Contact:
Naomi Davis | 773-678-9541 | naomidavis@blacksingreen.org

CHICAGO, IL — The Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO) of the US Dept of Energy has selected five projects to enter a second phase of GTO’s . The project teams are selected to proceed to Budget Period 2, receiving a combined total of more than $35 million to install community-scale geothermal heating and cooling systems that they designed in their first phase of work.  The projects feature three urban/suburban communities and two rural communities that will employ a range of system sizes, technologies, and innovations—offering diverse installations that will help other communities see how they can also implement community geothermal. In partnership with property owners and the community, the geothermal systems will be installed by each team’s workforce, design and analysis, and installation experts.

The »ĆąĎĘÓƵ [BIG] project is Sustainable Chicago Geothermal, deploying an underground connected geothermal system in the city’s alleys to lower heating and cooling costs for over 200 households.  It advances BIG’s vision for energy justice projects that model clean energy and microgrid/VPP systems owned and managed by the community.  It brings together coalition partners – City of Chicago, University of Illinois, The Accelerate Group, Citizens Utility Board, Climate Jobs Illinois, dbHMS, GeoExchange, and Illinois AFL-CIO.

“BIG launched in 2007 with a goal of increasing household income and community resilience against the harms of climate crisis at neighborhood scale using the new green economy – so we’re grateful for this chance to make it manifest” said Naomi Davis, founder and CEO of »ĆąĎĘÓƵ.  “We started with a theory – our 2nd Principle of Green-Village-Building: Each village produces and stores its own energy for light, heat, and transportation, and owns its means of production…then a dozen years working for free on community environmental programs…then funding for our first energy efficiency campaign…then years of microgrid research…now this chance to do the work and share the learning – energy justice comes of age!”

"The Sustainable Chicago Geothermal Project will be a transformational investment in the West Woodlawn community," said Andrew Barbeau, President of The Accelerate Group and Principal Investigator of the project. "The effort to eliminate harmful emissions from homes and businesses, while lowering energy burden, has proven to be a community-wide challenge, and requires a community-wide solution."

Other Selected Teams

Project teams were downselected from 11 projects funded in , where coalitions selected project sites, assessed the geothermal resource and permitting needs, conducted feasibility analysis and local engagement, and identified workforce and training needs.  Other selected project locations and leads are:

· Ann Arbor, MI’s Bryant Community (City of Ann Arbor)

· Framingham, MA (Home Energy Efficiency Team [HEET])

· Hinesburg, VT (GTI Energy)

· Shawnee, OK (University of Oklahoma)

Community Geothermal Emerges in Chicago

»ĆąĎĘÓƵ led a strong coalition of community groups, government, and universities to design a community geothermal system in the West Woodlawn neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago.  The coalition selected the project site, assessed the geothermal resource and permitting needs, conducted feasibility analysis and local engagement, and identified workforce and training needs to support a community-owned heating and cooling system. The project will deploy a shared community geothermal network across multiple city blocks. The project will use geothermal energy, leveraging the Earth’s temperature to heat and cool buildings through shared underground loops that deliver heat to buildings more efficiently than gas heat, and help cool those buildings in the summer. It will develop a community-scale geothermal network in the public right-of-way that residents and businesses can opt into over time when they are ready and will begin to position neighbors as owners/managers of a transforming energy industry.  The City of Chicago, through its Department of Environment – a global leader in fighting climate change – has been an affirmative and essential partner.

Year two will focus on installing the system within the multiblock footprint and advancing neighbor knowledge of alley-to-home-to-appliance interconnectivity, comfort and cost; and cultivating the possible jobs and businesses in decarbonization, including heat pump distribution and installation; HVAC upgrade design, sales, and financing; electrical energy efficiency; and building auditing and weatherization. Households will voluntarily opt-in when ready, and will enjoy significantly lower heating and cooling costs, with the expansion of central air to homes currently without it.

BIG’s Commitment To Affordability

BIG’s selection for the US Department of Energy Phase 2 geothermal initiative advances the organization’s longstanding goal of on-the-ground solutions for energy justice.  BIG launched a Campaign To End Energy Poverty at its West Woodlawn headquarters in 2022, bringing together community advocates, technical allies, government officials, academic institutions, and philanthropic organizations to tackle the escalating issue of energy unaffordability.  The coalition introduced PURR, the People’s Utility Rate Relief Act into the 2023 Illinois General Assembly and continues to press for its passage.  The campaign also launched Community Voices, a program that recruited and trained neighbors to share opposition and ideas about unfettered gas and electric rate increases to the Illinois Commerce Commission [ICC]. Their input was cited over 50 times in the ICC’s historic rollback of 2024 utility rate increase requests and adoption of a pioneering discount rate price structure for low and moderate-income households as outlined in the PURR legislation.

Climate Crisis in America

As summarized in a recent report by the National Consumer Law Center, while the planet continues to warm, recent data from the U.S. Energy Information Unaffordability Administration confirms that unaffordability of essential utility service remains a problem for nearly 30 percent of the U.S. population.  According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the frequency, duration and intensity of extreme heat waves and associated humidity has significantly increased over the past several decades, and extreme heat is the leading cause of weather-related deaths.  Particularly vulnerable populations include older adults, households with children, low-income populations, outdoor workers, athletes, and people with disabilities and chronic illness. The most severe harms from the extreme heat waves and humidity associated with climate change fall disproportionately on underserved communities who are least able to prepare for and recover from, heat waves, poor air quality, flooding, and other impacts.  Meanwhile, electric utilities, in anticipation of increased peak energy loads, are filing significant rate increase requests across the country, arguing that substantial infrastructure investments are needed to meet the coming demand for electric vehicles, electrified buildings, and other usage sources.  

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About »ĆąĎĘÓƵ™

»ĆąĎĘÓƵ [BIG], founded in 2007 by attorney Naomi Davis, builds economies in energy, horticulture, housing, tourism, and waste as the new infrastructure and narrative for Black American communities becoming synonymous with beauty, prosperity, comfort, and joy.  It is the creator of the Sustainable Square Mile™ system [SSM] which implements its 8 Principles of Green-Village-Building™.  The 8 Principles are designed to develop walk-to-work, walk-to-shop, walk-to-learn, walk-to-play villages where African Americans own the businesses, own the land, and live the conservation lifestyle (households and homesteads which produce their own energy, grow their own food, clean their own water, and recycle their own waste).  By cultivating support for business creation and real estate ownership by neighbors, »ĆąĎĘÓƵ aims to increase Sustainable Square Mile™ household income via the new green economy and build an oasis of resilience against the harms of climate crisis, right where people live.  For more information about BIG’s geothermal program .  For general information about BIG, contact founder Naomi Davis at naomidavis@blacksingreen.org. For information about geothermal heating and cooling visit .

Media Contact:
Elza Ter-Arutyunov | 872-352-9199 | elza@blacksingreen.org

CHICAGO, IL — April 15, 2024: Last week, the Illinois Finance Authority (IFA)/Climate Bank unanimously passed a Resolution to authorize the IFA/Climate Bank’s Executive Director, Chris Meister, to administer financial assistance of up to $1.6 million through a participation loan to support community solar projects owned by the Green Energy Justice Cooperative (GEJC), a consumer-owned clean energy cooperative launched by »ĆąĎĘÓƵ and core partners. The approval paves the way for GEJC to finalize and execute the joint loan from Candide Group’s Afterglow Climate Justice Fund and the IFA/Climate Bank, thereby advancing sustainable energy initiatives in Illinois.

This significant financing decision increases the total funding to $2.9M for GEJC’s community solar projects, a portion of which is privately funded. It will enable GEJC to kickstart the pre-development phase of three industry-scale solar projects, each generating 3 megawatts DC. In total, these projects will contribute 9 megawatts of solar power, aiming to foster wealth-building and economic development in the communities where they are located. 

