Interview with Richard Benton

CJI Director | Associate Professor
School of Labor & Employment Relations

We asked Richard, Director of the Climate Jobs Institute, a few questions about the PEPP‑CJI Fellowship to give our readers—and prospective applicants—insight into the program, its impact, and what makes an ideal fellow.

For readers who may not be familiar with the Climate Jobs Institute, how would you describe its mission—and why its work matters to communities beyond campus right now? Looking ahead, what questions or challenges are shaping CJI’s research priorities this year?

The Illinois Climate Jobs Institute exists to help Illinois navigate the clean energy transition in a way that puts workers and communities at the center. Our core mission is to generate applied, policy‑relevant research that helps reduce emissions while also creating high‑quality jobs, strengthening labor standards, and expanding economic opportunity—especially for communities that have historically been left out of decision‑making. That work matters far beyond campus because Illinois is actively implementing major climate and workforce policies right now. Decisions being made today about energy systems, training pipelines, and labor standards will shape livelihoods, local economies, and community resilience for decades. CJI’s role is to bring evidence, worker voices, and equity considerations into those decisions so the transition is not only faster, but fairer and more durable.

Several interrelated challenges are shaping our research agenda. One is how uncertainty in federal climate policy—such as changes to tax credits or funding streams—affects workers, employers, and communities on the ground in Illinois. Another is how well state investments, particularly under the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, are translating into real improvements in job quality, workforce access, and community outcomes. We’re also focused on practical implementation questions: Where are workforce gaps emerging in clean energy and building electrification? Are training systems aligned with employer demand and labor standards? How are coal‑reliant communities experiencing transition, and what supports actually make a difference? Across all of this, we’re asking not just what policies promise on paper, but how they function in practice.

What excites you most about partnering with PEPP this year, and what kinds of real-world impact do you hope a PEPP-CJI faculty fellow can help advance?

What’s most exciting about the PEPP partnership is the shared commitment to evidence that is both rigorous and usable. PEPP creates a structured bridge between faculty expertise and government decision‑making, and that aligns perfectly with CJI’s applied, stakeholder‑engaged approach. Through the PEPP‑CJI fellowship, we hope to support projects that directly inform policy design and implementation—whether that’s improving program delivery, evaluating workforce outcomes, or helping agencies anticipate unintended consequences. The goal is not just a strong research product, but research that agencies, labor partners, and communities can actually act on in real time.

Who do you think is an ideal fit for the PEPP-CJI fellowship—and what kinds of perspectives, disciplines, or lived experiences would you especially encourage to apply?

An ideal PEPP‑CJI fellow is someone who is deeply curious about how policy works in the real world and motivated to engage beyond academia. Disciplinary backgrounds might include economics, sociology, public policy, urban planning, labor studies, environmental studies, data science, or related fields—but openness to collaboration and applied problem‑solving is more important than any single method. We especially encourage applicants who bring perspectives and experience with labor markets, public agencies, or frontline communities. Scholars who have worked with unions, workforce programs, community organizations, or government partners often bring insights that strengthen both the research and its impact. Diversity of experience and perspective is a real asset in this work.