Did State Sen. James Clayborne Jr. (D-East St. Louis) and Senate Energy Committee Chairman Mike Jacobs (D-Moline) try to pull the old bait-and-switch on environmental advocates last week?

Here's what happened: Friday represented the deadline for bills introduced in the Illinois Senate to either make it out of committee or fall by the wayside.  Under an unwritten agreement, the Senate Energy Committee met on Wednesday expecting that Jacobs would only hold votes on non-controversial pieces of legislation, otherwise known as "agreed" bills. But to the surprise of environmentalists in attendance, the chairman ended up advancing some controversial legislation sponsored by himself and Clayborne and opposed by the green lobbyists. Among these bills was SB 3343, which would make it easier for the oil industry to run a pipeline in Illinois. (The measure is related to the "energy to jobs" bill that Clayborne proposed at the behest of the state's Chamber of Commerce last year).  Jacobs' SB 3388 also passed out of committee, which would relax the requirements for nuclear waste storage.

Meanwhile, Jacobs failed to call any of the bills supported by local environmentalists.

In light of this industry-friendly maneuver, it's worth noting that Clayborne snagged $121,634 from electric utilities during the last election cycle; only House Speaker Michael Madigan and House Republican Leader Tom Cross received more from the sector.  Clayborne also shared some of his fundraising wealth with Jacobs, transferring $20,000 into his colleague's campaign fund in 2008.

The "postponed" measures included SB 3686, sponsored by State Sen. Don Harmon (D-Oak Park), which would force utility companies to incorporate a greater share of solar power into their renewable energy supply. As regular readers may recall from our reporting last month, increasing the state's solar capacity topped Illinois environmentalists' agenda this session.

Speaking to us late last week, Harmon chalked up Wednesday's events to a "miscommunication." "I think under the circumstances, the deadline will be extended," Harmon said.  Indeed, late on Friday, the committee moved back the deadline for that particular bill to March 19.

Another legislative priority that environmentalists had hoped to see salvaged was State Sen. Michael Bond's (D-Grayslake) SB 3426, which would strengthen net metering rules to allow homeowners and small businesses to sell back renewable energy they generate themselves.  Unlike Harmon's bill, this measure doesn't appear to have received a last-minute extension.

Harmon expects Jacobs to call another committee hearing this week.  It's not on the docket just yet, so stay tuned.