“We’re elated by the news — history in the making — and real-life support for a project demonstrating BIG’s 2nd Principle of Green-Village-Building which states that – each village produces and stores its own energy for light, heat, and transportation, and owns its means of production. It’s one of the 8 building blocks of our Sustainable Square Mile system being replicated across the country. We say communities should own, develop, and manage their land and energy, and with our $10M EPA Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center (TCTAC) award, BIG is offering free/open source access to our energy justice portfolio, which includes this 9MW solar project and community geothermal and wind,” said Naomi Davis, Founder and CEO of »ĆąĎĘÓƵ. “With our energy affordability bill before the Illinois General Assembly, and our energy auditing workforce launching this summer, we aim to connect the dots of community-driven, community-scale energy solutions for low and moderate-income communities across America.”

In late 2023, the Illinois Power Agency announced their Community-Driven Community Solar Project selection results for program year 2023-2024. The Agency selected the Green Energy Justice Cooperative (GEJC) to develop three industry-scale solar projects to benefit community members in Illinois. On completion, the three projects will provide a rare community ownership stake in clean energy generation and lower the energy burden of its Black, Brown, and other low- and moderate-income (LMI) beneficiaries in Aurora, Naperville, Romeoville, and surrounding communities in Illinois.  

"Thanks for Governor Pritzker’s national leadership on the equitable energy transition, through the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA). The Illinois Finance Authority/Climate Bank is proud to be able to assist private lender, Afterglow Climate Justice Fund in supporting a loan to GEJC, to our knowledge, the first BIPOC-led, Community-Driven Community Solar project in the state of Illinois,” said Chris Meister, Executive Director of the Illinois Finance Authority/Climate Bank.

Launched in 2022, GEJC is owned by its solar subscribers and supporters and serves as a vehicle towards economically and racially-just ownership of local clean energy. This unique approach ensures that low-income communities of color in Illinois have the opportunity to own their energy sources, enabling them to benefit from the economic and political power that comes with energy generation ownership. 

“We are very pleased that the board of the IFA/Climate Bank has approved the pre-development loan for our Community-Driven Community Solar project that is being developed in the Aurora, Naperville, and Romeoville areas. When this project is completed over the next couple of years, it will be the largest non-governmental, non-utility, minority-community-owned solar project in Illinois. And as such, it will be the fulfillment of years of dreams and work by our Green Energy Justice Cooperative, to share middle-class jobs and wealth-building with historically deprived and distressed individuals and families throughout this area. In doing so, it will be the beginning of lifting these kinds of individuals and families from the bottom of our economic pyramid into the middle class. And it will therefore be the beginning of bringing some closure to the Black and White wealth gap that exists in Metro-Chicago; in addition to reducing the carbon footprint in our area, to reduce climate change,” said Rev. Tony Pierce, GEJC board member and CEO of Sun Bright Energy.

“The IFA/Climate Bank board's loan approval demonstrates the continued support and commitment to GEJC’s community solar projects. This loan will unlock a new vista of state, federal, and utility funds critical to the build-out of these wealth creation assets in our communities,” said Wasiu Adesope, Sustainable Engineering Associate at »ĆąĎĘÓƵ.

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About »ĆąĎĘÓƵ™

»ĆąĎĘÓƵ (BIG) is a national network for environmental justice and economic development created to close America’s racial health/wealth gap via the new green economy using a whole-system solution for the whole-system problem common to Black communities everywhere. Their Sustainable Square Mile System™ implements their 8 Principles of Green-Village-Building™ to cultivate walk-to-work, walk-to-shop, walk-to-learn, walk-to-play villages where African American neighbors own the businesses, own the land, and live the conservation lifestyle. By building economies in energy, horticulture, housing, tourism, and waste in a walkable village, BIG works to increase household income and resilience against the harms of climate crisis for practitioners in their pilot village of West Woodlawn, Chicago and beyond. 

Launched by BIG and core partners, Green Energy Justice Cooperative (GEJC) is a consumer-owned clean energy cooperative that’s building community-owned solar power, creating jobs, clean energy enterprises, and economic and political power that come with it. 

Media Contact:
Elza Ter-Arutyunov | 872-316-0297 | elza@blacksingreen.org

CHICAGO, IL — March 15, 2024: »ĆąĎĘÓƵ (BIG) celebrates a $100,000 gift from and the donation of a smart security system to be installed at one of BIG’s properties. This gift launched a foundational relationship between »ĆąĎĘÓƵ and ADT, and was pivotal to BIG’s purchase of a new property in the West Woodlawn neighborhood of Chicago, IL.

“We’re grateful to receive such a generous gift from ADT,” said Naomi Davis, founder and CEO of »ĆąĎĘÓƵ and creator of the Sustainable Square Mile™. “It’s nice to be acknowledged for all the work BIG is doing in the community, and receive vital support to continue to grow our vision of a thriving community with our Sustainable Square Mile pilot here in West Woodlawn. Through this partnership, we hope to advance the spirit of the Black community as a beautiful, prosperous, and comfortable place, by preserving our properties and investing in a whole-system neighborhood transformation.”

ADT’s donation allowed BIG to purchase our latest property on the corner of 65th and Champlain Avenue, the previous site of the Lincoln Memorial Congregation Church, and the future site of BIG’s community center, staffing offices, and our Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center (TCTAC) office which will be accessible by the community for consultation with our staff, right in the heart of our neighborhood. In addition, this space will be a neighborhood energy and resiliency center, which will provide a safe, temperature-controlled space and other resources for our neighbors, especially those most vulnerable, in the present-day climate emergency.

“Both of our organizations are deeply committed to community resiliency in a way that enhances individual well-being and peace of mind through community connectedness. This generous donation allowed us to move quickly and secure a critical historic property that BIG will preserve, restore with best green practices, and utilize for cultural activities, events, and programs to serve the community,” said David Yocca, Director of Green Infrastructure at »ĆąĎĘÓƵ.

"Through our Safe Places program, ADT is partnering with »ĆąĎĘÓƵ (BIG) to support their innovative community development initiatives in Chicago's West Woodlawn neighborhood," said Darienne Page, Senior Manager, Corporate Social Responsibility. "BIG's holistic approach aligns with our commitment to creating safer, smarter, and more sustainable neighborhoods, and we are proud to work together to make a positive impact in the community."

ADT Safe Places is ADT’s corporate philanthropic program that works to create a world where everyone feels safe. The program provides focused, impactful giving, volunteerism, and in-kind donations to groups working to create safe, smart, and sustainable improvements to their communities. ADT Safe Places also funds employee-led groups that drive additional volunteer events and donations.

The new property acquisition advances BIG’s Sustainable Square Mile pilot, which implements our 8 Principles of Green-Village-Building - a whole-system solution for the whole-system problem common to Black communities everywhere, and considered the gold standard for Black community economic development, where African American families walk-to-work, walk-to-shop, walk-to-learn, walk-to-play, own the businesses, own the land and live the conservation lifestyle — considered the beautiful life.

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About »ĆąĎĘÓƵ

»ĆąĎĘÓƵ (BIG) is an environmental economic development non-profit that serves as a bridge and catalyst among communities and their stakeholders in the design and development of green, self-sustaining, mixed-income, walkable villages within Black neighborhoods with its Sustainable Square Mile system – designed to ensure that every household can walk-to-work, walk-to-shop, walk-to-learn, walk-to-play, own the businesses and the land, and live the conservation lifestyle. Learn more on our website at .

