SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – The state-mandated transition to clean energy by 2045 was the subject when activist Lori McKiernan addressed the Springfield city council Tuesday. “CWLP needs to start planning now to transition our electric fuel source from fossil fuels to clean energy. 2045 is less than twenty years away. I had heard (retired chief utility engineer) Doug Brown say in the past that CWLP would start the transition to clean energy after Dallman 4’s debt was paid off, but that is irresponsible and puts Springfield at risk for non-compliance.”

While there is not a formal proposal on the table for a landlord registry, property owners again made their case against it to the council. “Let’s be honest about the landlord registry,” said Diane Shaw. “It is meant to target out-of-state bad actors who neglect our neighborhoods, but a blanket registry … penalizes our local housing providers, and, worse, the administrative fees will unavoidably be passed down, driving up rents for our hardworking tenants.”

Also speaking was Tony Nudo (pictured, back to camera, Sept. 1), president of the Springfield Area Landlord Association. “The folks that are pushing the landlord licensing scheme don’t want to hear our views, because what they are pushing are anti-landlord and anti-tenant,” Nudo said. “And the so-called ‘Springfield problems’ are already addressed by our current ordinances.”

The council is preparing to award $1,550,000 to disadvantaged businesses from cannabis funds. $800,000 would be from cannabis tax revenues, and the rest would come from a cannabis fund balance. A final vote is next Tuesday.