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Chicago Tribune
23-06-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Clean energy job training offers hope to hundreds: ‘It's changed my life'
Jordan Foley ticks off what he didn't have when he started an intensive 13-week solar job training program on the West Side: money, a bed, clothes, food. The fear that the program wouldn't be able to help him was intense, but Foley, 31, pressed on, learning the math, science and construction skills needed to wire and install rooftop solar panels. He took tests, drew up blueprints and did daily physical training: pushups, jumping jacks and solar-panel carrying exercises. And in April, his hard work paid off. He landed a job as a project administrator for a clean energy company. 'It's changed my life,' Foley said of the training program. 'It's definitely changed my life for the better.' Foley is part of the first big wave of state residents to benefit from a long-awaited network of clean energy job training hubs established under Illinois' ambitious 2021 climate law, the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act. The inclusion of job training was a major demand of environmentalists and their allies, who were determined to see Black and Latino communities share in the benefits of the clean energy economy. Eleven of 16 major training hubs statewide are now up and running, training hundreds of people. 'This moment is massive,' said Juliana Pino, interim co-executive director at the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization. 'It's really significant because before the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, communities had to fight very hard to even have (access to job training) be respected and understood.' There were 541 students enrolled in the workforce hub training classes in mid-May, and 94 who had already graduated, according to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. The program is state-funded, so it's not directly affected by President Donald Trump's attacks on renewable energy, but if opportunities in the field diminish, that could hurt graduates' job prospects, advocates said. Republicans in the U.S. Senate are currently working on a tax bill that would slash clean energy tax credits for businesses, homeowners and consumers. The House passed a similar measure last month. Among those eligible for the free training, which comes with a stipend and support services, are energy workers who have lost their jobs, people who have been in the foster care system, people who live in communities disproportionately burdened by pollution, and those who live in communities with high crime and incarceration rates. 'You're bringing in hundreds — and thousands — of people into the middle class,' said A.J. Patton Sr., CEO and managing partner of 548 Enterprise, the parent group to the nonprofit 548 Foundation, which runs the workforce hub where Foley trained. 'This is not just a workforce program. This is a public safety program. If I can take somebody off the corner and hand them a solar panel, I've changed their life,' Patton said. Under a sky hazy with Canadian wildfire smoke, 30 men and women in hard hats and neon construction vests pored over solar panels mounted on mock roofs they had built themselves. The students were considering wiring configurations, screwing in cables and responding to questions from solar master trainer Sam Garrard. In about a week, when the course at the 548 Foundation's West Side workforce hub at St. Agatha Catholic Church will conclude, the students will be able to install a solar array for a house, a car or a shop, Garrard said. 'Now they're just (taking) all their book knowledge and their hands-on knowledge that they've acquired and using it,' he said. The atmosphere was intense but supportive, with trainees calling craft-instructor manager Keith Lightfoot 'coach' and responding instantly on the one occasion when he sternly uttered a single word — 'Language!' — in response to an expletive. Among the challenges: Students have to do the math for solar arrays and learn the details of electrical wiring, according to graduate Cortez Heard, now a solar installer for a local clean energy company. 'It definitely did get challenging, but as a young man, you've got to understand it's going to be tough, and if you are ready for what you want to do, it's game on,' said Heard, 27, of Chicago. Such job training opportunities are the product of a long, hard fight in Illinois — one that can be traced back to the state's previous climate law, the Future Energy Jobs Act of 2016. The 2016 law was, in many ways ahead of its time, but it delivered some tough lessons to community organizers trying to make sure that Black and brown residents got their fair share of new jobs. 