EVENT PHOTOS AND B-ROLL CAN BE FOUND

Media Contact:
Elza Ter-Arutyunov | 872-316-0297 | elza@blacksingreen.org

CHICAGO, IL — December 12, 2023: Last week, the Illinois Power Agency (IPA) announced their for program year 2023-2024. The agency selected the Green Energy Justice Cooperative (GEJC), a consumer-owned clean energy cooperative launched by »ĆąĎĘÓƵ (BIG) and core partners, to develop three industry-scale solar projects at 3 megawatts DC each, totaling 9 megawatts of solar power, to benefit community members in Illinois. On completion, the three projects will provide a rare community ownership stake in clean energy generation and lower the energy burden of its Black, Brown, and other low- and moderate-income (LMI) beneficiaries in Aurora, Naperville, Romeoville, and surrounding communities in Illinois. Similar developments by BIG are planned for Cook and Kankakee counties. The estimated value of this renewable energy credit award is $12.5M.

»ĆąĎĘÓƵ projects ranked 1st, 2nd, and 4th in the Illinois Shines competitive process and validated years of investment by BIG to fulfill its 2nd Principle of Green-Village-Building: Each village produces and stores its own energy for light, heat, and transportation, and owns its means of production.

"It’s a culmination of more than a decade of movement alliance work to build an Illinois renewable energy industry through FEJA and CEJA legislation, and to build community-scale solutions as a Chicago Climate Action Plan partner,” said Naomi Davis, founder and CEO of BIG. This achievement adds an essential tool to BIG's Sustainable Square Mile/Energy Justice Portfolio, which it offers as open source innovation through an EPA Thriving Communities grant - along with options like village-scale microgrid and grid modernization study, neighborhood decarbonization, energy auditing workforce training, local EV charging station network, and its energy affordability bill, the People’s Utility Rate Relief Act [PURR]. "All are critical to the success of our Campaign To End Energy Poverty, which aims to expand nationally the Illinois standard of a 6% cap on household income for life-essential services of light and heat," says Davis.

When the 9-megawatt community solar project launches, it will allow LMI household subscribers without access to and/or control of a rooftop, such as renters, condominium owners, and homeowners with unsuitable roofs, to save money on their electric bills.

Subscribers of these community solar projects will see additional benefits, including: co-ownership of the solar co-op and accompanying profit sharing; a voice in the management of the clean energy cooperative; equitable workforce training and capacity development; and the opportunity to help create an equitable clean energy transition that provides meaningful benefits to people and protects the environment.

“We are delighted to have our three solar projects scored so highly by the Illinois Power Agency. This will ensure that the projects are completed and thereby demonstrate the power of solar sovereignty for ownership and wealth building by Blacks in distressed Black communities. And the power of significant middle-class job creation at scale, by Blacks in distressed Black communities,” said Rev. Tony Pierce, GEJC board member and CEO of Sun Bright Energy.

Launched in 2022, GEJC is owned by its solar subscribers and supporters and serves as a vehicle towards economically and racially-just ownership of local clean energy, where low-income communities of color own their energy and benefit from the economic and political power that comes with owning energy generation. This win ensures that the co-op is one step closer to getting the benefits of the burgeoning clean energy transition in Illinois to underserved and marginalized communities in this age of climate crisis.

The co-op was founded by BIG alongside the following coalition of mission-aligned, community-based organizations in the Chicagoland area:

â—Ź Grow Greater Englewood
â—Ź People for Community Recovery
â—Ź Southeast Environmental Task Force
â—Ź Imani Village
â—Ź Community Transformation Ministries / Sun Bright Energy LLC / Community Transformation Partnership Power (CTP-Power)
â—Ź Claretian Associates
â—Ź North Lawndale Employment Network
â—Ź Chicago Environmental Justice Network (CEJN)
â—Ź Urban Juncture
â—Ź Greenleaf Advisors

Many of these organizations have been working together on energy justice issues in the Chicago area for decades, and have been seeking to implement opportunities for community-based solar since the passage of the landmark clean energy transition legislation, the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA), that set ambitious goals for the equitable transformation of the state’s energy portfolio by the year 2050.

GEJC is also supported by partners at Cooperative Energy Futures, a Minnesota-based member-owned clean energy cooperative that has developed similar models of equitable community ownership of solar projects in their own communities.

Cooperative Energy Futures General Manager Timothy DenHerder-Thomas said "We're really excited to be supporting GEJC in bringing community-owned solar to GEJC's local communities in Illinois. Through our co-op in Minnesota, we've seen the power of this model in uniting communities around a clean energy future that works for renters and low-income households and makes sure local residents own and get the benefits too.”

The three GEJC Community-Driven Community Solar projects selected by the Illinois Power Agency will now be presented to the Illinois Commerce Commission, the Illinois public utility regulatory body in January 2024 for approval for Renewable Energy Credits (REC) contracts.

"We’re delighted to partner with »ĆąĎĘÓƵ to help create new sources of renewable energy in Aurora and Romeoville through the Green Energy Justice Co-op," said Vibhu Kaushik, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Energy, Utilities, and Storage at Prologis. "As a member of the local business community, Prologis is focused on working with our customers, local governments, and local partners like »ĆąĎĘÓƵ to help create a vibrant and sustainable economy."

“We are thrilled to hear this news as we continue our work to connect agriculture and energy projects in the proposed AgroEco District. This is a tremendous win for Chicago and further highlights why collective action works. Our communities NEED work and opportunities to support the brilliance and creativity to build a new economy that centers new concepts for commerce and energy in Black communities across the globe,” said Anton Seals, Jr., GEJC board member and Lead Steward (Executive Director) of Grow Greater Englewood.

“Given that many environmental justice communities like mine, in the far Southeast Side of Chicago, bear the brunt of climate change, this is a great opportunity to begin to undo and heal our communities from that harm,” said Olga Bautista, GEJC board member and Co-Executive Director of the Southeast Environmental Task Force.

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About »ĆąĎĘÓƵ
»ĆąĎĘÓƵ - BIG™ is a national network for environmental justice and economic development created to close America’s racial health/wealth gap via the new green economy using a whole-system solution for the whole-system problem common to Black communities everywhere. Their Sustainable Square Mile System™ implements their 8 Principles of Green-Village-Building™ to cultivate walk-to-work, walk-to-shop, walk-to-learn, walk-to-play villages where African American neighbors own the businesses, own the land, and live the conservation lifestyle. By building economies in energy, horticulture, housing, tourism, and waste in a walkable village, BIG works to increase household income and resilience against the harms of climate crisis for practitioners in their pilot village of West Woodlawn, Chicago and beyond. Launched by BIG and core partners, Green Energy Justice Cooperative (GEJC) is a consumer-owned clean energy cooperative that’s building community-owned solar power, creating jobs, clean energy enterprises, and economic and political power that come with it.

Contacts: Elza Ter-Arutyunov, »ĆąĎĘÓƵ | elza@blacksingreen.org | (872) 316-0297
Stephen Rouzer, National Consumer Law Center | srouzer@nclc.org
Sharyn Stein, EDF | sstein@edf.org | 202-905-5718

CHICAGO — Core partners of the Campaign to End Energy Poverty stand together to applaud the historic November 15th decision by the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) to create much-needed, robust discount rates for the state’s financially struggling gas utility customers, and hold gas companies accountable by reigning in their proposed gas rate hikes and spending. For low and moderate income households, prices for the life-essential service of home heat have long outpaced wage increases, exceeding the state affordability standard of 3% maximum of household income, the same standard for household electricity.

The discount rates advanced by the ICC were key components of the People’s Utility Rate Relief Act [PURR] introduced by the campaign coalition in the 2023 Illinois General Assembly, the only bill focused exclusively on energy affordability. The bill featured a comprehensive suite of revenue-neutral provisions designed to reduce light and heat costs, service disconnections, and other harms disproportionately impacting low and moderate income customers.

