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Pritzker signs CRGA energy bill, costing consumers billions in higher energy rates. Governor JB Pritzker signed a controversial battery storage and energy omnibus bill into law Thursday. Senate Bill 25, also known as CRGA, is another example of flawed green energy policies that Illinois ratepayers are already all too familiar with.
Pritzker’s signing of SB 25 comes on the heels of a study released last month by three state agencies that detailed the ‘credible risk’ of electricity shortages across Illinois within the next five years.
House Minority Leader Tony McCombie blasted the misleading language of the bill and the huge cost to Illinois ratepayers.
“Governor Pritzker signed an $8 Billion energy bill today and called it ‘affordable.’ Illinois families will call it what it is when their bills arrive: expensive.
“Labeling this legislation the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act doesn’t make it affordable; it makes it misleading. This bill expands mandates, bureaucracy, and regulatory control while offering no guaranteed, near-term relief for families already struggling with some of the highest utility costs in the Midwest.
“For years, Illinois Democrats have promised that the next energy bill would finally lower bills. Instead, today’s new law keeps them waiting.
“This bill:
- Does not reduce current electric bills
- Does not add reliable baseload power fast enough to meet demand
- Does not protect families and employers from rising capacity and transmission costs
“Energy policy should be reliable, affordable, and transparent.
“House Republicans will continue pushing for an all-energy strategy that actually delivers reliable power and lower costs.”
State Representative Dave Severin issued the following statement in response to SB 25’s signing.
“As the House ranking member on the House Energy & Environment Committee, I sounded the alarm against this legislation, knowing that it does nothing to address coming energy shortages and ensure that residents and businesses will be paying higher electric bills because of it,” Severin said.
“I have been a staunch advocate for the repeal of the dangerous and costly Green New Giveaway, Green New Scam legislation that is harming our electric grid and walloping families and businesses with record-high energy prices. The pie-in-the-sky clean energy dreams of Illinois Democrats have been a nightmare for anyone who turns on a light switch or tries to heat or cool their home.”
State Representative C.D. Davidsmeyer, the GOP Spokesperson on the House Public Utilities Committee, spoke in opposition to SB 25 when it was passed during the fall Veto Session and has repeatedly warned that Illinois’ flawed energy policies would lead to energy shortages and skyrocketing electric bills for Illinois consumers.
“In 2016, the General Assembly passed the Future Energy Jobs Act. In 2021, they passed the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act. During 2025’s Veto Session, the Democrat majority passed the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act. All the while, they promised their green energy initiatives would ensure reliability and bring costs down for consumers,” said Rep. Davidsmeyer.
“The Democrat majority has doubled and now tripled down on bad, unrealistic energy policy. They haven’t provided even an inkling of a plan on how to keep the lights on. Meanwhile, downstate is littered with windmills and solar panels that are unreliable, unproductive, and subsidized by taxpayers and increased electric rates.
“Senate Bill 25 is a guaranteed rate increase that does nothing to increase energy production. The Democrats’ Green Energy Giveaway passes on $7 billion of costs to Illinois families and businesses for unproven battery storage projects.
“Their radical political agenda has crippled our power generation capacity, directly leading to the energy crisis we are facing today. Illinois needs to go back to the drawing board to change our failing energy policies. It’s time to end these Green Energy Giveaways and power Illinois with reliable energy sources, including coal, natural gas, and nuclear power.”
BUDGET
CGFA revenue report a mixed picture for December 2025. The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (CGFA) recently released its December 2025 revenue report, which showed a mixed picture regarding Illinois’ tax revenue.
In December, two key tax revenue streams showed increases from corresponding revenue numbers for the comparable year-earlier period. Personal income tax revenues were up by $271 million in December 2025, an 8.9% increase from December 2024, while sales tax revenues were up by $142 million (+13.0%), signaling relatively healthy December 2025 Christmas retail sales. Although other State revenue sources, especially corporate income tax payments and federal aid payments to Illinois, showed sharp decreases in December 2025, overall general funds money was up by $239 million from December 2024 to December 2025.
The December 2025 numbers were not directly comparable with the numbers posted in December 2024, however, because of the effects on State revenues created by the shifts in weekends and weekdays from year to year. The December 2025 monthly revenue numbers reflected economic activity of two additional cash-flow days compared with the prior year. The cash flows for January 2026 may not be as favorable as these December 2025 numbers.
JOBS
Delayed November unemployment report shows little change in Illinois’ payroll picture. The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced this week that the unemployment rate was 4.4 percent in November, unchanged from September, and down -0.5 percentage point from the same month, one year ago, based on data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The revised September unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.4 percent. There are no October unemployment rates for Illinois or the nation as labor force data for the month of October could not be collected from households during the federal government shutdown.
Total nonfarm payrolls were nearly unchanged over-the-month in November, down -9,700 (-0.2%) to 6,145,600. The September monthly change in payrolls was revised from the preliminary report, from -2,200 to -3,400. There was no October Illinois payroll jobs, unemployment rate news release due to the federal government shutdown. The November payroll jobs estimate and unemployment rate reflect activity for the week including the 12th.
The industry sectors with the largest monthly payroll jobs decreases included: Transportation and Utilities (-2,900), Leisure and Hospitality (-2,300), and Manufacturing (-1,600). The industry sectors with over-the-month jobs increases included: Construction (+1,600) and Private Education and Health Services (+800).
Compared to a year ago, total nonfarm payroll jobs decreased by -3,200 jobs. The industry groups with the largest jobs decreases included: Trade, Transportation and Utilities (-11,500), Leisure and Hospitality (-8,400), and Professional and Business Services (-8,300). The industry groups with the largest jobs increases included: Private Education and Health Services (+17,200), Construction (+9,300) and Information (+3,400). In November, total nonfarm payrolls were down -0.1 percent over-the-year in Illinois and up +0.6 percent in the nation.
The number of unemployed persons in November was 288,600, up +0.5% from September, and down -12.0% over the same month one year ago. The labor force decreased -0.3% from September and -1.6% over-the-year.
PUBLIC CORRUPTION
Michael McClain, former ComEd lobbyist convicted in Madigan corruption scheme, reports to prison. Madigan crony and former ComEd lobbyist Michael McClain reported to federal prison last week for his role in a corruption scheme involving the ex-Speaker.
According to court documents, he's reported to a federal prison in Lexington, Kentucky.
McClain is a friend and ally of former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan.
This summer he was sentenced to two years in prison for his role in a corruption scheme.
Madigan is also in a federal prison camp in Morgantown, West Virginia. He's been sentenced to seven and a half years in prison.
STATE GOVERNMENT
More agency mismanagement under the Pritzker administration. In a bombshell report, a major State agency has admitted exposing the health care-related names and addresses of 670,000 Illinois residents.
The names and addresses of thousands of patients of the Illinois Department of Human Services were incorrectly made publicly viewable for the last several years, the agency said Friday.
Several maps created to assist the agency with decisions — like where to open new offices and allocate certain resources — were made public through incorrect privacy settings between 2021 and 2025, the Department of Human Services said in a statement.
More than 32,000 customers with the IDHS division of rehabilitation services had information publicly viewable between April 2021 and September 2025. The information included names, addresses, case numbers, case status, referral source information, region and office information and status as Division of Rehabilitation Services recipients, the agency said.
Around 670,000 Medicaid and Medicare Savings Program recipients had their addresses, case numbers, demographic information and the name of medical assistance plans publicly viewable between January 2022 and September 2025, IDHS said.
Read more about this massive data breach from NBC-5 Chicago.