'We got our tails kicked by labor,' with many jobs and opportunities going to the relatively white construction trades, said Tony Pierce, co-pastor of Heaven's View Christian Fellowship church in Peoria and board president of Illinois People's Action, a multi-issue faith and community organization in Bloomington. The next climate bill, environmentalists and organizers vowed, would be different. They partnered with churches and social service organizations to hold community meetings across the state and hammer out a vision for what the clean energy economy should look like. Again and again, organizers heard the same thing from communities, Pino said: 'We don't want (clean energy) to be just a replica of other new industries that show up in our neighborhoods, don't give us meaningful access, and we ultimately don't see the benefits.' There was even a rallying cry: 'No climate, no equity, no deal.' In the end, Gov. JB Pritzker, a strong supporter of climate action, stepped in to help get the bill across the finish line, and the environmentalist coalition won big. The new law not only set a goal of 100% clean energy by 2050 but invested heavily in job training for people and communities that might otherwise be left behind. There are multiple workforce training programs under the Illinois climate law, including ones for people seeking union apprenticeships and for people in prison, but the workforce hubs program is the largest, and its progress has been closely watched. More than $30 million in climate-law funding has already been awarded to the workforce hubs, according to the state. Foley was basically homeless when a friend who works at the 548 Foundation told him about the solar job training program. He received a stipend for attending, and within a few weeks his caseworker was able to find him a small room to rent and even a brand-new bed to sleep in. 'That was a blessing,' he said. 'From there, I took full advantage of the program.' There were challenges: A relative died; not long after, another relative also died suddenly and prematurely. And then there was his fear of simply finishing the program. 'I didn't understand what could come from it,' Foley said. 'I was more afraid of, 'What happens when you have to go back to being hungry? What happens when you put in all of this energy, all of these days, and there is no (one) that wants to hire you?' I was very terrified of that.' Foley said he almost didn't take the final certification test, relenting only when Felicia Nixon-Gregory, the director of training and workforce development, sat down and talked with him. And then, when he graduated, it was into a dark December for clean energy. Winter, in general, isn't a good time to get hired for solar installer jobs in Illinois, and after President Donald Trump was elected in November, some clean energy employers took a wait-and-see approach to hiring. The 548 Foundation workforce hub solar training program initially had a job placement rate of 85%, which then dropped to about 50% and was inching back to 80% by mid-May, according to Patton. After he graduated, Foley found himself struggling to get paid what he was owed for short-term jobs. Still, he continued to work on issues he cared about, starting a youth ministry and volunteering at Prairie Guardians, an environmental nonprofit in Bloomington. And then, when he'd almost given up on a career in solar, he got a text from a case manager at his training program about a job at Atlanta's Dimension Energy with a $65,000 to $75,000 salary, a 10% sign-on bonus and unlimited PTO, or paid time off. 'I said, 'What is PTO?'' Foley recalled with a laugh. He had never heard of that. The company made him an offer, flew him to Atlanta to meet the team and put him up in a fancy hotel. He was worried that somehow the job, which is based in Chicago, wouldn't materialize, but then he got his company computer and corporate credit card. People told him, 'Don't mess this up,' he said. 'I was like, 'You're crazy if you think I'm going to mess any of this up,'' Foley recalled. There were high hopes for clean energy job training when the Illinois climate bill passed in 2021, and then there was frustration as year after year, the workforce hubs failed to materialize. 'This is one of the difficulties with having such nation-leading legislation,' said Francisco Lopez Zavala, an Illinois Environmental Council climate policy program associate. 'There was no other state in the U.S. to really model off in the efforts Illinois is leading in, with providing these trainings focused on the clean energy trade at such a scale, with the barrier reduction services that are offered,' he said. Among the issues, some state agencies didn't initially have enough staff, Lopez Zavala said, and even now, in some places 'it's still a struggle that we're continuing to work (on).' Pritzker's office did not respond to a written question about workforce hub delays but issued a statement saying in part, 'The idea for the CEJA workforce hubs originated with people from marginalized communities. The hubs are proof of the value of following environmental justice principles and ensuring impacted people have a seat at the table.' The services available to reduce barriers for workforce hub students can include child care, bus and gas cards, and assistance with housing and food. The idea is to give students the support they need to be productive and show up for class, said Crystal Overton, the 548 Foundation's director of student support services. A recent day found her buying clothes for the students' job interviews. 'I'm just thinking all the time, how are we preparing them for success?' Overton said. 