Illinois Legislative News: April 21, 2025
Third Reading Consulting Group
Last week was quiet in Springfield as the General Assembly was on a break following the third reading deadline. The House is set to return to session this week, while the Senate will reconvene on April 29. In these upcoming weeks the House and Senate will hear bills from the other chambers, as they approach the May 9th Opposite Chamber Committee Deadline.
As Illinois closes in on its deadline of being carbon-free by 2045, talks about the expansion of nuclear reactors are heating up. Illinois’ nuclear construction moratorium first took effect in 1987, when the state enacted a ban to prohibit the construction of new nuclear power plants until the federal government designated a permanent disposal site for high-level nuclear waste (which never occurred). This moratorium remained in place for 36 years until December 2023, when Governor J.B. Pritzker signed HB 2473 into law which lifted the ban, but only for the construction of small modular reactors (SMRs), which are generally considered more scalable and safer. This year, Illinois legislators filed SB 1527 which seeks to further remove this moratorium by removing provisions prohibiting the construction of new nuclear power reactors with a nameplate capacity of more than 300 megawatts of electricity, thereby allowing large-scale nuclear reactors to be built in the State. Governor J.B. Pritzker recently expressed his support for expanding nuclear infrastructure, stating that such projects must be done “in the right way.” This marks a potential reversal from his earlier move of limiting the size of these new nuclear plants.
Illinois currently operates more nuclear reactors than any other state. Expanding its nuclear capacity could offer a solution to both the state’s growing energy needs and its ambitious clean energy targets. The state’s landmark Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) included $700 million in funding to support the continued operation of these existing nuclear facilities. The law recognized the importance of nuclear energy as a stable, carbon-free power source—especially as the state phases out fossil fuels. As of 2023, Illinois generated 54.9% of its electricity from nuclear power, 31.6% from fossil fuels—including coal, natural gas, petroleum, and other gases—and 13.5% from renewable sources such as wind, solar, hydropower, and biomass, making Illinois the nation’s top nuclear power generator and fifth-largest electricity producer.
Important Upcoming Dates – Statewide
May 9 – Opposite Chamber Committee Deadline
May 23 – Opposite Chamber Third Reading Deadline
May 31 – Adjournment