Illinois Green Members at Forefront of Huge Policy Year

Ryan Wilmington • December 15, 2025

At the start of 2025, I told our members that we can build a movement of green building advocates that can continue the progress made in Illinois for high-performance building, regardless of what happens in Washington D.C. 

 

Over the last year, you’ve proven me right. While elsewhere green building and clean energy goals have been put on pause, Illinois has continued the fight and won three huge victories that completely change the landscape for green buildings and clean energy. 

Navigating the New Landscape

Despite the new challenges, I had a couple of good reasons to be optimistic about what we could do in Illinois. 

Illinois has a strong foundation of policy initiatives helping to spur on the clean energy transition, like the Illinois Climate Bank, utility energy efficiency incentives, green workforce training hubs, and Illinois Solar for All to name a few. 

 

Just as important, we have an incredible community of building and sustainability professionals who recognize the importance and urgency of making their work and the industry as a whole greener. 

 

Communities are facing huge challenges. From addressing the affordability crisis to managing new energy demands, to improving health and resilience in the long term. We know that green buildings lower costs, create jobs, and improve health which is why we’ve leaned on our members to share their stories with policymakers around the state. 

 

Together, we made a great pitch and passed three massive pieces of legislation: the Illinois Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act (CRGA) and adoption of the Stretch Energy Codes and Healthy Buildings Ordinance (HBO) in Evanston 

Our Victories in 2025

Each of our policy wins over the last year present new, exciting opportunities for green buildings. These policies will have major effects from new clean energy incentives, ambitious decarbonization goals, and efficiency standards, but there is something else that I think is even more impressive. 

 

Our climate wins weren’t trivial or even common. Evanston was the first community in the nation to adopt a climate-related ordinance following the inauguration of new administration and in passing CRGA, Illinois was the only state to advance climate legislation this past year.  

 

The biggest impact from our victories is that we gave communities across the nation proof that major climate action is still possible. 

  

While the “what” in these policies is important, the “how” is even more crucial. There were many factors and countless strong supporters that made these victories possible, and I couldn’t be more impressed and proud of our network for being an important part of these victories.  

 

Our members took policymakers on tours of high-performance buildings, met with elected officials to share why they work on building sustainably, wrote op-eds on how passive homes are saving their clients money, collaborated with grassroots organizations, and did so much more to tell our leaders why they need to support green building policy. I’m not speculating when I say that this made a huge difference – I’ve heard it first-hand 

Creating New Momentum for Green Buildings

This year, we proved that we can still lead on sustainable, affordable buildings at the state and local level and that building professionals make a huge impact in doing so. In 2026, it is up to us to continue to build new momentum for green building policy across the state. 

 

We need every leader across the state to know that there are programs and policies to help them support affordability, sustainability, and resilience in their community. That’s why recently we launched the Illinois Clean Building Commitment. This initiative will help us find new champions for green buildings and give them a pathway to taking action. 

 

Every step we take will rely on the help of our members and I hope that you will help us continue to make an impact. We entered the year with no momentum and left it with three huge victories. 

 

Here are some ways you can get involved in 2026:  

  

  1. Sign up for our brand-new Illinois Green Policy Update Newsletter, which will bring the latest policy news and action alerts right to your inbox! 
  2. Share the Illinois Clean Building Commitment with your local officials and ask them to learn more about green buildings! 
  3. Keep a look out for our calls to action throughout the year!  

Ryan Wilmington

Policy and Communications Associate

Illinois Green Alliance

Why We're Attending the 2026 Green Schools Conference

By Twyla Neely-Streit • December 16, 2025
he mission of the Illinois Green Schools Project (IGSP)—our year-long school sustainability action and recognition program--is to empower educators, school administrators, students, and school communities to create healthy, sustainable learning environments. This work requires passion, collaboration, and informed support, and as an IGSP program coordinator, I’m always on the lookout for opportunities that help schools build the knowledge and connections needed to drive meaningful, lasting change in their buildings and districts. The Green Schools Conference has long been one of the most impactful gatherings in this space. Its focus on the intersection of environmental health, sustainability, and education makes it a uniquely valuable event for anyone working to make schools healthier and greener places for students to learn and grow. From educators, administrators, and district representatives to facilities managers, students, and community organizations, the Green Schools Conference is a powerful space to learn, collaborate, and fuel your next big idea. This year’s conference promises a rich lineup of workshops, education sessions, and networking and recognition events that speak to the needs and realities of today’s school sustainability landscape. Districts across Illinois are navigating shrinking budgets, aging infrastructure, and a newly passed state-wide law requiring the inclusion of climate education in public school curriculum starting in 2026. Therefore, I’m particularly excited to see sessions on the agenda exploring climate action and resilience planning, opportunities to connect students to sustainability career pathways, and environmental literacy in classrooms. These conversations are essential as programs like the Illinois Green Schools Project continue evolving to support schools in setting goals, tracking progress, and engaging diverse communities in sustainability work. If you’re considering attending this year, I encourage you to take a look at the agenda and explore the sessions that could support your school or organization’s goals. You’ll find no shortage of practical insights, creative ideas, and meaningful connections. I know those who attend will come away with the same clarity, inspiration, and sense of comradery that have made past conferences so influential for myself and others in the Illinois school sustainability community.

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