4 new measures would tighten regulation of massive hog confinements

After the news conference, Jennifer Walling, executive director of the Illinois Environmental Council, an advocacy group, said Koehler is working with a coalition of rural legislators to get the agricultural interests to negotiate.

She called the bills a solid first step. “There’s more we’d like to do, but these are reforms we want to see enacted,” Walling said.

Read the full article here.

Read More

Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order Tuesday directing city departments to intensify scrutiny of new data centers in Chicago — a politically potent move that doesn’t unilaterally impose new limits on the fast-growing industry, but could slow its growth.
Every year, the Illinois Environmental Council (IEC) issues a voting scorecard that grades members of the Illinois General Assembly on how they voted for bills affecting the environment.
Richard Chew is joined by Dany Robles, senior legislative director at the Illinois Environmental Council (IEC); he talks about IEC's 2026 Legislative Environmental Scorecard.