Midwest Carbon League
Chicago, Denver, and St. Louis Metro Areas
Ongoing Projects
Partners of the International Illinois Port District
Expanding the Partners of the Port coalition that led to the successful Clean Ports Program Grant Application ($92 million) at the International Illinois Port District (IIPD). The Carbon League is working with the IIPD to bring in key tenants, community members, and private partners/investments to expand the impact of the grant. This has a key focus of supporting the environmental justice community with jobs, education and awareness while bridging key gaps between the planned infrastructure and local energy/environmental problems.
Clean Bus for All of Us
The "Clean Bus for All of Us - Chicago" initiative aims to address environmental health and justice by advocating for cleaner, more sustainable public transportation. This project focuses on engaging community members, environmental advocates, and stakeholders to raise awareness and funds for transitioning to cleaner bus technology in Chicago. By emphasizing the importance of reducing pollution in heavily impacted neighborhoods, the initiative seeks to foster equity in public health outcomes while addressing climate change.
Transparent Community Climate Dashboard
The "Transparent Community Climate Dashboard” seeks to create an interactive, visualized dashboard that tracks a community’s progress on climate, health, energy, and equity initiatives. The dashboard aims to provide transparent metrics that stakeholders, including public officials, private organizations, and community leaders, can use to monitor progress and accountability. It integrates real-time data to support collaborative decision-making and highlights successes and gaps in achieving the city's sustainability goals. This tool is a centerpiece of The Carbon League’s strategy to drive high-impact, measurable outcomes.
Illinois Solar for All Expansion Support
Working to support Illinois’ Solar for All Program Expansion IPA Logistics, Lending, Storage and Enabling Upgrades, Municipal, and Program Intake Portal. This program is intended to enable low-income and disadvantaged communities to deploy or benefit from zero-emission technologies, such as solar energy. The Carbon League is providing communities of focus and data-focused equity analysis to assist Illinois in designing the next chapter of this program.
Expansion to Denver
Actively expanding to the Denver Metro Area to setup convening opportunities and task forces focused on solving problems relating to Critical Infrastructure, Equity and Resilience, Building Decarbonization, Grid Modernization, and Mobility & Clean Transportation. This would bring another state and community into The Carbon League framework.
EJTC Program Support
Working to support environmental justice communities in pursuing the Great Lakes Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program. Currently working with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to complete grant applications for 1 community in each major Illinois region (North, Central, South). If you are a community in the great lakes region that would like to receive this support, please do not hesitate to reach out.
Meet the Team
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Michael Thuis
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Jakob Reinke
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Jack Sloan
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Emma-Rose Newmeyer
Chicago Fellow - Clean Transportation Task Force Lead
Northwestern University
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Mary Skillcorn
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Spenser Nelson
2024 Maps and Reports