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Max Touchette

Illinois Becomes Fifth State to Require Climate Change Education in Public Schools

Springfield, IL – On Friday, Governor JB Pritzker signed legislation requiring Illinois public schools to educate students on climate change starting in 2026. The law, which was championed by State Senator Adriane Johnson and State Representative Janet Yang Rohr, requires that students learn about the environmental and ecological impacts of climate change on individuals and […]

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Illinois Appellate Court Ruling Will Hinder Illinois’ Efforts to Deliver Affordable and Reliable Clean Energy

Illinois – The 5th District Appellate Court ruled today to overturn the Illinois Commerce Commission’s issuance of a Certificate of Public Convenience (CPNC) to the Grain Belt Express, a critical transmission line that would create 1,400 clean energy jobs and generate $1.3 billion in economic activity during construction in Illinois. The Illinois Commerce Commission’s unanimous approval

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Monarch butterfly license plates finally available in Illinois

After seven years in the making, the state has unveiled the monarch butterfly decal license plate. Proceeds from the decals will benefit the Illinois Department of Natural Resources’ Monarch Habitat Fund, which fosters habitats that support the beloved orange butterflies’ migratory journey south to Mexico each fall. The organization has a goal of adding 150

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Illinois Environmental Groups Applaud Vetoes by Pritzker

The decisions underscore the governor’s commitment to “choose climate action, every time.” Environmental groups in Illinois are commending Gov. JB Pritzker for vetoing bills this month that would have expanded nuclear power, given a utility first dibs on new transmission line projects and advanced a controversial highway expansion project. This comes after little luck passing

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Illinois environmentalists push for state action to protect wetlands after Supreme Court ruling rolls back federal rules

Across the country, marshes, swamps and bogs quietly soak up flood water and filter pollutants. Ecologists agree they are one of the best natural defenses against climate change. But after a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, more than half of the country’s 118 million acres of wetlands, according to estimates from the environmental firm Earthjustice, will

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Jen Walling Opinion: What Illinois can do since Supreme Court gutted federal protection of wetlands, waterways

The Supreme Court last week restricted the EPA’s ability to protect America’s waterways and wetlands. Illinois can’t afford to sit back and do nothing to protect both in our state, the head of the Illinois Environmental Council writes. Gov. J.B. Pritzker, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the Illinois Legislature must act immediately to

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Opponents Scrambling to Block Parking Meter-Style Deal Brewing in Springfield Over Proposed I-55 Expansion

Joining “Latino Voices” to discuss the proposed expansion are José Miguel Acosta Córdova, senior transportation policy analyst at the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization; Dany Robles, climate policy director at the Illinois Environmental Council; and Kate Lowe, associate professor of urban planning and policy at the University of Illinois Chicago. (Produced by Eunice Alpasan). Bills and

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Greenwashing: Avoid falling victim to misleading marketing claims of eco-friendliness

IL Environmental Council has tips on how to spot greenwashing More and more people want to be good stewards of the earth by being green and more sustainable. But despite their best efforts to research and stay informed, it’s easy to fall victim to something called greenwashing. “It’s essentially a marketing ploy by corporations and

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Illinois environmental bills seek to improve soil health, ban state use of polystyrene foam containers

Several pieces of environmental legislation are making their way through the Illinois General Assembly on what was scheduled to be the final week of the spring legislative session. The proposals range from shifting the state’s procurement requirements to a measure aimed at improving soil health on Illinois farms. But environmental advocates gave mixed reviews on

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Illinois may harbor second-worst lead problem in U.S.

Lead removal experts have long believed Illinois had the nation’s biggest network of lead water lines. But last month an Environmental Protection Agency report suggested that Florida’s inventory of lead lines (an estimated 1.16 million) exceeds our 1.04 million lines. Illinois Environmental Council’s Iyana Simba and others find that ranking dubious. Simba tells Axios there are hundreds of thousands

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Carbon capture technology draws the attention of lawmakers, environmental advocates

As Illinois considers ways to achieve its goal of relying entirely on clean energy by 2050, one technology that has courted controversy is carbon capture. Carbon capture is a method whereby carbon dioxide, a common greenhouse gas, is placed in long-term storage, usually by injection into wells in geologic formations thousands of feet underground. These

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Activists Rally at Illinois Capitol, Urging Lawmakers to Pass 9 Climate and Environmental Bills

Hundreds of environmental activists rallied at the Illinois State Capitol, urging legislators to support bills that advance environmental justice and protection and that address climate change. Advocates also delivered a letter to the governor’s office demanding tighter vehicle emissions rules. Dany Robles, climate policy director at the Illinois Environmental Council, said he’s noticed more environmental

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A federal bill with bipartisan support could bring 20x more money to Illinois conservation efforts

That manatees still swim along Florida’s coast, grizzly bears still roam the west and bald eagles still fly in North American skies is due, in large part, to the Endangered Species Act of 1973 — once described by the Supreme Court as “the most comprehensive legislation for the preservation of endangered species enacted by any nation.”

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Jen Walling: Pritzker should extend national climate leadership to nature-based solutions

Illinois is beautiful. Anyone who argues otherwise hasn’t experienced Shawnee’s Garden of the Gods at sunset, the rolling hills near the Apple River, the Mississippi River viewed from the top of the bluffs, waterfalls from Waterfall Glen in the suburbs to Ferne Clyffe in Shawnee, or Lake Michigan at sunrise. In his next term, Gov.

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