The final ICC orders responded to $794 million in proposed gas rate hikes by Nicor Gas, Peoples Gas, Ameren Illinois and North Shore Gas and include ground-breaking changes to business-as-usual practices by gas utilities, including:

â—Ź Adoption of the five-tiered, low-income discount rate proposals
â—Ź Decreased fixed, monthly customer charges
â—Ź An end to accelerated pipe replacements
â—Ź Significant disallowances for unjustified gas infrastructure investments
â—Ź Requirement of gas utilities to file bi-annual long-term infrastructure plans, and
â—Ź A statewide Future of Gas investigation

“Discount rates for utility customers are an urgent, common sense, proactive measure with unparalleled power to reduce energy insecurity that’s burdening millions of Illinois ratepayers – producing utility bill arrearages of over $40 million every month; causing disconnections for 1 homes with seniors, children, and the infirmed; and triggering credit dings that routinely lower customer ability to secure certain apartments, jobs, and benefits. Not a single utility program or government-funded payment support, nor all of them combined, have the power to prevent this vulnerability month-over-month like the new ICC discount rates. We’re grateful for the wisdom that applies the discount to the whole bill, across all ratepayer classes, with greatest discounts tiered to those with lowest incomes,” said Naomi Davis, founder and CEO of »ĆąĎĘÓƵ and its lobbying affiliate Green Power Alliance.

“This is a historic moment. After years of passing requested rate hikes from the utility companies without much hesitation, the ICC made a statement last week by reducing the rate hike requests and adopting crucial protections for low-income residents,” said Alexis Vaughan, Director of Justice Organizing and the Campaign to End Energy Poverty at »ĆąĎĘÓƵ. “There is still plenty of work that needs to be done, but the decision today made it clear that Illinois is moving toward a future of affordable clean energy, and we hope that legislators will follow the ICC’s lead and further protect vulnerable households from disconnection through passage of the PURR Act.”

“Each month, families across Illinois open unaffordable utility bills that force us to make difficult decisions to avoid disconnection,” said Donna Carpenter, Co-Chair of COFI’s Stepping Out of Poverty Campaign and Co-President of COFI’s POWER-PAC Illinois. “We thank the commissioners at the ICC for truly listening to us, the financially struggling utility customers, and for acknowledging that continuous rate increases are simply unaffordable for so many of us across the state. This is an amazing step in the right direction!”

“The Commission’s ground-breaking decision to adopt the recommended discount rates will help ensure Illinois’ financially struggling customers will be able to afford monthly heating bills during our long, cold winters,” said National Consumer Law Center Senior Attorney Karen Lusson, who represented COFI in the Peoples Gas/North Shore Gas and Nicor cases. “At a time when utility customers across the nation struggle daily to afford energy bills and other essentials, the Illinois Commission’s decision to specifically assess the affordability of gas utility bills creates a model for commissions across the country.”

“The Illinois Commerce Commission handed consumers an important victory today by agreeing to keep Illinois gas utilities’ unfair fixed charges in check, while simultaneously ordering the companies to implement a low-income discount rate that will set a national standard for equity and fairness. While much work remains to be done to keep down energy costs, Legal Action Chicago is proud to have helped lead this winning effort to put people over profits,” said Dan Schneider, senior attorney at Legal Action Chicago.

“It has never been more important to ensure that every customer has access to affordable energy that does not worsen climate change. These historic decisions cement Illinois’ leadership on clean energy and equity. Every dollar makes a difference to families struggling to 2 pay their bills, and every dollar invested in clean energy instead of capital-intensive fossil fuel infrastructure gets us closer to a healthy future for all,” said Christie Hicks, Senior Director for Equitable Regulatory Solutions, Environmental Defense Fund.

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About »ĆąĎĘÓƵ & Green Power Alliance
»ĆąĎĘÓƵ - BIG™ is a national network for environmental justice and economic development created to close America’s racial health/wealth gap via the new green economy using a whole-system solution for the whole-system problem common to Black communities everywhere. Their Sustainable Square Mile System™ implements their 8 Principles of Green-Village-Building™ to cultivate walk-to-work, walk-to-shop, walk-to-learn, walk-to-play villages where African American neighbors own the businesses, own the land, and live the conservation lifestyle. By building economies in energy, horticulture, housing, tourism, and waste in a walkable-village, BIG works to increase household income and resilience against the harms of climate crisis for practitioners in their pilot village of West Woodlawn, Chicago and beyond. The Green Power Alliance is its lobbying affiliate.

About the National Consumer Law Center
Since 1969, the nonprofit National Consumer Law Center® (NCLC®) has worked for consumer justice and economic security for low-income and other disadvantaged people in the U.S. through its expertise in policy analysis and advocacy, publications, litigation, expert witness services and training.

About Environmental Defense Fund
One of the world’s leading international nonprofit organizations, Environmental Defense Fund creates transformational solutions to the most serious environmental problems. To do so, EDF links science, economics, law, and innovative private-sector partnerships. With more than 3 million members and activists and offices in the United States China, India, Mexico, Indonesia and the European Union, EDF’s scientists, economists, attorneys and policy experts are working in 28 countries to turn our solutions into action. Connect with us on Twitter @EnvDefenseFund

About The Campaign To End Energy Poverty
The Campaign to End Energy Poverty was launched by »ĆąĎĘÓƵ via core partners of its lobbying affiliate, the Green Power Alliance, including the National Consumer Law Center, COFI, Legal Action Chicago, and the Environmental Defense Fund, with lobbying support from the Illinois Environmental Council. Its goal of ending energy poverty extends nationally through a national network of advocates first convened by BIG at its headquarters in July 2022 as the Black Energy Justice Retreat. Its first focus included utility regulatory reform for more balanced representation of Illinois ratepayers and model legislation for achieving America’s standard 6% cap of household income for the life-essential service delivery of utility light and heat.

Media Contact:
Elza Ter-Arutyunov, 872-316-0297, elza@blacksingreen.org
Sharyn Stein, 202-905-5718, sstein@edf.org

Washington, D.C. – October 4, 2023: Environmental Defense Fund and »ĆąĎĘÓƵ have launched a new website that will help people around the country get involved in decisions about energy for their communities.

The website, Community Voices in Energy, gives people tools to participate in energy decision-making so they can protect their health, environment, and money. These tools work with other planks of the partners’ Campaign To End Energy Poverty, which is designed to help make energy more affordable for all. The American standard is that light and heat cost about six percent of household income, but some low-income and frontline communities pay 20 percent or more.

“Everyone should have a voice in creating our clean energy future and economic participation in the benefits. For that to happen, they need the ability to help shape decisions about the energy systems they rely on,” said Naomi Davis, founder and CEO of »ĆąĎĘÓƵ and organizer of the campaign. “Our website is designed to help demystify the processes used by public utility commissions and give people the tools they need to overcome participation hurdles.”

The energy sector is one of the largest sources of climate pollution in the U.S., yet few people know how to get involved and influence the decisions public utility regulators make to govern gas and electric companies.

Low-income and frontline communities often face more consequences from energy decisions than anyone else. Communities located near polluting power plants suffer from higher-thanaverage rates of asthma and other lung diseases, lower property values, and worse air quality. At the same time, utilities have historically invested more in wealthier neighborhoods – so lowincome communities can face more blackouts, slower repairs, and less reliable service even while paying high and rising energy rates.

Community Voices in Energy provides resources to help people learn about energy issues in their area, a toolkit to help them get involved, and training to help them provide expert testimony that brings community interests into public utility hearings.

“A more just and equitable energy system is within reach, said Christie Hicks, EDF Senior Director for Equitable Regulatory Solutions. “When more people get involved in the process, it will change the information that regulators have – and that will change the way big decisions about energy are made. We hope this website will help utility regulators make rulings that lead to a more equitable, healthy, and affordable energy future for all.”

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About »ĆąĎĘÓƵ
»ĆąĎĘÓƵ (BIG) is an environmental economic development non-profit that serves as a bridge and catalyst among communities and their stakeholders in the design and development of green, self-sustaining, mixed-income, walkable villages within Black neighborhoods with its Sustainable Square Mile system – designed to ensure that every household can walk-to-work, walk-to-shop, walk-to-learn, walk-to-play, own the businesses and the land, and live the conservation lifestyle. Learn more on our website at www.blacksingreen.org.

