Federal court upholds Oak Park ordinance requiring new buildings be all electric – Chicago Tribune

Federal court upholds Oak Park ordinance requiring new buildings be all electric  Chicago Tribune

A federal court upheld Oak Park's ordinance requiring new buildings to be all-electric, rejecting a natural gas industry challenge. A federal judge ruled July 30 that Oak Park’s ordinance requiring new buildings and residences to be all electric rather than run by fossil fuels is not preempted by a federal law, rejecting a legal challenge from a coalition from the natural gas industry. U.S. District Court Judge Franklin U. Valderrama upheld Oak Park’s ordinance, that is part of the village’s Climate Ready Oak Park initiative to reduce greenhouse emissions. The ordinance has been in effect since Jan. 1, 2024. “This ruling is about doing what is right and what our planet urgently needs,” Village President Vicki Scaman said in a statement.

“In order to effectively combat the climate change negatively effecting every community across our nation and globe, we must move away from reliance on petroleum.” Clean Energy Choice Coalition, NFP, an energy advocacy group, filed the lawsuit in 2025, claiming Oak Park’s ordinance conflicted with the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act prohibiting state and local regulations concerning the energy efficient or regular use of select products. The Clean Energy Choice Coalition did not immediately respond for comment. Other courts have upheld local-cleaning policies against Energy Policy and Conservation Act preemption challenges, according to the village. Scaman said she