CFACT students took the fight for energy sanity straight to the Illinois State Capitol.
On May 1, National Director Nate Myers met CFACT collegian Zach Lochard in Springfield, Illinois, along with two newly recruited students: Matt Saner of Illinois State University and Conner McEleney of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Together, the group spent several hours conducting a “hill-drop,” personally delivering CFACT literature to every available Illinois state lawmaker’s office.
The students distributed a specially designed “Illinois Green Energy Fact Check” flyer challenging recent claims made by state politicians and environmental activists about the cost, reliability, and supposed benefits of Illinois’ green energy agenda. The flyer warned that “Illinois politicians and eco-activists are lying about the real cost of so-called green energy,” offering lawmakers a direct rebuttal to the rosy rhetoric surrounding clean energy policy.
One of the clearest examples came from Governor JB Pritzker, who claimed while signing the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act that Illinois is “pursuing every available option” to produce affordable, efficient, clean, and abundant energy. CFACT’s flyer stamped that claim “false,” pointing out that Illinois is not expanding energy options—it is narrowing them. Under laws like the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, Illinois is “transitioning” away from fossil fuel generation, including coal plant retirements and limits on future natural gas expansion, while prioritizing renewable energy sources that cannot provide the same consistent, on-demand power.
For the students, the day was more than a literature drop. Myers, Lochard, Saner, and McEleney navigated the Capitol building, used the underground tunnels connecting government offices, admired the ornate beauty of the building’s Gilded Age design, and toured both the House and Senate chambers. Throughout the day, lawmakers and staff they encountered were mostly friendly and thanked the students for the information, if not at the very least polite. Our students even gave a couple copies to the security guards when they showed interest.
Their effort also showed the kind of commitment that makes CFACT collegians and staffers different. Myers drove more than seven hours picking up and dropping off students to make the hill-drop possible, giving young Illinois conservatives a direct opportunity to bring free-market environmental facts into the halls of state power.
Thanks to Zach’s leadership, his recruitment of two new Illinois collegians, and the group’s willingness to spend hours walking the Capitol, every Illinois state lawmaker whose office wasn’t locked now has CFACT’s response to the state’s phony green energy talking points sitting in their office.
While left-wing climate activists lay around in the street and destroy priceless artwork, CFACT collegians are showing up where decisions are made—with candor and facts in hand.