About Environmental Defense Fund
One of the world’s leading international nonprofit organizations, Environmental Defense Fund (edf.org) creates transformational solutions to the most serious environmental problems. To do so, EDF links science, economics, law, and innovative private-sector partnerships. With more than 3 million members and offices in the United States, China, Mexico, Indonesia, and the European Union, EDF’s scientists, economists, attorneys, and policy experts are working in 28 countries to turn our solutions into action. Connect with us on Twitter @EnvDefenseFund.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 23, 2023

Media Contact:
Elza Ter-Arutyunov | 872-316-0297 | elza@blacksingreen.org

CHICAGO, IL — July 23, 2023: Residents are invited to a community celebration honoring Emmett Till’s 82nd heavenly birthday. The free event will take place on July 23 from 1:00pm to 6:00pm at the Emmett & Mamie Till-Mobley House Museum, Garden and Theatre, 6427 South St. Lawrence Avenue, in the West Woodlawn neighborhood of Chicago.

“This is our second annual birthday celebration in Emmett’s honor,” said Naomi Davis, Founder and CEO of »ĆąĎĘÓƵ (BIG). “This year is especially momentous given the new art installation by Germane Barnes and the upcoming groundbreaking to kick off the exterior renovations of the Till House Museum. We are thrilled to host this event and invite the community to join us in celebrating Emmett Till's life and legacy, and to learn more about the Till House Museum’s future plans.

The event will launch an art installation and exhibition at the Till House Museum by internationally renowned artist, Germane Barnes, titled "Be Careful, I Always Am." Inspired by the call and response of a guardian and their ward, this project highlights the necessity of care and safety in the built environment.

“The story of Emmett Till is one that many young Black males learn at a young age. To create an installation that centers the protection and care that a guardian has for their child is one that speaks to many of us that share a lineage of Chicago, the Great Migration, and an ever present and loving Mother,” said Germane Barnes, Director of Studio Barnes and Associate Professor and Director of the Master of Architecture Graduate Program at the University of Miami School of Architecture.

The Till House Museum will be surrounded by a three-story-high scaffold which represents the structure of protection Mamie provided for Emmett and their loved ones. Cladding the scaffold is a decorative vinyl wrap, inspired by Emmett's iconic tie and love for Superman comic books, which incorporates oral histories provided by Preservation Futures. At the ground level are hammocks that allow visitors to become a part of the installation. This important history canonizes the legacy of the Great Migration leading to the arrival of the Till family to the South Side of Chicago and their connection to the larger African American community.

The installation will be open to the public from July 23 - November 27, 2023, and is next door to the Till House Museum.

“In capturing the reminiscences and recollections of Till family members and neighbors, the Till House Oral History Project centers the environment of freedom, joy, and love that Emmett was raised in and that »ĆąĎĘÓƵ is working to build in West Woodlawn and beyond. Preservation is a centerpiece of BIG’s vision for the future,” said Jonathan Solomon, preservationist and partner at Preservation Futures.

The art installation and presentation by Germane Barnes is part of BIG’s July installment of the Chautauqua Woodlawn Distinguished Lecture Series, featuring wondrous topics and gifted thinkers as monthly guest lecturers, to kickstart next level Woodlawn tourism and wider enjoyment of BIG's Sustainable Square Mile beautiful life.

As a leader in sustainable community and high-performance building practices, BIG will break ground on the landmarked exterior renovation of the home on July 23. BIG has planned these exterior improvements to incorporate high-performance, net-positive green practices that meet PHIUS, Living Building Challenge (LBC) and SITES (Sustainable Sites Initiative) standards, marking a turning point in the new era of energy efficiency and sustainable communities - an integral part of our Sustainable Square Mile initiative in West Woodlawn.

Exterior renovations will include masonry repairs, door replacements, and the installation of highperformance energy-efficient windows and a biovoltaic (green/solar) roof - funded by the City of Chicago’s Adopt-a-Landmark Fund grant. This is the first phase of the building’s renovations, which will transform the landmark into a cultural heritage destination house museum, garden, and community performance theater by 2025.

Additional activities are planned for all ages including, an ice-cream bar, line dancing and lessons, petting zoo with horse and pony rides, face painting and live entertainment throughout the day featuring Dutchess the DJ, Alysha Monique & The Family Divine, Bryson Allison and Wyatt Waddell. We will also have a short presentation on BIG’s partnership with Deeply Rooted Dance Theater and the Fertile Ground Play & Casting Call, as part of our Together We Will funded project.

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About »ĆąĎĘÓƵ
»ĆąĎĘÓƵ (BIG) is an environmental economic development non-profit that serves as a bridge and catalyst among communities and their stakeholders in the design and development of green, selfsustaining, mixed-income, walkable villages within Black neighborhoods with its Sustainable Square Mile system – designed to ensure that every household can walk-to-work, walk-to-shop, walk-to-learn, walk-toplay, own the businesses and the land, and live the conservation lifestyle. Learn more on our website at www.blacksingreen.org.

Contact:
Elza Ter-Arutyunov | 872-316-0297 | elza@blacksingreen.org

CHICAGO, IL — July 17, 2023: Today, the Bezos Earth Fund announced the selection of »ĆąĎĘÓƵ (BIG) as one of the Chicago-based non-profits to receive a $1.5 million grant to support urban greening in the Chicago region. The Greening America’s Cities initiative is a new $400 million commitment to create more equitable access to urban greening in underserved U.S. communities.

“Having resources to scale BIG’s Sustainable Square Mile system means the West Woodlawn Botanic Garden, Village Farm & Arboretum can soon begin feeding households, training neighbors, launching businesses, and managing stormwater at village scale — building a horticulture economy along the way. Over time, here in the age of climate crisis, system outcomes will include increased household income and buffers of resilience,” said Naomi Davis, founder and CEO of »ĆąĎĘÓƵ and creator of the Sustainable Square Mile. It will be America’s first Black square-mile, neighborhood-based horticultural touring and teaching Botanic Garden and certified Arboretum.

BIG’s Sustainable Square Mile program implements its 8 Principles of Green-Village-Building – a whole-system solution for the whole-system problem common to Black communities everywhere, and considered the gold standard for Black community economic development, where African American families walk-to-work, walk-to-shop, walk-to-learn, walk-to-play, own the businesses, own the land and live the conservation lifestyle — considered the beautiful life.

Before the Bezos Earth Fund grant, BIG struggled to keep pace with our horticultural vision and needs, managing a substantial portfolio of ecological parcels with no program funding for staff, equipment or materials. We survived on thousands of volunteer hours and hundreds of thousands squeezed from our general operating funds over 10 years.

This grant will support our Sustainable Square Mile efforts by further developing green spaces, purchasing vacant neighborhood properties, hiring full-time staff from the neighborhood and beyond, acquiring vehicles and equipment, and advancing our sustainable green infrastructure plan through BIG’s 8 Principles of Green-Village-Building.

BIG has been implementing a rich concentration of sustainable gardens, parkways, and greenways with a range of leading-edge green infrastructure practices that are designed, installed, and stewarded to achieve high-performance characteristics for the neighborhood, including rainwater infiltration, urban cooling, biodiversity, healthy food, and beauty.

Together with economic elements, these practices embody our paradigm of GOD: Garden Oriented Development – our green infrastructure program which cultivates commercial corridors, family properties, open spaces, green careers and enterprises. To advance natural solutions while building neighbor wealth and awareness within our Sustainable Square Mile, our BIG Botanic Garden, Village Farm and Arboretum social enterprise is preparing to bring mitigation and adaptation tools and materials to the general public.

“»ĆąĎĘÓƵ serves as a national example of how community experts are in the best position to imagine and implement local solutions,” said Caroline O’Boyle, Trust for Public Land’s Associate Vice President, and Illinois State Director. “Trust for Public Land is pleased to play a role in BIG’s success and looks forward to our continued partnership.”

