Recap: 2026 Bringing Clean Energy Home to Oak Park

*Bringing Clean Energy Home presenters and event organizers Amy Rosenthal, Sarah Moskowitz, Jen Walling, Susan Buchanan, Lindsey Roland Nieratka, Derek Eder, Pam Tate, Pari Agarwal, Macey Majkrzak*

On January 26th Oak Park Climate Action Network held our second annual “Bringing Clean Energy Home to Oak Park” event.

We gathered at the Oak Park Community Recreation Center--almost 60-strong despite the cold and dark--to remind ourselves of the power we hold and the actions we can take to fight climate change at the state and local level.

If you missed it, we captured the whole thing on video, with presentations from:

Village President Vicki Scaman
Sen Don Harmon
Rep Camille Lilly
Trustee Derek Eder
Susan Buchanan, M.D. Former Trustee
Jen Walling CEO, Illinois Environmental Council
Sarah Moskowitz Executive Director, Citizens Utility Board
Lindsey Roland Nieratka, Chief Sustainability Officer, Village of Oak Park
Mac Robinet, OPCAN

The state of climate action in 2026

Over the past several years, Illinois has become a global leader on climate, passing some of the most powerful legislation, the most innovative programs, and the most compelling advocacy for a brighter, cleaner future.

These policies and programs move beyond incremental change. For the subnational level, they are world-leading and path-breaking. Fully funding and aligning public transportation in Northern Illinois. Helping finance battery storage for new renewable additions to the grid and pioneering new "virtual power stations". This is at the leading edge of change, shifting our state's trajectory for the future we want that better serves many more Illinoisans than before.

And Oak Park? We made leaps and bounds, largely thanks to the indomitable forces of OPCAN and a forward-looking Board and Village staff. Our village has become a model regionally and nationally for its climate and sustainability pursuits--from community solar to energy efficiency grants, our gutsy electrification ordinance and more geothermal per unit area than most municipalities anywhere; from benchmarking building emissions to Rain Ready programs, an inclusive biking and transportation plan, and the forthcoming Oak Park Energy Navigator (OPEN) that will help get more homes and businesses transition to clean energy, particularly for the neighborhoods and households that need it most.

Thank you!

A huge thanks goes to the Park District and Community Recreation Center for hosting us, to our presenters, to our event hosts Pari Agarwal and Pam Tate, event volunteers Amy Rosenthal, Wendy Greenhouse, Macey Majkrzak, Cindy Klein-Banai, Laurie Bunkers, and to our event partners Citizens Utility Board (CUB), Illinois Environmental Council, Third Act Illinois, Energy Matters, and the Village of Oak Park!