John Lippert

John Lippert is a freelance writer for the Chicago Tribune covering data centers, electricity grids, freight, air pollution and environmental justice. He spent 22 years as a senior writer and bureau chief at Bloomberg. He was the Detroit Free Press labor writer. Before that, he spent eight years on the assembly line at five General Motors factories in Michigan and Ohio.

A bus moves along West Wacker Drive as the sun sets on Sept. 14, 2025, in Chicago. COVID-19 relief money for transit networks is running out and 40% cuts in service across all three agencies could occur by next year, increasing fares and laying off employees if substantive state funding doesn't come to the rescue. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)

Illinois legislators poised to grapple with trains, insurance and the Bears

October 13, 2025 at 2:56 p.m.

Perhaps the most significant item on legislators' veto session to-do list is whether to implement changes and secure funding to keep buses and trains around Chicago running on time.

Acres of soybean plants on Joe and Lucy Gleespen's farm on Aug. 20, 2025, in Rosamond, Illinois. Chicago-based Invenergy is planning to build a high-voltage power transmission line from western Kansas to the Illinois-Indiana border, naming the project the Grain Belt Express, and install 140- to 160-foot towers to support the power lines rising above the Gleespens' property. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

Grain Belt Express pits Chicago businessman, politicians and farmers in power line battle

August 24, 2025 at 6:19 p.m.

Trump canceled a loan guarantee for the transmission line, but Michael Polsky has Wall Street backers and an advantage in the prospect of soaring electricity prices.

Jacob Henry watches monitors in the control room at the Clinton single-reactor nuclear power station on June 23, 2025. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

Nuclear plant deal sets stage for AI billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg to reshape Illinois energy policy

July 14, 2025 at 6:59 p.m.

New data centers are launching faster than power plants in a state already facing electricity shortages and higher prices.

An unfinished electric school bus sits in the shuttered Lion Electric school bus factory on May 24, 2025, in Joliet. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Why did Lion Electric fail? Democrats, Canada and Lion itself all played a role.

June 9, 2025 at 11:58 a.m.

Stalled government subsidies and expanding too fast contributed to closure of Joliet plant that made electric school buses.

Se está construyendo un parque solar para abastecer de energía a la planta de Pilkington Glass en Ottawa. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

En Illinois, un límite invisible determina qué tan sucia y costosa es su electricidad

May 27, 2025 at 6:48 p.m.

Como el centro y el sur de Illinois difieren de sus homólogos del norte en la forma de producir y comprar electricidad, se están quedando rezagados en la carrera por...

A solar farm is being built to provide power for the Pilkington Glass facility in Ottawa. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

In Illinois, an invisible boundary determines how dirty and costly your electricity is

May 15, 2025 at 2:35 p.m.

Because central and southern Illinois differ from the north in how they make and buy electricity, they're slipping behind in the race for cheap power, clean air and economic growth.

Brothers Don and Dan Roberts, right, talk alongside their sons Logan, left, and Ryan at their family farm in Minooka on March 19, 2025. A large data center is proposed for the land directly behind their homes and business. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Landing a data center is worth the environmental tradeoffs, Illinois towns say

March 24, 2025 at 6:55 a.m.

Data center projects use massive amounts of water and may jeopardize state's clean energy goals.

Anthony Moser and his daughters, Lucy, 10, foreground, and Sofia, 8, walk past the Corwith Intermodal Facility on their way to school along Pershing Road and St. Louis Avenue on Feb. 14, 2025. Moser is an activist who has been involved with getting air quality information to the public. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Activists anxiously await air monitors, hope Chicago isn’t backsliding on pollution promises

February 16, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

The city expects the network to go online next year but won’t have enough money to keep paying the community to help operate the monitors, publish results.

BP Whiting Refinery in Indiana on Jan. 28, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

O’Hare is Chicago’s biggest CO2 emitter; Indiana factories are region’s top polluters

February 9, 2025 at 6:19 p.m.

New database aims to help cities map out their own CO2 cuts as President Trump looks to eliminate federal programs.

A CTA Blue Line train rolls along the rails as the sun rises over Chicago and the Eisenhower Expressway near Austin Boulevard during early morning rush hour on Oct. 3, 2023. (Antonio Perez/ Chicago Tribune)

Illinois environment and labor officials seek closer ties on climate action

December 10, 2024 at 2:27 p.m.

Trip to Germany is part of effort to find common ground on mass transit, highways, electricity and emissions.

All Stories