"Green spaces are critical for people and the planet. The Bezos Earth Fund is proud to partner with local communities and government to expand urban green spaces," said Andrew Steer, President & CEO of the Bezos Earth Fund. "In partnership, this new initiative will support historically underserved communities, supporting their health and well-being."

There is clear evidence that "greening" U.S. cities with more — and better — parks, trees, and community gardens can improve physical and mental health, increase local resilience to climate impacts like extreme heat and reduce energy consumption. Health benefits come from improved air quality, more physical activity, reduced heat, the stress reduction effect of green spaces, and the opportunities green spaces create for social interaction.

Historic systems of segregation, exclusion, and land dispossession have led to many communities living in nature-deprived areas. Consequently, these communities often do not benefit from nature’s benefits, like air and water purification, climate mitigation, or biodiversity.

The Earth Fund’s Greening America’s Cities initiative starts with community projects in five cities: Albuquerque, Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Wilmington, Delaware. It will extend through 2030 and expand to new communities, building on its earlier $300 million in funding to climate and environmental justice groups in the U.S. For more information, visit www.BezosEarthFund.org.

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About »ĆąĎĘÓƵ
»ĆąĎĘÓƵ (BIG) is an environmental economic development non-profit that serves as a bridge and catalyst among communities and their stakeholders in the design and development of green, self-sustaining, mixed-income, walkable villages within Black neighborhoods with its Sustainable Square Mile system – designed to ensure that every household can walk-to-work, walk-to-shop, walk-to-learn, walk-to-play, own the businesses and the land, and live the conservation lifestyle. Learn more on our website at www.blacksingreen.org.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 11, 2023

Media Contact:
Elza Ter-Arutyunov | 872-316-0297 | elza@blacksingreen.org

CHICAGO — Core partners of the Campaign to End Energy Poverty held a press conference to discuss the energy unaffordability crisis plaguing the state. New data issued from the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), the agency that oversees the state’s energy assistance programs, reveals the depth of the problem. Five pending utility rate increase requests and utility record profits will only exacerbate the situation.

To bring attention to this crisis, the Green Power Alliance, the lobbying affiliate of »ĆąĎĘÓƵ, the National Consumer Law Center, and other advocacy organizations called on the utilities to come to the negotiating table and work to achieve passage of the People’s Utility Rate Relief (PURR) Act - HB2172, and SB1842, a separate bill that would increase available energy assistance dollars to begin to meet the immense need throughout the state.

The PURR Act - HB 2172 – will protect the interests of Illinois consumers and keep families safe by minimizing disconnections of essential utility services for medically vulnerable populations and requiring the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) to specifically assess the impacts of utility revenue collection practices by zip code. The Bill is the product of the Campaign to End Energy Poverty, sponsored by the Green Power Alliance, the lobbying arm of »ĆąĎĘÓƵ (BIG™), and the National Consumer Law Center, with input and support from consumers and advocates from throughout the state.

“We’ve been inviting decision-makers to come to the table and work out a morally-correct bill by May 19 for months now,” said Naomi Davis, founder and CEO of »ĆąĎĘÓƵ. “In the meantime, the data keeps rolling in, painting the painful reality of the severity of the affordability crisis that affects millions of Illinois customers struggling to pay for heat and light.”

The severity of the affordability crisis is apparent in the following newly released data, proving that existing assistance programs are inadequate to meet the needs of utility customers:

â—Ź The number of LIHEAP applicants is at its highest level in several years (327,500 LIHEAP customers projected for 2023 fiscal year). Applications over the course of this program year are up approximately 31%. Only 21% of LIHEAP-eligible Illinois customers are served by the program on average. No state serves more than about 21% of the eligible low-income population.
â—Ź PIPP has been shut down since September 2022 and will be shut down to new enrollees in 2023 as well. Illinois spent $4 million more on PIPP in 2023 (11% increase) but served 21% fewer customers.
● Reconnection assistance grants spiked as of April 2023 because so many people are in crisis. Spending on reconnection assistance is up 250% this year as compared to pre-COVID years. That’s the result of a 60% increase in both the number and individual Reconnection Assistance grant amounts due to increased utility bills.
â—Ź Each utility has the largest ever (or near largest) rate increase request pending before the Commission. All electric and gas customers will likely see annual rate increases for the foreseeable future.
● Utility arrearages grew to $458 million, compared to the prior month’s $400 million level, as reported to the ICC in April.
â—Ź No utility program is solving the problem of growing arrearages reported each month or excessive energy burdens (above 6%).

“We are at crisis utility unaffordability levels in Illinois. We need the PURR Act now to end the punitive approach to revenue collection, inconsistencies in customer policies and ensure a robust discount rate that actually improves affordability and reduces energy burden,” said Karen Lusson, senior attorney with the National Consumer Law Center and manager of NCLC’s Project Stay Connected – Illinois. All the while, utilities filed for yet another rate increase with the ICC in January, with decisions coming from the ICC by the end of 2023:

â—Ź ComEd filed to increase rates by $1.5 billion over the next four years, a $17 per month increase for the average customer by 2024. Hundreds of millions in additional rate increases are expected in the year ahead;
â—Ź Ameren Electric filed for a nearly half-billion rate increase over the next four years;
â—Ź Ameren Gas filed to increase its rates by another $135 million, estimated to cost customers another $6.68 per month;
● Nicor Gas’s rates have already increased 63 percent since 2018, with a record-breaking $321 million increase now pending before the ICC, which would increase monthly bills by more than $9 per month for the average customer;
â—Ź Peoples Gas requested a $402 million rate increase in its latest filings, a monthly bill increase of about $12 per month; meanwhile nearly 20 percent of their customers are behind on unaffordable bills to the tune of $125 million.

“Each month, Illinois families are forced to make difficult decisions as to which life essentials—like food or medicine—they'll have to forego because of unaffordable utility bills,” said Rosazlia Grillier, Co-Chair, Community Organizing and Family Issues (COFI) Board of Trustees, Co-President Emeritus, POWER-PAC IL and Governing Council Leader, United Parent Leaders Action Network. “The pandemic took us to the edge, we can’t allow the utilities to push us over the cliff.”

The PURR Act is a sensible, needed and fair approach to improving energy affordability that protects our most vulnerable populations from disconnection. It provides a blueprint for ensuring customers have affordable bills. It incentivizes utilities to assist customers in accessing programs – including energy assistance and energy efficiency programs – rather than disconnect them when monthly utility bills are unaffordable. It revises the century-old punitive revenue collection practices that ignore the essential nature of utility service and punish people for being poor. The PURR Act includes the following new utility and regulatory requirements:

â—Ź Requires electric and gas utilities to provide qualified financially-struggling customers a discounted monthly rate
â—Ź Provides new protections from disconnection for medically and financially vulnerable households due to inability to pay
â—Ź Reduces high default rates on deferred payment agreements (DPAs) by making them more affordable and reasonably structured
â—Ź Requires utilities to dedicate more of existing energy efficiency budgets to low-income weatherization efforts
â—Ź Halts disconnections of pending applicants for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
â—Ź Incorporates a heat index assessment in the summertime disconnection prohibition to halt disconnections of utility customers during high humidity and heat advisories
● Halts electric and gas utilities’ current practice of accelerating disconnections of customers deemed at higher risk for nonpayment based on a black-box algorithm scoring system
â—Ź Memorializes in statute now voluntary wintertime prohibitions on disconnection from December 1 through March 31
â—Ź Requires the ICC to incorporate affordability assessments in all decisions impacting customer rates
â—Ź Requires ICC assessment of credit and collection procedures to halt disproportionate impacts on particular communities

We are grateful for all of the following partners in support of the PURR Act - HB2172:

â—Ź Chicago Environmental Justice Network (CEJN)
â—Ź Community Organizing and Family Issues (COFI)
â—Ź Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)
â—Ź Faith in Place
â—Ź Illinois Association of Community Action Agencies (IACAA)
â—Ź Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition (ICJC)
â—Ź Illinois Environmental Council (IEC)
â—Ź Little Village Environmental Justice Organization [LVEJO)
â—Ź Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
â—Ź Sierra Club Illinois
â—Ź Woodstock Institute

Legislators have until May 19th to support the PURR Act during this legislative session. Press conference organizers urged Chicago residents to contact their legislators to take action in support of the PURR Act - HB2171 and SB 1842, before the May 19 deadline.

