On May 21, 2024, the IPA updated the Equity Eligible Person (EEP) Form on the Illinois Energy Workforce Equity Portal. Individual residents may use this form to obtain certification of EEP status. Under the IPA Act, an EEP is a person that “would most benefit from equitable investments by the State designed to combat discrimination,” and the following criteria qualify a person as an EEP:
- Graduates or current or former participants in the Clean Jobs Workforce Network Program, Clean Energy Contractor Incubator Program, Illinois Climate Works Preapprenticeship Program, Returning Residents Clean Jobs Training Program, or the Clean Energy Primes Contractor Accelerator Program, and the solar training pipeline and multicultural jobs program created by FEJA
- Persons who are graduates of or currently enrolled in the foster care system
- Persons who were formerly incarcerated o Persons whose primary residence is in an equity investment eligible community.
The EEP form update allows third parties (such as that EEP’s employer) to complete the form on behalf of an EEP. If a third party is completing the form on behalf of an EEP, that individual EEP must first expressly grant permission for a third party to fill out the form on their behalf through an Attestation Form.