Halbrook Blasts Pritzker’s “Green New Giveaway” Energy LawWarns of $8 Billion Ratepayer Cost, Bureaucratic Control, and Loss of Illinois Jobs and Farmland

Springfield, IL - Governor J.B. Pritzker today signed Senate Bill 25, the so-called Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act, into law. State Representative Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville) condemned the legislation as a costly, centralized energy scheme that will raise electric bills, weaken reliability, and sacrifice Illinois jobs and farmland.

"Governor Pritzker just signed Democrats' Green New Giveaway into law," Halbrook said. "This energy package is estimated to cost Illinois ratepayers more than $8 billion, and it does nothing to make energy cleaner, more reliable, or more affordable for working families."

In addition to higher costs, Halbrook warned that the law consolidates control over Illinois' energy future into the hands of unelected bureaucrats.

"This law hands sweeping authority over Illinois energy decisions to a small group of bureaucrats appointed by the governor," Halbrook said. "Families, farmers, and job creators will be forced to live with decisions made by people who will never have to answer to voters when the lights go out or bills spike."

Halbrook criticized the legislation for sidelining Illinois' abundant natural resources-coal, oil, and natural gas-in favor of subsidized renewable mandates.

"Illinois is rich in coal, oil, and natural gas," Halbrook said. "Those resources can power our state, create long-lasting, good-paying jobs, and keep energy affordable right here at home. Instead, Democrats are pushing policies that send jobs overseas while making us more dependent on unreliable energy sources."

Halbrook also raised concerns about the growing footprint of industrial solar projects on Illinois farmland.

"Rather than producing energy and food here at home, this law accelerates the push to cover some of our most productive farm fields with Chinese-made solar panels," Halbrook said. "That's bad for food security, bad for farmers, and bad for Illinois' economy."

Halbrook reaffirmed his support for an all-of-the-above energy strategy that prioritizes affordability, reliability, domestic production, and respect for Illinois agriculture.

"Illinois families deserve energy policies grounded in reality-not ideological experiments that raise costs, centralize power, and undermine our economy," Halbrook said.