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About »ĆąĎĘÓƵ & Green Power Alliance
»ĆąĎĘÓƵ (BIG™) is an environmental justice and economic development non-profit organization based in the Historic West Woodlawn community of Chicago, Illinois. BIG is the creator of the Sustainable Square Mile™, considered the gold standard for Black community economic development, where African American families walk-to-work, walk-to-shop, walk-to-learn, walk-to-play, own the businesses, own the land and live the conservation lifestyle. BIG teaches neighbors to be their own emergency management system in the Age of Climate Crisis by building green, self-sustaining, mixed-income, walkable-villages with economies in energy, horticulture, housing, tourism and waste. Green Power Alliance is its lobbying affiliate.

About the National Consumer Law Center
Since 1969, the nonprofit National Consumer Law Center® (NCLC®) has worked for consumer justice and economic security for low-income and other disadvantaged people in the U.S. through its expertise in policy analysis and advocacy, publications, litigation, expert witness services and training.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 13, 2023

Media Contact:
Elza Ter-Arutyunov | 872-316-0297 | elza@blacksingreen.org

Chicago, IL – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a history-making selection of finalist »ĆąĎĘÓƵ (BIG) with a strong community-based alliance to serve as one of 17 Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers (EJ TCTAC), as part of a $177M program. BIG will receive $10 million in grant funding over five years to establish technical assistance centers across EPA’s Region 5 territory, which includes 35 tribal lands, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin. The centers will provide technical assistance, training, and related support to communities and their partners with environmental justice concerns.

Partners in this innovative approach encourage frontline organizations everywhere to assume financial leadership of solutions being proposed for their communities – a simple, essential “flip the script” that properly positions them in ownership. BIG and partners worked in kinship, through a democratic process to advance this core principle of the new terms of engagement between frontline organizations and white allies, honoring our leadership as experts on the ground.

“From the frontline we do more than dream a life beyond the whole-system problem common to communities of color everywhere. Every day we rise and work to weave hard won, fragmented solutions into whole cloth. These solutions - unique and revolutionary in their approach and process - aim to “flip the script” of business as usual, and allow Black, Brown and Indigenous people to lead in all matters essential to thriving communities,” said Naomi Davis, founder and CEO of »ĆąĎĘÓƵ and creator of the Sustainable Square Mile system. “With our application we swung for the fence, and the fence was system change.”

BIG will serve as lead in the Region 5 EJ TCTAC Alliance, a collaboration with the following frontline, community-based and community serving organizations, building this program together, to provide “front-door access” for people and communities across the region seeking environmental and energy justice solutions.

â—Ź Midwest Tribal Energy Resources Association (MTERA)
â—Ź Black Environmental Leaders Association (BEL)
â—Ź Environmental Health Watch (EHW)
â—Ź School of Public Health (SPH) - University of Illinois, Chicago
â—Ź Smart Energy Design Assistance Center (SEDAC) - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Together these specialized partners provide coverage and access across the entire six-state-and-tribal geography of EPA Region 5 and are pivotal in doing the work to ensure the success of the technical assistance centers. This critical investment will guide participants toward environmental and energy justice resources through training on program development and administration, clean-energy workforce development, assistance in navigating federal grant applications and identifying alternative funding sources, and cultivation of Sustainable Square Mile systems in their communities.

“MTERA is honored to be a member of this collaborative, mission driven coalition led by »ĆąĎĘÓƵ. EJ TCTAC is essential to supporting Executive Order 13985 and ensuring that underserved communities advance clean energy, environmental and sustainability initiatives. This coalition will help Tribes in the Midwest to build internal Tribal capacity and achieve Tribal sustainability and clean energy goals,” said Daniel Wiggins, Vice-Chairperson of MTERA, Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Tribe.

“EHW is so excited to collaborate with EPA, BIG and partners working together to elevate EJ concerns, provide support and solutions that will improve communities across the country,” said Kim Foreman, CEO of Environmental Health Watch. “I wholeheartedly believe that within the Region 5 team, we have the people, skills, and talent from grassroots to academia. We must engage and include those who are impacted, execute system change approaches, and then together, we can solve the problems we’re facing as EJ communities.”

“BEL Is honored to be among the Alliance chosen for this history-making partnership with BIG. We are ready to engage in the work to bring awareness and advocate for environmental and economic justice, along with the entire Region 5 team,” said SeMia Bray, Co-Director of the Black Environmental Leaders Association.

“The Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences (EOHS) and the ChicAgo Center for Health and EnvironmenT (CACHET) at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) School of Public Health are committed to advancing environmental justice, especially in underserved communities in Chicago and across EPA Region 5,” said Serap Erdal, Associate Professor of the UIC School of Public Health. “We are looking forward to collaborating with the EPA, our partners and communities under the leadership of BIG and providing technical assistance to our Alliance members and stakeholders in this groundbreaking effort promoting equity and justice in our region.”

"The genius of the partners, guided by BIG's inspiring leadership, is to have fully expressed the spirit of the Justice40 Initiative from the know-how, perspective, and ethics of Black, Brown, and Indigenous people. Justice40 is the White House initiative that 40% of the benefits of federal investments in areas such as climate and environment flow to communities that have experienced discrimination and disadvantage. Yet it should be the communities themselves that define what Justice40 ultimately means on the ground. This powerful proposal does just that, shining brilliantly as a beacon for community-serving organizations and tribal nations everywhere," said Dr. Kyle Whyte, a professor of environmental justice at the University of Michigan and member of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council, who coordinated the dialogue and relationship-building that designed the innovative proposal.

We celebrate the strength of the Alliance and thank EPA for embracing this innovative approach. Congratulations to all of the finalists for helping to advance thriving communities for all Americans.

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About »ĆąĎĘÓƵ (BIG)
»ĆąĎĘÓƵ (BIG) is an environmental economic development non-profit that serves as a bridge and catalyst among communities and their stakeholders in the design and development of green, self-sustaining, mixed-income, walkablevillages within Black neighborhoods with its Sustainable Square Mile system – designed to ensure that every household can walk-to-work, walk-to-shop, walk-to-learn, walk-to-play, own the businesses and the land, and live the conservation lifestyle. Learn more on our website at www.blacksingreen.org.

About the Midwest Tribal Energy Resources Association
A non-profit, intertribal organization comprised of Tribes in Region 5, the Midwest Tribal Energy Resources Association (MTERA) puts nearly a decade of experience into action, focused on material social, economic, and environmental improvements for Tribes. Learn more about MTERA at www.mtera.org.

About Black Environmental Leaders Association
Envisioning an equitable and sustainable future that shifts from debilitating practices to authentic circular leadership and engagement, BEL operates a network of environmental information, resources and data relevant to communities of color. BEL’s value proposition is to Advocate, Incubate and Inform (AI 2 ). Read more about BEL at www.blackenvironmentalleaders.org.

About Environmental Health Watch
Based in Cleveland, Ohio, the vision of EHW is to see a future where all children, families, and individuals live in healthy homes and sustainable communities. EHW’s mission is to create healthy, regenerative communities by justly enriching environments and respecting the value of people and place. Read more about EHW at www.ehw.org.

