By Hon. Michael P. Flanagan, Opinion Contributor
In February of this year, the City of Chicago initiated legal proceedings against several energy companies for their alleged role in causing climate change.
The suit asks for unspecified damages but certainly the onus is to give the companies the “Big Tobacco” treatment while hoping to cash out in a very big way. Apart from raking in fat stacks of cash, it also appears that the goal of this litigation is to cripple the portions of the energy sector in this country which do not fit the narrative of the environmental left.
Spurred on by a specialty California plaintiffs’ firm that has attached itself as local private counsel to most of these cases across the country – including that of Chicago – the trends of these types of suits are following an emerging pattern. Plaintiffs seek tort damages flowing from the so-called deception that energy producers have purportedly told about the emissions provided by fossil fuels and from the public nuisance they have allegedly created.
Chicagoans deserve much better from their elected leaders than a lawsuit such as this, which is frivolous on its face.
For starters, oil and gas essential for powering our modern society. Using it to fuel our everyday lives does not constitute a public nuisance since Chicago and every community engaged on lawsuits have historically been heavily dependent on these energy products.
Furthermore, while climate change has been debated and discussed since at least the Eisenhower Administration, energy companies have never engaged in a campaign of deception about emissions. In fact, hundreds, if not thousands of scientific papers have been published on the topic of climate change in the decades leading up to this lawsuit and Congress held almost 250 hearings on the topic of climate change from 1976 to 2006 alone.
The realities of everyday life also tell you that behaviors would not have changed had there been some sort of concerted campaign to mislead the public. Just ask yourself, even if energy companies had “lied” about emissions and we knew then what we know now, would Chicagoans have deemed that using gasoline interfered with the rights of the general public? Hardly.
Given all these facts, Mayor Johnson would do well to abandon this effort as soon as he can. There is a reason why those dedicated to these suits have sought relief in court and have been rebuffed in several instances. Federal courts have consistently held in several jurisdictions that climate policy must be shaped by Congress and not in the courts.
If he were wise, the mayor could make his evolution on the issue an inflection moment with to engage fossil fuel companies in a constructive dialogue to educate, share, and resolve – something helpful to all.
But he won’t.
The former social studies teacher from Elgin would do well to learn the history of his adoptive city. Successful mayors work with businesses and labor to solve the city’s problems.
The merchant fathers of the city like Palmer, Field, Ward, Woolworth, Armor, Swift, Pullman, Standard Oil, and leaders of giants like Sears and A&P in company with almost countless others have always been at hand to help shape the city and to assist. Their civic pride brought them to the table to work and not to litigate.
From the Chicago Fire to the race riots a century later, the business interests in Chicago have always stood tall in assisting the city. Mayor Johnson would serve Chicago residents well by engaging with the energy companies he is suing to pursue effective solutions for addressing climate change and drop this pointless suit. I am sure the mayor has not even reached out to ask, and that’s unfortunate. He is missing a chance to say the least.
Congressman Mike Flanagan represented the 5th District of Illinois in the historic 104th Congress. A practicing attorney, he is also a member of the Illinois State Bar.
