Mayor Johnson’s plan to end natural gas hookups is dead after Council members balk

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposal to end natural gas connections in new homes and buildings is dead after a majority of City Council members opposed the idea, though City Hall says it isn’t giving up on eventually swaying alderpersons.

Johnson’s climate-fighting initiative, the Clean and Affordable Buildings Ordinance, is sitting in the Council’s Rules Committee and doesn’t appear to be moving after at least 31 alderpersons signed on to a public statement in May opposing the plan.

The statement was part of an ongoing campaign by the powerful International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150, which has opposed Johnson’s proposed ordinance from the day it was introduced, calling it a job killer.

“It’s killing a bunch of jobs at the behest of special-interest environmental groups,” said Marc Poulos, executive director of the labor management group for Local 150.

The Johnson plan would largely ban new gas hookups for cooking, heating and hot-water tanks and require electric power for new construction, including homes and large additions. Gas is a fossil fuel that contributes to carbon dioxide emissions, a major cause of global warming.

The city’s goal is to reduce carbon emissions by more than 40% by 2040. Emissions from buildings are a major contributor.

City Hall said in a statement that it is “firmly committed to continuing our work around equitable decarbonization and sustainable development,” adding that officials will meet with unions and others “as we look at how we can equitably advance the urgent solutions needed to address the climate crisis and reduce emissions.”

Poulos and other union officials acknowledge that the climate crisis is real and needs to be addressed, but they said that Johnson’s plan moved too quickly on reducing natural gas.

Local 150 also opposes a state board’s decision to halt a pipeline-replacement program by Peoples Gas that is over budget and behind schedule, raising customers’ bills.

Both efforts “put the cart before the horse,” Poulos said, because they don’t address how quickly all-electric homes and buildings running on renewable energy sources such as solar and wind will be in place.

The state has a goal of providing carbon-free energy by 2050.

Environmental advocates hope the ordinance can be brought up for debate “as soon as possible” in the future.

“The climate and health impacts of our reliance on gas continue to worsen,” said Iyana Simba, city programs director with the Illinois Environmental Council. “We’re continuing to work with the mayor’s office and other stakeholders.”