Midwest

Illinois

Illinois passed the historic Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) in 2021, putting the state on the pathway to 100% clean energy by 2050. By 2024, Illinois cut emissions 20% from 2005 levels, but meeting the state’s 2025 climate target would require an additional 39% cut from present-day emissions. The state is a key hub for national crude oil and natural gas distribution, although in-state electricity generation from coal is declining in response to stricter emissions regulations and economic pressures.
GHG Reduction Targets
All targets relative to 2005 levels
2025
26%
Governor
J.B. Pritzker (Democrat)
House Party
Democratic Supermajority
Senate Party
Democratic Supermajority
Legislative session
1/13/26 - 5/31/26
US Climate Alliance Status
Member

29

Policies Enacted or In Progress
across 7 policy areas

39

Policy Opportunities
across 6 policy areas

Midwest

12 states
This map shows the occurrence of climate policies passed at the state-level. Higher numbers represent more climate policies enacted.

Progress by Policy Area

  • Enacted Enacted policies have been passed or established in a state by a governing body via legislation, executive orders, rules, regulations, and/or other program creation, and remain in effect.
  • In-progress In progress policies have been established in a state, but final regulations, rules, or plans are pending final approval. This also includes legislation and executive orders that require regulations to be put into effect.
  • Partially Enacted Partially enacted policies have been enacted in the state, but are missing one or more policy components. Dashboard policies cannot be considered partially enacted unless policy components are available.
  • Not Enacted Not enacted policies have not been passed or established in the state or are no longer in effect.
Glossary of Terms
The colored bars indicate the status for each policy on the Dashboard, viewed across seven policy areas.
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Greenhouse Gas Emissions Projections in Illinois

Created in partnership with

Climate Policies in Illinois

Filters
Status Policy Policy Area Policy Category Year Enacted
Enacted
Empty column

100% zero-carbon power by 2045 | 100% clean energy by 2050

Establishing Policies
Electricity
Energy Plans and Targets 2021
Not Enacted
Empty column

Electricity greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets are set by a state to limit GHG emissions in the electricity sector. These targets aim to reduce emissions by different amounts over time, often expressed as percentage relative to a baseline year.

Electricity
Energy Plans and Targets
Enacted
Empty column

Renewable Energy Access Plan

Electricity
Energy Plans and Targets 2024
Not Enacted
Empty column

States can establish some form of statewide, consolidated siting and permitting entity — typically a council or board — for renewables and/or transmission to streamline project review and prevent uncertainty in the face of local governments’ restrictions or prohibitions of renewable generation or transmission.

Electricity
Permitting and Grid Integration
Enacted
Empty column

Illinois received a B grade from Freeing the Grid.

Electricity
Permitting and Grid Integration 2023
Enacted
Empty column

The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) must make periodic updates to the Renewable Energy Access Plan (REAP) that include consideration for ATTs, in 2026 and every other year starting in 2028. As part of the REAP updates, the Commission:

- Must include an evaluation of identified and proposed transmission projects, including proposed advanced transmission technology projects

- Must develop a recommended list of transmission projects and advanced transmission technology projects that support the state's clean energy policies

- May request that utilities identify elements of the transmission system where ATTs would be beneficial

Each utility serving >200,000 customers in the state can (but is not required to) prepare an ATTs integration plan as part of the updated REAP, identifying where ATTs may be beneficial in the utility's existing transmission system, as well as capacity constraints or grid congestion in the prior 2 years where ATTs could reduce or resolve these challenges.

Electricity
Permitting and Grid Integration 2026
Not Enacted
Empty column

Rights-of-way grant certain entities (like utilities) the right to pass through or use a designated portion of another person’s property. States can empower transmission planners and state Departments of Transportation to promote and prioritize projects that colocate transmission lines in existing rights-of-way, such as along highways, to accelerate the siting and construction of new transmission.

Electricity
Permitting and Grid Integration
Partially Enacted
Empty column

The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled.

Policy Components
enacted
enacted
enacted
enacted
not-enacted
not-enacted
enacted
not-enacted
enacted
enacted
not-enacted
7/11
Electricity
Permitting and Grid Integration
Partially Enacted
Empty column

The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled.

Policy Components
enacted
enacted
enacted
not-enacted
enacted
enacted
5/6
Electricity
Incentivizing Clean Energy Resources
Enacted
Empty column

Illinois has an active community choice aggregation program, known as Municipal Aggregation.

Establishing Policies
Electricity
Incentivizing Clean Energy Resources 2009
Partially Enacted
Empty column

The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled.

Policy Components
enacted
enacted
enacted
not-enacted
enacted
4/5
Electricity
Incentivizing Clean Energy Resources
Enacted
Electricity
Incentivizing Clean Energy Resources 2026
Not Enacted
Empty column

Coal phaseouts establish a target year by which states must end coal-fired power generation.

Electricity
Coal Retirement
Not Enacted
Empty column

Coal securitization is a financing tool that allows utility companies to refinance debt they issued to build coal plants and close the facilities early without taking a financial hit or passing costs on to ratepayers.

Electricity
Coal Retirement

The State Climate Policy Dashboard tracks only passed policies and does not include bills currently proposed in legislative sessions. The website is intended to illustrate the current status of policies for each state, as well as key resources and model states for each policy.

Much of the information contained in this database is derived from the public domain, with links to resources provided. The information provided is made available solely for general information purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Click here for full Terms of Use.

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