Tuesday's Important Village Council Meeting -- and Why You Should Care

Action Required

Hi Community,

Our Town Winnetka has been updated and rebranded to make it easier for you to get the information you need to make informed decisions and participate. Our continued promise to you: Winnetka, simplified. With clarity, transparency, and a balanced point of view.

Let's talk about tomorrow's Village Council Meeting ... and why you should care.

While many important decisions are on the docket for the new council led by Bob Dearborn -- Elder/Centennial Beaches, Post Office Redevelopment, Ongoing Lawsuit with Lakefront Property Owners, etc. -- the proposed 30-year energy renewal agreement with the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency (IMEA) is an immediate priority.

A group of leading Winnetka residents have formed the Winnetka Future Energy Coalition (WFEC) and are advocating the Village Council pause on signing the renewal contract with IMEA. WFEC was organized by Patrick Hanley and is led by Laith Amin, Tom Barron, Teri Cross, Patrick Hanley, Roger Hochschild, Liz Kunkle, King Poor, Katie Scullion, Derek van der Vorst, Marcus Wedner, Craig Witty, and Bob Zabors. They have sent out community emails, have published their own webpage, and written an Op-Ed called "Winnetka's Dirty Secret."

WFEC is asking residents to attend tomorrow's Village Council Meeting to voice their concern.

Why This Matters to You

There are two primary purposes for IMEA, of which Winnetka is a coalition member with many other Illinois communities:

• Energy cost certainty; and
• Having a vote on the Board in a scheme that generates and distributes power

In this decision, it's important to note that our Winnetka energy grid is reliable and spot market energy is a commodity and may experience volatile pricing.

As part of this very complicated decision, there is a need for rigorous research ahead of making a 30-year renewed commitment to IMEA. As such, it has been pointed out by the Winnetka Future Energy Coalition that the Village Council is missing critical information on firm IMEA energy transition commitments. Renewing IMEA commits Winnetka to their 80% dependent high carbon footprint energy until 2055.

At a minimum, the Village Council needs an Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) from IMEA, plus the community deserves an articulation of the other choices to reinforce the "Why IMEA?":

• Investor model alternative (ComEd) where the Illinois Commerce Commission ("ICC") in Springfield approves the electric rates
• The spot market energy wholesale market (PJM), which is buying wholesale electric on the open market that experiences periods of stability and volatility

In short, as a community we want firm supplier commitments to support cost-certainty of electric supply as well as transitioning away from high-carbon footprint sources of power.

Relevant Footnotes

To inform the recommendation above, we share several relevant footnotes:

• All this is about is adapting to the state's 2030 green goal (which technically has no chance by 2030) and minimizing transition cost pain to renewable by amortizing and retiring coal dependency assets.
• IMEA needs to share with its members an Integrated Resource Plan ("IRP") to reduce and eliminate its 80% coal energy dependency.
• Winnetka generates energy and IMEA credits by operating its Tower Rd plant. Winnetka needs the diesel power generator (backup for the power plant) for the water plant regardless.
• The spot price market for power can be volatile. The IMEA scheme and rates provide wholesale power cost certainty. At any point in time the rate can be higher / lower than spot.
• We have a reliable energy distribution grid.
• The IMEA, comprising 32 municipalities, is one of a few owners of the Prairie State Energy Campus in Southern Illinois. The Prairie State facility is the dirtiest coal generation plant in the country. It mines "soft" coal, which is the highest in carbon and sulfur. It is a mine-to-mouth facility, immediately converting mined coal into a powder for the generation process.

Winnetka has 3 choices for power: a) IMEA Cooperative, b) Investor / ICC Springfield scheme, and c) Wholesale spot market (PJM). PJM is a generation and transmission model ("G&T").

Resources for Your Review

• Village of Winnetka webpage on IMEA
• Village of Winnetka Public Forums on IMEA Renewal
• IMEA Organization Website
• Prairie State Energy Website

Founded in 2024 by Ed Harney and Ian Larkin, Our Town Winnetka (OTW) was organized with a simple principle: We need to be more inclusive and transparent in our Winnetka Caucus and Government Process. (Ian Larkin, given his 2025 WCC Chairmanship, has resigned from OTW.)

Our Promise to You: Winnetka, simplified. With clarity, transparency, and a balanced point of view.