March 6, 2020
SETTLING IN
It's been a great first week back at the Chamber, and I'm excited to get to work on the issues that are important to you. Thanks to those members of the Energy Council who have dropped me a note or stopped me at the Capitol to welcome me, and I hope to touch base with all of you in the next few days and weeks.
For those of you whom I've not yet met, a few things about myself. The Chamber is definitely a familiar place for me. In separate stints, I've served as the General Counsel and then the Executive Director of the Illinois Environmental Regulatory Group, an affiliate of the Chamber. I last left IERG to serve as Governor Rauner's Policy Advisor for Energy and Environment, and then served as the Director of Illinois EPA until leaving state government to join private practice as a partner in a firm that assists clients with all manner of environmental issues. I'm based in Springfield, but certainly will be in Chicago as often as I can.
I'm thrilled with the opportunity to serve you in my role at the Energy Council, and I look forward to learning more about your issues and what I can do to further Katie's and your efforts in making Illinois a better place to do business.
SPRINGFIELD
The push to develop comprehensive energy legislation last week, as detailed in Katie's newsletter on February 28, and continued this week. The Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee hosted a subject matter hearing entitled "
Setting the
stage for Illinois obtaining a clean energy future." The hearing lasted about three hours, featuring essentially the same panels that's we've come to expect at these broad subject matter hearings, and did not cover any really new ground. Chairman Hastings indicated that he expected the committee to continue to meet as the legislative session proceeds, and will hear from all stakeholders so that Illinois can make informed decisions for a sustainable future.
Also this week, Governor Pritzker's staff convened the first meeting of his Clean Power Sector and Climate Action Stakeholder Working Group. Stakeholders run the full gamut of interests, including generators and distributors of energy, large industrial users, renewable developers, environmentalists, and legislators from all four caucuses. The meeting began with the Governor's policy advisor on energy providing some of the Governor's key energy principles, and then the meeting was handed over to Doug Scott, former Director of the Illinois EPA and Chairman of the Illinois Commerce Commission, now with the Great Plains Institute. Doug recently joined the administration in a consulting capacity to advise on clean energy legislation, and will be facilitating these working group meetings. He led the stakeholders in a broad conversation on the general issues the members believe should be a part of the discussion. The next meeting is set for this afternoon, March 6th, and will focus on renewable energy deployment.
This Week
Next Week
Both the House and Senate are off next week, but return the following week on Wednesday, March 18
, one day after the Illinois Primary Election. In the meantime, I'll continue to participate in the Governor's working group and will provide updates as necessary. Also note that Illinois Chamber Day is on March 18th, and I look forward to seeing many of you there.
I look forward to working collaboratively with all of you in the Energy Council, and please don't hesitate to send me an email if you have any questions!
