Eco-Justice Collaborative

Watch this short video to learn about Illinois hyper-scale data center bill, The Power Act, which is making its way through the General Assembly. It provides the protections we need to address:

✅ Already skyrocketing utility bills and a changing climate. Developers must bring their own clean, renewable energy and pay for their own grid infrastructure.

✅Threats to our water (these data centers are MASSIVE water consumers). Data centers must be at least as water efficient as closed loop cooling systems.

✅ Pollution from backup generators. Data centers cannot use backup diesel generators except in an emergency.

✅ Protection for environmental justice communities. Data centers can't be closer than three miles to an EJ community without a cumulative impact assessment that demonstrates no harm.

✅ Public benefits and affordability fund. Developers must pay into this fund to advance energy affordability and environmental justice, as it relates to grant making for water infrastructure improvements, air quality monitoring

Use the links on the landing page to send a letter to your legislators and download a fact sheet.

The POWER Act—Protecting Illinois from data centers The POWER Act establishes guardrails on data centers that will minimize data center impacts on our utility bills, climate, and water.

Landowners MUST be able to say no to a project that could harm-or even kill them. Especially in the absence of state or federal regulations that could provide safe routing, but do not.

Will you sign this petition to your state senator and representative asking them to support and cosponsor SB 2842, a bill that bans the use of eminent domain for CO2 pipelines?

Tell your state legislators to end eminent domain for CO2 pipelines! SB 2842 is a landowner rights and safety bill. Ask your senator and representative to support and cosponsor the bill today! ..

BREAKING: We're proud to have joined 230+ groups to call on Congress to stop the approval and construction of new data centers. With huge impacts on water, climate, electricity bills and more, it's time to put the brakes on the unregulated data center frenzy!

230+ Groups Call for National Moratorium on New Data Centers Letter to Congress Cites Massive Energy and Water Consumption, Ratepayer Turmoil

And the second win for our climate within 24 hours. Congratulations ICJC!

BREAKING: Following months of negotiations, the Illinois General Assembly passed the Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA) Act, which includes an investment of over $1.5 billion in transit and critical reforms that take long-overdue steps to ensure transit agencies deliver a coordinated, cost-efficient regional transit service.

With the passage of the NITA Act, for the second time in 24 hours, Illinois is boldly leading the nation forward in tackling the climate crisis. https://bit.ly/transitpassage

SO needed. Thanks Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition!

BREAKING: The Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act has passed both the House and Senate, and is now headed to Governor JB Pritzker’s desk! The CRGA Act will help lower energy bills across the state, while doubling the clean energy investment made in CEJA.

The CRGA Act is the strongest state response yet to the federal rollback of climate protections. Once again, Illinois is leading. We applaud the General Assembly for taking action. https://bit.ly/crgapassage

ACTION ALERT! The Senate Commerce Committee has just announced it will hold a markup hearing on pipeline safety next Wednesday, October 8th at 10am CT. Senator Duckworth serves on this Committee and will be participating in that hearing.

Call 855-980-2396 and EMAIL Senators Dubrin and Duckworth today! Tell them why pipeline safety is important to you and your community. You can be sure that industry lobbyists are placing those calls and holding meetings, and they are opposing regulations that will cost them $$.

Committee marking up the PIPES Act. Call and email your senator now! - Call and email Senator Duckworth and Durbin today to tell them ANY Pipeline safety bill MUST protect Illinois communities!

IMPORTANT read. "This isn’t capitalism. It’s a carbon cartel wearing a green tie," creating a system where life itself becomes a taxable commodity, parceled out through carbon credits, ESG scores, and international treaties.."And when a basic building block of life can only be handled by a handful of government-approved corporations, you don’t have free markets anymore. You have centralized control over the very air we breathe." And who is paying for it? We are.

Carbon: The New Currency of Control The money doesn’t come from the heavens. It comes from you.

NEW REPORT: Oil and gas interests have poured nearly $1 BILLION into lobbying for carbon capture since 2005 — and nearly 90% of it came directly from fossil fuel-linked groups.

The report, led by former Exxon whistleblower Dr. Lindsey Gulden and carbon capture expert Dr. Charles Harvey, shows that 15 companies — including ExxonMobil, Occidental Petroleum, and Southern Company — were behind HALF of all CCUS lobbying spending.

👉 The takeaway? Carbon capture isn’t about saving the climate. It’s about protecting fossil fuel profits — with taxpayer dollars footing the bill.

📖 Read the full report here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S146290112500187X?dgcid=author

Such GREAT NEWS to start the weekend. Governor Pritzker signed the Mahomet Aquifer legislation! Thanks to all of you who worked hard to pass this bill. And a special thanks to our champions - Senator Faraci and Representative Ammons - who worked tirelessly to protect our drinking water from potential CO2 pollution!

Pritzker signs Mahomet aquifer protection plan into law Gov. JB Pritzker has signed the highly anticipated plan to stop carbon capture and sequestration near the Mahomet aquifer.

ACTION ALERT! We expect that the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on the "One Big Beautiful Bill" this week (week of May 19). Please send a letter to your U.S. Representative TODAY, asking them to oppose this bill. Specifically it would:
• Fast-track dangerous pipelines, limiting public oversight and judicial review.
• Expand federal eminent domain over CO2 and other pipelines.
• Let companies buy their way into automatic federal approval.
• Keeps the 45Q carbon capture tax credit intact, despite a record of widespread fraud and abuse.
• Expand tax shelters for the carbon capture industry and other corporations.

ACTION ALERT! Oppose federal takeover of CO2 pipelines No federal takeover of CO2 pipelines! This would give routing and eminent domain to the federal government and tax shelters to corporations!