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FRACKING: Industry backers say a recent jobs survey makes the case for expanded fracking in Illinois, critics aren’t so sure about the numbers. (Midwest Energy News)

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MORE FRACKING:
• Some Illinois landowners are getting fake letters saying their leases have ended. (Carbondale Southern Illinoisan)
• Ohio drilling activity moves south. (Columbus Dispatch)
• Columbus lags other Ohio cities in supply-chain businesses. (Columbus Business First)
• Activists in Columbus push for a “community bill of rights” intended in part to limit drilling activity. (Columbus Dispatch)
• Michigan activists call for more local control of fracking sites. (MLive)

UTILITIES: The AARP opposes a Wisconsin utility’s plan to increased fixed charges: “To have the higher charge… without even turning on a light, is distressing.” (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

ALSO: NRG Energy’s David Crane says he’s “trying to win at the current model and in the future models“, and a Michigan lawmaker introduces a resolution calling for more generating capacity in the Upper Peninsula. (EnergyWire, WLUC)

EPA: Indiana officials say EPA carbon rules will “cause significant harm to Hoosiers.” (Gannett)

OIL: A study finds allowing crude oil exports would lower gasoline prices in the U.S., and federal regulators introduce new rules intended to prevent runaway oil trains. (Associated Press, The Hill)

ETHANOL: Another Iowa plant begins producing cellulosic ethanol. (Radio Iowa)

EFFICIENCY: LED streetlights aren’t just saving money, they’re changing the way cities appear and are even credited for helping reduce crime. (Forbes)

SOLAR: An anonymous donor gives $90,000 toward installing solar panels in Ypsilanti, Michigan. (Ypsilanti Courier)

COMMENTARY: The Republican Party’s secret stance on climate change, and Illinois’ fracking regulations remain “a model for how future rules-making procedures should be handled.” (io9, Bloomington Panatagraph)