On October 4, Alec Messina and Irina Dmitrieva asked the Supreme Court for leave to file an amicus brief on behalf of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce. The brief is in support of Grain Belt Express LLC’s (GBX) petition for leave to appeal in Concerned Citizens & Property Owners et al. v. Illinois Commerce Commission et al., No. 5-23-0271. In that case, the Fifth District reversed the Commission’s decision to grant GBX a certificate of public convenience and necessity to begin constructing the Illinois portion of a multi-state energy infrastructure project. That project would create a high-voltage direct-current electrical transmission line that would originate in Kansas, traverse Missouri and Illinois, and cross into Indiana.

In their brief, Messina and Dmitrieva point out how the 800-mile-long line would interconnect multiple regional electric grids and provide Illinois the ability to develop infrastructure that ensures the state’s businesses have reliable sources of affordable electricity. The crux of the Fifth District’s denial was about whether GBX must have all the necessary financing in place for the project prior to receiving its certificate from the Commission.

Messina, a partner in the firm’s Springfield office, helps craft innovative solutions to clients’ environmental problems. He spearheads the firm’s Government Affairs practice group and works with clients in HeplerBroom’s Environmental Law practice Group. Prior to joining HeplerBroom, he served as Director of the Illinois EPA and had also been the Governor’s Policy Adviser for Energy and Environment.

Dmitrieva, a partner in the firm’s Chicago office, is a highly experienced appellate litigator with more than 20 years of success at the federal and state appellate court levels. She has represented both private clients and governmental entities. Prior to joining HeplerBroom, she served as the sole appellate attorney for the Chicago Transit Authority, one of the largest mass transit companies in the United States.