'It needs to be a holistic approach, and not just education. It needs to be like Maslow's hierarchy of needs: Are they taken care of? Because if not, they're not going to come in open and receptive to the lesson.' The 11 regional workforce hubs that are already up and running include four in Chicago: the 548 Foundation hub with locations on the South and West sides, two Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership hubs on the South and West sides, and a Safer Foundation hub on the South Side. Classes vary, with the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership focusing on job readiness training with an emphasis on soft skills as well as an introduction to career pathways and occupations in the clean energy industry. 'Ideally, someone can walk in, not knowing anything about the different career pathways, and then make a choice: OK, do I want to be a solar panel installer or do I want to work in HVAC?' said Abram Garcia, the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership's interim associate director of program guidelines and budgets. Students can also find out which jobs they can get most quickly, he said, and for some that may be the deciding factor. Walter Alston, 35, of Chicago was drawn to construction, but at the end of his 12-week program at a Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership hub, he spread his net wider, interviewing with the electric vehicle company Rivian. He asked the questions he'd learned in the program — including ones about benefits and safety — and liked what he heard. Rivian offered him a job as a service technician, maintaining and repairing cars. He'll do five weeks of training in California, Arizona, Texas or Florida, and then move to one of those states for a permanent position. 'I thanked RW just, like, a million times,' Alston said of Revolution Workshop, the nonprofit that ran his training program. 'I thanked them, I thanked them, I thanked them.' As for Foley, he has in a sense come full circle. When he started his solar training program, talking to graduates gave him hope that this wasn't just another career dead end. Now he's the one with a job and a story to tell. During a recent video interview, Foley spoke from work, where he was on the road with some colleagues, visiting Illinois project sites. 'I'm loving it,' he said of his job. 'I'm very appreciative of where I'm at. They give me a lot of responsibility, so it's been a true life-altering experience.'
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Sangamon Co. board approves nearly $1M to help low-income residents with energy costs
SANGAMON COUNTY, Ill. (WCIA) — Two grants worth more than $900,000 were approved in Tuesday night's Sangamon County Board meeting, which aim to help low-income families with energy costs. During the meeting, the resolutions were to approve grant applications for community resources from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for the Weatherization Grant Program for the amounts of $628,554 and $365,951, respectively. In total, these grants are worth $994,505. Springfield School District invites chefs to submit recipes, create new menu options These resolutions were consolidated with two other resolutions, which were grant applications for the Sangamon County Child Advocacy Center from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, and the Illinois Criminal Justice Authority to provide coordinated investigations into child abuse. The amounts of these two grants are $296,556.91 and $233,203, bringing the four consolidated grants total to more than $1.5 million. The board voted to adopt these resolutions and to waive the 10-day filing period. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Peoria company receives money through Made in America Grant program
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — Gov. JB Pritzker announced on Wednesday that a local company will be receiving money through the Made in America Grant program. The money was given to 29 small and mid-sized manufacturers throughout the state for a combined $1.35 million in capital grant funding, according to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. Locally, GEO. J. Rothan Company, a fine wood product manufacturer in Peoria, received funding in this round of grants. The program provides matching grants up to $50,000 to help manufacturers invest in strategic projects and fuel innovation. 'Illinois is a globally-recognized manufacturing hub and the Made in Illinois Program is designed to support the small and mid-size manufacturers that make up a crucial part of our economy,' Pritzker said. 'This grant program helps companies access resources to become more competitive, enhance economic development, attract capital, and bring jobs to communities across the state. I look forward to seeing how these manufacturers utilize the program to advance innovation in their field.' The program was started in 2024 and has so far provided more than $3 million in capital grants to 69 manufacturers. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rockford named state-designated cultural district by Gov. Pritzker
