources—federal, state and local funding, along with passenger fares—which has fallen to $4.48 per trip in 2008 (adjusting for inflation) ... If the disparity between resources and demand continues to grow, our national transit network will become increasingly less and less able to meet the daily transportation needs of millions of citizens, as well as limit the tremendous potential energy savings and environmental benefits from public transportation.

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At a recent DuPage County GOP rally, U.S. Senate candidate Mark Kirk remarked that, if elected to the U.S. Senate, he would not repeat his vote in favor of cap-and-trade legislation because he would no longer be representing the "narrow interests" of the 10th Congressional District.  Of course, we already knew that Kirk was backtracking from that cap-and-trade vote, so it's not surprising that he would pledge to oppose it going forward.  Still, the video is worth a watch (the statement in question comes at the three-minute mark):

KIRK: I voted for [cap-and-trade] because it was in the narrow interests of my congressional district. But as your representative representing the entire state of Illinois, I will vote no on that bill coming up and that’s because we are a manufacturing, agriculture, and coal state and that’s a path I think we need to build.

Today, Capitol Fax, Talking Points Memo, and Greg Sargent all highlighted this "creative" maneuver and noted how it appeared to lead the crowd from booing to cheering.  However, one thing that hasn't been noted yet is that the above statement doesn't exactly jibe with Kirk's previous explanations of his shift in position. For instance, here he is on WIND Radio on July 20: 

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On Capitol Hill, Senate Democrats are reshuffling their list of priorities for the remainder of 2009. Among the issues that leaders like Illinois' own Dick Durbin are considering temporarily shelving is climate change legislation. Not surprisingly, the possibility of further delay is drawing ire from environmentalists. A sobering new report (PDF) from the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) only reinforces their argument for immediate action. The Tribune highlights the group's predictions regarding the impact on Illinois if proposals to curb global warming are ignored:

More than 50 days a year would top 100 degrees in Chicago by mid-century, the report warns, up from a historical average of 15 per year. The city would average a heat wave per year on par with the city's 1995 scorcher, which authorities blamed for hundreds of deaths.

Once every five years, the city would endure a heat wave similar to Europe's in 2003, which the authors project would kill more than 1,000 Chicago residents.

By century's end, the report projects, every Chicago summer would be hotter than 1983, the hottest summer on record for the city. Illinois' climate would resemble east Texas today, the report says.

The report emphasizes that restricting emissions now would avert the warming trend from escalating over the latter half of this century. And the House has already made some major headway on that front by passing a climate change bill back in June that includes key cap-and-trade provisions. If and when the Senate takes up the measure, Environment Illinois and other statewide advocacy groups want to see some stricter, "common sense" energy efficiency guidelines included in the package.

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Fairfield-based Wayne-White Counties Electric Cooperative provides electricity to thousands of Illinoisans in 11 downstate counties. Similar to other energy co-ops in Illinois, they are also fearmongering about the effects of a proposed congressional cap-and-trade bill.

Like their representative in Congress -- Republican John Shimkus -- officials at Wayne-White have consistently spread misinformation about the effects the American Clean Energy and Security Act would have on local electric rates. The Wonk Room's Brad Johnson flags one article that quotes CEO Daryl Donjon calling cap-and-trade “an unfair tax to the Midwest [that] would raise electric rates by 80 percent.” This mirrors a letter Donjon sent to customers claiming that the legislation will “lead to the transfer of wealth (PDF) from the Midwestern states to the coastal states.” (These are points we've dealt with in the past.)

Johnson also notes another interesting tidbit. Following up on a massive mail campaign, Wayne-White will lead a bus trip to the state capitol in Springfield tomorrow in an attempt to pressure Sens. Dick Durbin and Roland Burris:

Wayne-White encourages concerned citizens to participate in the free bus trip and rally in Springfield. The co-op recently mailed out nearly 10,000 informational letters and signature forms to enable concerned citizens to help themselves by speaking out and opposing this issue. As of Monday, more than 4,000 postcards had been returned to the co-op office which will be hand-delivered to Burris and Durbin at their Springfield offices, the Wayne-White news release said.

Wayne-White isn't the only energy interest converging on Springfield tomorrow to rally against cap-and-trade (legislation that is desperately needed to control the nation's carbon output). Check out the full list:

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Yesterday, Fox Chicago Sunday devoted one of its three segments to an interview on cap-and-trade legislation with David Sykuta of the Illinois Petroleum Council.  Here's how they teased it: "The people who put gas in your car say Illinois residents are in for a major price spike thanks to cap-and-trade."  So you can guess how the segment went. 

In his most egregious claim, Sykuta asserted that cap-and-trade will result increase gas prices by "$1.40 a gallon in the next 10-12 years."  That $1.40 figure may seem familiar, as it was cited by President Bush when he vetoed the Climate Security Act last year.  But it comes from an Environmental Protection Agency study that found prices would rise that much over the next 40 years -- not the next decade.

Then there was this delightful exchange between co-host Jack Conaty and Sykuta:

SYKUTA: Well, we think we're doing a good job with the environment and energy.  Things are much better now than they've ever been.  They're getting better every year.

CONATY: So you don't buy the "polar bears are drowning" theory of the environment?

SYKUTA: I think we're making a lot of progress and I think some in the environmental community are very good at isolating photos and making them look different than what reality is.

Ugh.  What are the chances of one day seeing a similar segment with the Sierra Club's Jack Darin or the Environmental Law and Policy Center's Howard Learner?  We won't hold our breath.