This week, there is some good -- and green -- news trickling out of Springfield. In the race to move legislation forward, lawmakers appear to be making progress on a series of bills aimed at promoting both renewable resources and energy efficiency. One proposal that we've been keeping our eye on is State Rep. Fred Crespo's (D-Streamwood) HB 6419, which would give school districts authority set up a cooperative wind farm and sell their excess power to utility companies for a profit. A House committee is poised today to advance the measure to the floor for a vote.
Speaking of renewable resources, a proposal to make harvesting
rainwater
for non-potable uses like flushing toilets has sailed through the House
and is now being entertained by the Senate. Also, Sen. Don Harmon's (D-Oak Park) efforts to require utilities to incorporate more solar energy into their portfolios managed to survive some recent shenanigans on the Senate Energy Committee. The deadline for SB3686 has been extended until April 15. Stay tuned.
The state’s recent legislative session brought about environmental
successes from Cook County’s landfill-expansion ban to dry cleaning
chemical restrictions, but environmental advocates in the General
Assembly and members of the 
