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Standing alongside Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker Friday, U.S. EPA
Region 5 Administrator Debra Shore announced the state is
receiving $500 million across two different grants. The taxpayer
funds will be used to fund the Biden-Harris administration's
policies to combat “climate change.”
What may happen with an incoming Donald Trump administration
with a Republican controlled U.S. Congress isn’t quite clear.
“I can’t speak to what might happen,” Shore said. “We are just
working as hard as possible to make sure that those funds that
Congress allocated get dispersed and deployed in a way that
makes a difference in people’s lives.”
State Rep. Dan Caulkins, R-Decatur, said Illinois needs to take
a different approach as Trump looks to shore up federal
spending.
“We need to cut our deficits and they’re going to start looking
at these subsidies that only benefit a few,” Caulkins said.
Trump will be inaugurated Jan. 20.
Unveiling a new state taxpayer-funded electric vehicle charging
station at a park district in Joliet Monday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker
touted his record in advancing so-called “clean energy.”
“Since my earliest days in office, the General Assembly and I
have relentlessly pursued one of the most ambitious climate
agenda’s in the nation,” Pritzker said. “Reducing air pollution
from transportation is vital to a healthy future for our
children and for our planet.”
Caulkins said “you can’t force people into EVs.” He expects the
incoming Trump administration to be aggressive on energy policy
and encourage the burning of coal and natural gas and drilling
for oil.
“We are going to miss out on opportunities because we can’t
supply the electricity at an affordable rate,” Caulkins said.
“And if we don’t fall in line with the rest of the country, we
are going to be the rust bucket. We will continue to decline.
Companies are gonna leave.”
Pritzker signed legislation in 2021 to make way for the closure
of coal-burning power plants by 2024. |
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