You have to appreciate Senator Cullerton's stick-to-it-iveness... After a "clean coal" bill he championed was voted down for the third time, he pulled a slick parliamentary move this week to keep the proposal alive. more ›

Gov. Quinn vetoed the $2.6 billion smart grid bill in September, siding with consumers who attacked the utility-backed bill for padding ComEd's profits. The clock is ticking for Springfield to amend the controversial bill. more ›

Bill Haney's film of the war between the people of Coal River Valley, WV and the energy companies literally blowing up mountains to more efficiently extract their coal, should be required viewing. more ›

In October, ran a feature story examining the possibility of "Chicago Without Coal" in the coming years. But only six months later, dramatic events throughout the region seem to be moving up the time-line on the questions the story raised. The announcement this week that the State Line Power Station could close as soon as next year, paired with recent announcements in NW Indiana and Milwaukee, as well as growing support for the Clean Power Ordinance in the City Council seems to reinforce the idea that the little black rocks' days are numbered in our neck of the woods. more ›

Amid the hullabaloo over the state income tax hike, the state Senate approved a bill that will force Illinois residents to buy roughly a quarter of their heating gas from Power Holdings of Illinois LLC, which is planning a large coal gasification plant in downstate Jefferson County. more ›

The Illinois House passed legislation Tuesday that authorized the construction of a plant that would produce synthetic natural gas (seriously, am I the only one that thinks that sounds like an oxymoron?). The bill would have required Illinois suppliers to purchase a portion of the plants production, which makes fuel from Illinois coal and petroleum refinery waste. Yesterday the state Senate put the brakes on the bill, holding it up in the Senate Executive Committee, and legislators saying the bill won't be considered until the General Assembly returns to its lame duck session in January. more ›

Amid the flurry of legislation debated and voted on, plans to build a synthetic natural gas plant on the city's South side cleared the state House of Representatives. The $3 billion plant, which will be built at 11600 S. Burley Ave. at an abandoned steel site on the Calumet River is expected to produce as much as eight percent of the state's natural gas, create 1,200 construction jobs and 200 permanent jobs at the facility. People's Gas, as well as consumer advocates, however, say that the project will end up being a bad deal for rate payers in Illinois, raising future rates in Chicago and especially in the northern suburbs. more ›

Speaking at the Illinois Department of Natural Resources office in downstate Benton, Governor Pat Quinn announced the opening of a new coal mine that will bring over 600 news jobs to the area - 300 in construction and 350 in production. The White Oak Mine #1, operated by White Oak Resources LLC, is the first of four mines that are expected to open in the area. "We know the people of Southern Illinois know how to do a mining job better than anyone else on the planet," Quinn told the crowd of locals and reporters gathered for the announcement. more ›

According to the study the plants cause more than $127 million in 2010 dollars in health damages yearly, based on 2005 emissions. Particulate matter released into the air causes cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, heart attacks, premature death and more. A spokeswoman for Midwest Generation told WBEZ that there is no tie between the plants and public health, putting the blame on traffic instead. The ELPC supports the Chicago Clean Power ordinance, which would require Midwest Generation to reduce PM pollution within 4 years. Howard Learner, executive director for the ELPC said via press release “Soot and smog from Chicago coal plants is making us sick and costing us millions. Cleaning them up is the right thing to do for our health, our environment and our economy.” more ›

Hmmm...how to make an already not-so-healthy product even worse for you? Add a shit-ton of caffeine, of course! The creators of Engobi (short for Energy Go Bites) have done just that with their new line of caffeine-infused snack chips. Each 1.5 ounce single serving bag has 140 mg of caffeine, making it stronger than a serving of brewed coffee, Redbull, espresso, regular Jessie Spano–strength caffeine pills, etc. Flavors come in Lemon Lift and Cinnamon Surge, which sounds almost as delicious as Mountain Dew flavored Doritos. more ›

The World Wildlife Fund wants us kept in the dark. They are the organizers of the worldwide Earth Hour event taking place this Saturday from 8:00 - 9:00 p.m. When the hour strikes, the hope is that as many people as possible will turn out their lights for 60 minutes in an attempt to raise awareness on the issue of global warming. more ›

Mark your calendars: For one hour on March 29th, Chicago will be in the dark. The City of Chicago and COM ED are asking businesses and residents to turn off their lights and unplug all electrical devices between 8 and 9pm on Saturday, March 29th to participate in Earth Hour, a global initiative organized by the World Wildlife Fund in which cities and communities turn out their lights to symbolize their commitment to finding climate change solutions. more ›