WorkingNation’s Green Jobs Now series is looking at green jobs opportunities and the skills neededto get those jobs across the country with a series of state-by-state reports. Next: Illinois.

"We can't outrun or hide from climate change. There is no time to lose. Illinois is taking action in the fight to stop and even reverse the damage that's been done to our climate." With those words, Gov. JB Pritzker signed the state's ambitious Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) last fall.

CEJA aims to get the state to 100% clean energy by 2050. Not only does it address climate change, it also includes significant workforce development components, including an emphasis on building a more diverse workforce with equitable access to the skills needed to get green jobs.

“Illinois is a force for good, for an environmental future we can be proud of. With economic growth and jobs woven into its fabric, this new law is the most significant step Illinois has taken in a generation toward a reliable, renewable, affordable, and clean energy future in a generation," the governor added.

“It used to be called the Rust Belt. [Illinois] is moving on an industrial scale from the past to the future by way of a green transition," says Paula DiPerna, a consultant to WorkingNation on the green economy and a special advisor to CDP, a nonprofit that works with its members to manage their environmental impacts.

"The science of climate change has now become almost universally disseminated," notes DiPerna who says green jobs are more noticeable. “Once you start thinking about it, you suddenly see it everywhere."

Green Jobs Growth in the Prairie State

“Green jobs have shown stability in Illinois in recent years,” according to our new Green Jobs Now: Illinois report, a WorkingNation and Emsi Burning Glass analysis of the green labor market in the state.

“The strong uptick in green job demand in 2021 in Illinois is an indication that the green economy in the state is strengthening. Coupled with projected demand above the national average for the next five years, there is a promising outlook for green jobs in the state.”

The report projects, in that timeframe, employment for green jobs in the state will increase by 6.5% and it finds there was demand last year for more than 9,000 new green workers in the state with the current green workforce estimated at more than 30,700.

Industries like utilities and manufacturing may be familiar sectors with green jobs, but according to the report, “We see surprising industries such as professional, scientific, and technical services coming up as having the highest demand for green workers in Illinois.” Software developers and business management analysts are among the types of occupations in this industry.

The report notes, “While we see demand across Illinois for green workers, the greatest concentration is in the Chicago metro area with 71.5% of all green job postings in 2021.”

What’s a Green Job?

It’s not always easy to recognize a green job. Some are obvious – think wind turbine technician – and some are defined by their proximity to businesses in pursuit of a cleaner, greener economy.

In our Green Jobs Now reports, we look at four different categories when we break down the opportunities in the green jobs ecosystem.

Core jobs are those “with a primary responsibility associated with the green economy.” The data indicates the top core green job in Illinois is a solar sales representative.

Enabled jobs have “primary responsibilities separate or tangential to the green economy" with a building and general maintenance technician identified as the primary job.

Not to be confused with enabled jobs, enabling jobs “aren’t associated with green tech per se, but they support the green economy.”

The report says, “Green enabling jobs run the gamut… In all, over 96 different specialized occupations were represented in the jobs identified as green enabling in Illi...