Midwest Carbon League

Chicago and St. Louis Metro Areas

Ongoing Projects

Chicago Clean Energy Workforce Week

Creating a responsive workforce ecosystem in Chicagoland centered around people, partnerships, and education/training to deliver measurable impact via a growing job pipeline. Including CEJA partners, this includes a database of jobs and workforce partners to make it easier to access resources at every level of the pipeline. This work will culiminate in the Chicago Clean Energy Workforce Week in 2026Q2 to bring employers, workforce trainers, and future employees together for matching/development.

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Clean Bus for All of Us

Partnering with the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) and ComEd, the Carbon League has identified three areas in South and West Chicago in need of improved bus access and electrification support. Using ESRI mapping tools, these areas were selected based on indicators such as limited existing bus access, lower income levels, poor health outcomes, employment accessibility, and low-income housing accessibility gathered from industry, city, state, county, and federal data. One corridor will be selected to launch the first phase of development with the support and leadership of area stakeholders. This work is part of a broader effort to enhance short-term ridership experience, encourage mid-term mode-shifting, and support long-term beneficial electrification in Chicago.

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Partners of the International Illinois Port District

Expanding the Partners of the Port coalition that led to the successful Clean Ports Program Grant Application ($92 million) at the International Illinois Port District (IIPD). The Carbon League is working with the IIPD to bring in key tenants, community members, and private partners/investments to expand the impact of the grant. This has a key focus of supporting the environmental justice community with jobs, education and awareness while bridging key gaps between the planned infrastructure and local energy/environmental problems.

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Transparent Community Climate Dashboard

The "Transparent Community Climate Dashboard” seeks to create an interactive, visualized dashboard that tracks a community’s progress on climate, health, energy, and equity initiatives. The dashboard aims to provide transparent metrics that stakeholders, including public officials, private organizations, and community leaders, can use to monitor progress and accountability. It integrates real-time data to support collaborative decision-making and highlights successes and gaps in achieving the city's sustainability goals. This tool is a centerpiece of The Carbon League’s strategy to drive high-impact, measurable outcomes.

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EJTC Program Support

Working to support environmental justice communities in pursuing the Great Lakes Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program. Currently working with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to complete grant applications for 1 community in each major Illinois region (North, Central, South). If you are a community in the great lakes region that would like to receive this support, please do not hesitate to reach out.

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Illinois Solar for All Expansion Support

Working to support Illinois’ Solar for All Program Expansion IPA Logistics, Lending, Storage and Enabling Upgrades, Municipal, and Program Intake Portal. This program is intended to enable low-income and disadvantaged communities to deploy or benefit from zero-emission technologies, such as solar energy. The Carbon League is providing communities of focus and data-focused equity analysis to assist Illinois in designing the next chapter of this program.

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Meet the Team

Expected Impact of 2024 Midwest Carbon League Supported Grant Proposal Submissions

2024 Maps and Reports