Energy
The company said the union must accept its Tuesday contract proposal in order to end the lockout.
In Illinois, six grant awards to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the University of Illinois-Chicago that are collectively worth over $20 million — which Raoul said are to “make the electricity grid more reliable and resilient, reduce carbon emissions, and utilize domestic sources of rare earth elements and critical minerals” — were on the chopping block.
The news is a blow to Gov. JB Pritzker’s climate change-fighting goals too, as demand from AI data centers soars while wind and solar development stalls.
Almost $600 million in promised grants to businesses and local governments rescinded. The moves are politically motivated, say both Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin.
Chicago is the Boston company’s second headquarters, and Illinois is its fastest-growing market.
The state ranked 10th in the U.S. for clean energy jobs in 2024, but growth has dimmed after passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill in July.
The company is moving into a 3,500-square-foot office in the Loop, with plans for Chicago to serve as a regional hub for project development, finance and subscriber management.
The Trump administration said it would cancel 24 grants worth more than $3.7 billion, including $170 million for Chicago-based Kraft and $75 million for beverage maker Diageo.
Electric bills are about to jump by an average of $10.60 a month due to increased power demand across the country. A consumer organization also blames the electric grid operator.