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity have named Rockford as one of five State-Designated Cultural Districts, designed to preserve history and culturally significant traditions and structures. 'People in cities and towns across the state have vibrant cultural identities, and through the State-Designated Cultural Districts program, we're helping them preserve their history and traditions while promoting economic development,' said Pritzker. 'Cultural Districts reflect the diversity of our great state, and Illinois is proud to recognize their cultural significance while empowering them to expand their reach and share their culture with Illinoisans and visitors alike.' Rockford has been designated as the 'Heritage District.' 'I am proud that the City of Rockford is being recognized amongst this esteemed group of cultural district designations around the state,' said House Assistant Majority Leader Maurice West (D-Rockford). 'We are always eager to celebrate the cultural contributions of our most historic cities and towns throughout Illinois.' Northeast Chicago has been designated as 'Soul City'; Bloomington as 'City of Bloomington's Downtown Cultural District'; Northeast Chicago as 'Ukrainian Village'; and a 'Historic District of the City of Vienna' in downstate Vienna. The opportunity to become a State-Designated Cultural District was made available through a competitive Notice of Designation Opporunity, and to be eligible, applicants had to be historically impacted and at risk of losing their cultural identity due to gentrification displacement, or the COVID-19 pandemic, and have a history of economic disinvestment. Each district is eligible to apply for $3 million in funding that will be tailored to fit their individual needs to preserve their unique cultural identities. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Yahoo
Illinois state parks draw highest number of visitors in more than a decade
Illinois state parks saw more visitors in 2024 than any point in the past 15 years, according to new data from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Illinois' 290 state parks and 56 historic sites recorded more than 41 million visitors last year, which was the most in 15 years, following several significant capital projects to upgrade and improve many of the parks. Interest in state parks has been growing since the pandemic, IDNR Director Natalie Phelps Finnie said in an interview. 'During COVID, people were stir crazy, shut in, and they once again realized how important nature is to all of us,' Phelps Finnie said. An aggressive advertising campaign by the state has also helped, she said. The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity launched the state's 'Middle of Everything' marketing campaign in 2022, which promotes tourism at the state's top recreation and cultural attractions in TV commercials, billboards and online advertising. Starved Rock State Park in LaSalle County topped the list in 2024 with 2.4 million visitors coming to explore the canyons and waterfalls nestled in gorges along the Illinois River in north-central Illinois. The second-most visited park last year was Illinois Beach State Park, near Zion, with 2 million visitors. IDNR completed a major $73 million project last year to preserve the park from erosion. 'It's always been a high number of visitors, but certainly the uptick we've seen since the beach was restored and since the resort is being invested in once again and remodeled,' Phelps Finnie said. ROCKS Beach State Park holds Illinois' only undeveloped stretch of Lake Michigan shoreline, but it's subject to the ferocious waves of the lake. The conditions have sometimes eroded up to 100 feet of shoreline a year in parts of the park. To preserve the park's shoreline, IDNR's project included building 22 breakwater structures in the lake to decrease the power of the waves hitting the shore. Several of the structures are entirely submerged while others that poke out the surface of the lake are designed to provide nesting for migratory birds. The project also included extending the public beach further into Lake Michigan. Erosion had diminished the beach to come within feet of the parking lot and hotel at the park. The state also announced earlier this year it will put $60 million toward deferred maintenance projects. More than half of that will go to Starved Rock for trail improvements, facility renovations and building a new wastewater system. The department is also working on adding electric vehicle chargers at state parks and renovating the Old State Capitol in Springfield. This summer, IDNR plans to restore and upgrade the Crenshaw House in Gallatin County to include a visitor center at a location on the reverse underground railroad, where slaves were held. According to IDNR, John Crenshaw used slaves at his southern Illinois home where he manufactured salt. Crenshaw is also believed to have kidnapped freed or escaped slaves to sell them back to slavery in the South. 'We're excited that the investment is being made and these parks are getting the attention they deserve,' Phelps Finnie said. Lincoln's New Salem Historic Site in Peterburg, where the 16th president lived in his 20s, was the state's most visited historic site last year with 360,000 visitors. The site is in line for funding to repair aging buildings. IDNR announced in March it will invest $8 million to repair up to 23 replica log buildings at the site that depict how the village looked when Lincoln lived there in the 1830s. 'You have things fall into disrepair and then it dominoes,' Phelps Finnie said. 'It builds. So what was once maybe $100 million or so is now a little over $1 billion worth of deferred maintenance' across IDNR's properties.
