Christiana Freitag

Chicago Tribune • 6th March 2026

Graduates of Illinois clean energy workforce program gain a vision — and skills for the future

Overlooking the shoreline of Lake Michigan and an aging coal plant, a packed conference room was filled with families, advocates and Illinois legislators celebrating the graduation of two dozen newly trained clean energy workers.

“It’s not lost to me today that we’re sitting on the fifth floor of the College of Lake County in the shadow of fossil fuel energy, talking about clean energy,” said Richard Ammon, the college’s executive director of workforce initiatives. “There’s a reason we’re here, and that’s because the state of Illinois is doing some great things to ensure that we have a clean future, and this program is part of that future.”

With tears in his eyes, Alan Corea, a graduate of the latest cohort, spoke to the crowd last week, reflecting on what this achievement means to him.

“Through this journey, something changed for me,” he said. “I didn’t just gain knowledge about clean energy, equity and justice. I gained confidence, I gained discipline, I gained a vision.”

As Indiana extends coal and builds data centers, Illinois may be on the hook for neighbor’s AI boom

WHEATFIELD, Ind. — Surrounded by farmland and wetlands, three generations of the Hunter family have grown crops and raised cattle, chickens and horses in this quiet corner of northwest Indiana.

When the Hunters first started farming the 20-acre plot “this was their dream property,” said granddaughter Carly Schroeder.

But in recent decades, those fields have sat in the shadow of a massive coal-fired power plant less than a mile away. Over the years, heavy metals have leached into the farm’s soil and groundwater, Schroeder said.

An Army veteran, Schroeder returned home from active duty a year ago, hoping to put down roots near her grandmother’s farm. She believed the timing was right: The R.M. Schahfer Generating Station was expected to retire its coal operations in December.