About The School of Public Health, University of Illinois, Chicago
UIC’s Division of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences (EOHS) in SPH works to educate and train individuals, communities, and organizations about the environment and its hazards. UIC’s SPH implements and evaluates programs designed to protect and promote public health, health equity and environmental, energy and climate energy justice. Read more about UIC’s School of Public Health at www.publichealth.uic.edu.

About the Smart Energy Design Assistance Center (SEDAC), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
SEDAC is an applied research program and technical assistance center within the University of Illinois with a mission to decrease the energy footprint of Illinois and beyond. Since 2004, SEDAC has educated, trained, and provided energy assessments for more than 2,700 facilities and 25,000 individuals. Read more about SEDAC at www.smartenergy.illinois.edu.

Media Contact:
Elza Ter-Arutyunov | 872-316-0297 | elza@blacksingreen.org

Springfield, Ill. — A coalition of Chicago, statewide and national organizations focused on consumer rights, environmental justice, energy and the environment are joining forces to push for legislation to improve affordability of utility service in response to decades of Illinois utility rate increases with no end in sight. The People’s Utility Rate Relief Act (PURR Act, HB 2172) will protect the interests of Illinois consumers and keep families safe by minimizing disconnections of essential utility services and requiring the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) to specifically assess affordability in all of its decisions. Its chief sponsor is State Rep. Will Davis, D-Hazel Crest. The Bill is the product of the Campaign to End Energy Poverty sponsored by »ĆąĎĘÓƵ (BIG™) which held an inaugural campaign retreat at BIG’s Woodlawn headquarters in July 2022. The proposing coalition is led by BIG’s lobbying affiliate Green Power Alliance and the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC), with the support of:

• Chicago Environmental Justice Network (CEJN)
• Community Organizing and Family Issues (COFI)
• Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)
• Faith in Place
• Illinois Association of Community Action Agencies (IACAA)
• Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition (ICJC)
• Illinois Environmental Council (IEC)
• Little Village Environmental Justice Organization [LVEJO)
• Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
• Sierra Club Illinois
• Woodstock Institute

“Record utility profits, record shutoff threats, record customer debt and record utility rate increases - this is the crisis facing millions of Illinois customers struggling to pay for heat and light and we need policy makers to act now to protect them from losing these essential services,” said Naomi Davis, founder and CEO of »ĆąĎĘÓƵ. “Our PURR Act is sensible and fair – making sure customers get the assistance they need to keep monthly bills affordable and requiring utilities to assist customers in accessing programs–including energy efficiency programs–needed for them to remain connected to light and heat and reap savings and comfort from energy programs paid for on their monthly bills. Our utilities are investor-owned monopolies franchised to provide life-essential services. We must not perpetuate disparate and cumulative harms that impact financially-struggling families—particularly families of color—being asked to finance programs they can’t use, or live without heat or electricity because they can’t afford it.”

“After the monumental passage of CEJA to put Illinois on a carbon-free path, we now need to address affordability so working-class families aren’t taken advantage of,” said State Rep. Will Davis. “The PURR Act gets to the root of our energy problem rather than offering a bandaid. Then we can make the right adjustments in the regulation of our utility companies so consumers have a fairer shot.”

To address energy poverty, the PURR Act includes the following new utility and regulatory requirements:

• Provides qualified financially-struggling customers a discounted rate
• Provides new protections from disconnection for medically and financially vulnerable households due to inability to pay
• Reduces high default rates on deferred payment agreements (DPAs) by making them more affordable and reasonably structured
• Requires utilities to dedicate more of existing energy efficiency budgets to low-income weatherization efforts
• Halts disconnections of pending applicants for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
• Incorporates a heat index assessment in the summertime disconnection prohibition to halt disconnections of utility customers during high humidity and heat advisories
• Halts electric and gas utilities’ current practice of accelerating disconnections of customers deemed at higher risk for nonpayment based on a black-box algorithm scoring system
• Memorializes in statute now voluntary wintertime prohibitions on disconnection from December 1 through March 31
• Requires the ICC to incorporate affordability assessments in all decisions impacting customer rates
• Requires ICC assessment of credit and collection procedures to halt disproportionate impacts on certain communities

The current system of utility regulation does not prioritize affordability. Continually increasing customer rates and adding clean energy programs without solving for affordability is simply not sustainable, PURR Act proponents argue.

According to new utility requests filed with the ICC in January, with decisions coming from the ICC by the end of 2023:

• ComEd filed to increase rates by $1.5 billion over the next four years, a $17 per month increase for the average customer by 2024;
• Ameren Electric filed for a nearly half-billion rate increase over the next four years;
• Ameren Gas filed to increase its rates by another $135 million, estimated to cost customers another $6.68 per month;
• Nicor Gas’s rates have already increased 77 percent since 2018, with a record-breaking $321 million increase now pending before the ICC, which would increase monthly bills by more than $9 per month for the average customer;
• Peoples Gas requested a $402 million rate increase in its latest filings, a monthly bill increase of about $12 per month; meanwhile 20 percent of their customers are already behind on their bills to the tune of $100 million.

“Over the past decade, Illinois electric and gas utility rates have skyrocketed, with no relief in sight given existing regulatory law and the utilities’ most recent rate filings,” said Karen Lusson, senior attorney with the National Consumer Law Center and manager of NCLC’s Project Stay Connected – Illinois. “Monthly zip code-level data shows that communities of color in particular have been disproportionately impacted by utility disconnection policies. We need policymakers to protect the interests of financially struggling families across the State and enact the necessary protections included in the PURR Act to ensure that essential utility service is affordable and available to all Illinois households, including the most financially and medically vulnerable.”

"Communities of color are disproportionately impacted by climate change and the increasingly high cost of energy due to our dependence on dirty fuels," said Jack Darin, Director of Sierra Club Illinois. "Sierra Club supports this legislation, which will protect ratepayers and ensure their voices are included in utility regulation. This is the next critical step forward in delivering a just future for our climate and communities."

“Black and brown households, including Latine households and those of many other communities, are disproportionately impacted by utility service disconnections. Environmental racism is also carried out through excessive economic barriers to accessing basic resources like energy that are essential for families’ survival, health and comfort—and increasing rates on these families already struggling to make ends meet would only add to their burdens,” said Juliana Pino, Policy Director of the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization. “We support this bill because it will have a direct effect on keeping energy affordable for the most impacted families in Chicago and throughout the state.”

“Families across the State are forced to make difficult decisions each month as to which life essentials—like food or medicine—they'll have to forego because of unaffordable utility bills,” said Rosazlia Grillier, Co-Chair, Community Organizing and Family Issues (COFI) Board of Trustees, Co-President Emeritus, POWER-PAC IL and Governing Council Leader, United Parent Leaders Action Network. “When utility companies turn off people’s electricity or heat, they are putting that person or family at risk. This is not only an issue of consumer rights but also one of public health and family safety.”

Legislators are considering the merits of the PURR Act this spring during the current legislative session, scheduled to end May 19.

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About »ĆąĎĘÓƵ & Green Power Alliance
»ĆąĎĘÓƵ (BIG™) is an environmental justice and economic development non-profit organization based in the Historic West Woodlawn community of Chicago, Illinois. BIG is the creator of the Sustainable Square Mile™, considered the gold standard for Black community economic development, where African American families walk-to-work, walk-to-shop, walk-tolearn, walk-to-play, own the businesses, own the land and live the conservation lifestyle. BIG teaches neighbors to be their own emergency management system in the Age of Climate Crisis 4 by building green, self-sustaining, mixed-income, walkable-villages with economies in energy, horticulture, housing, tourism and waste. Green Power Alliance is its lobbying affiliate. Learn more at www.blacksingreen.org

About NCLC
Since 1969, the nonprofit National Consumer Law Center® (NCLC®) has worked for consumer justice and economic security for low-income and other disadvantaged people in the U.S. through its expertise in policy analysis and advocacy, publications, litigation, expert witness services and training.