Illinois Environmental Council Releases Annual Scorecard
(SPRINGFIELD, IL)—The Illinois Environmental Council (IEC) released its 2024 Legislative Environmental Scorecard today. The scorecard, which is released annually, assigns legislators a percentage score based on how they voted on bills affecting the environment. This year, 64 state representatives and 27 state senators received 100% scores based on their voting records on 31 bills during 2024 legislative business.
“There is no better tool than IEC’s annual Environmental Scorecard to evaluate whether your legislators have used their power in the General Assembly to protect you, plants, animals and our environment or to aid big polluters,” said Jen Walling, executive director of IEC. “It’s one impactful way to hold your legislators accountable for their votes while in office. As you head into the voting booth this November, lean on your legislators’ environmental voting scores to determine if they’ve earned your vote to continue representing you for another term in the Illinois General Assembly.”
The 2024 Legislative Environmental Scorecard includes 31 legislative measures. Specific priorities from this year’s scorecard include:
- Carbon Capture & Sequestration Regulations – SB1289 (Sen. Fine / Rep. A. Williams)
- Provides some of the nation’s strongest guardrails to protect our air, water, climate and communities from the risks associated with each stage of the carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) process. It includes an up to two-year moratorium on carbon pipelines and a ban on using CCS for enhanced oil recovery.
- Climate Education – HB4895 (Rep. Yang Rohr / Sen. Johnson)
- Codifies climate change as an educational requirement and allows the Illinois State Board of Education to create professional development materials for teachers.
- Large Event Facility Recycling – SB2876 (Sen. Villa / Rep. Tarver)
- Requires facilities with a capacity of 3,500 or more people to participate in recycling and composting.
- Small Plastic Bottle Act – SB2960 (Sen. Fine / Rep. Buckner)
- Reduces single-use plastic waste by preventing hotels from providing new mini toiletry bottles in guest spaces.
“We score legislators on the environmental legacy of their voting record every year, giving their constituents a powerful accountability tool when evaluating the performance of their lawmakers,” Walling added. “Every vote that impacts our environment counts, and it’s important that legislators know we, and more importantly, their constituents, are watching.”
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Since 1975, the Illinois Environmental Council (IEC) has worked to safeguard Illinois—its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends by building power for people and the environment. www.ilenviro.org