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Alex RuppenthalUnder the new measure, introduced by state Rep. Carol Sente, D-Vernon Hills, and signed into law Monday by Gov. Bruce Rauner, state agencies must request a bid for compost as part of any landscaping project that uses off-site soil. Agencies must use compost in the project if the bid is equal to or less […]

By Community Contributor tbryersSenate Bill 2606 requires Illinois government agencies entering into contracts with food vendors to adopt a policy that allows for leftover food to be donated. The policy must be circulated to all agency employees and include the names of nearby soup kitchens, food banks, and other nonprofits where the food can be

By Yvonne Kim“’I worry about how we’re placing the responsibility of reducing plastic on consumers when it really is big corporations that are making the choices,’ said Jennifer Walling, the council’s executive director. ‘It’s great that (individuals) are changing their behavior, but if we really want change it needs to be done with corporate and

By Mauricio PeñaIllinois Environmental Council Executive Director Jennifer Walling said the time to have a discussion with stakeholders in the city about reducing plastic litter in Chicago is now. While no legislation has been drafted for the state, Walling said they are looking at what other cities have done and are working with disability advocates

By Leo Ji“In January, the Alliance, together with the Shedd Aquarium and the Illinois Environmental Council, issued a joint resolution recognizing the implementation of a federal law banning plastic micro-beads from personal-care products. Even before the federal law, manufacturers had begun to voluntarily remove the micro-beads from products, Caddick said. That could also work for

By Brett Chase | Better Government Association“Quarry landfills do not have the appropriate safeguards in place to protect groundwater,” says Jennifer Walling, executive director of the Illinois Environmental Council. “The failure to pass legislation this year that would require groundwater monitoring put Illinois communities at risk.” Read the entire piece at the Chicago Sun-Times

By Daily Journal staffThe Illinois Environmental Council reports the Illinois Fiscal 2019 budget has broken “a long trend of cuts and unspent appropriations” for natural resources, with an “especially heartening” 6.7 percent increase for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. A highlight is $37 million match for the federal Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, which provides

By Alex Ruppenthal“An existing law prevents state agencies from signing food service contracts that prohibit donations. But even though agencies are permitted to donate food, they are less likely to do so without a plan in place, said Jen Walling, executive director of the Illinois Environmental Council, which helped craft the bill.” “‘The important thing

By Jim NewtonThe resolution has the support of some environmental groups in Illinois, including the Illinois Environmental Council. “With this resolution, Illinois commits to protecting people over profits, by not waiving similar environmental regulations for projects coming into our state,” Colleen Smith, legislative director of the Environmental Council. Read the entire piece at The Chicago

By Ricardo Torres“On Thursday, the Environmental and Conversion Committee for the Illinois State Senate passed a resolution urging ‘Illinois agencies to take whatever actions possible to protect against the loss of water resources, the potential flooding, and other ecological impacts from this development.’ The resolution cites Foxconn’s plans to draw 7 million gallons of water

By Adalberto Toledo“The [University of Illinois] students have been working closely with the Illinois Environmental Council, which last week held an Environmental Lobby Day at the Capitol for 10 of their priority bills as legislators in Springfield finished off this session.” Read the entire piece at The News-Gazette

By Adalberto Toledo“The [University of Illinois] students have been working closely with the Illinois Environmental Council, which last week held an Environmental Lobby Day at the Capitol for 10 of their priority bills as legislators in Springfield finished off this session.” Read the entire piece at The News-Gazette

By Brett Chase | Better Government AssociationA number of health, environmental and clean energy groups have asked the state EPA to put the brakes on its high-speed spending plan and make the process more transparent to taxpayers. “Clearly, they’re in a hurry to spend the money,” said Al Grosboll, legislative director for the Chicago-based Environmental

By WAND“Jennifer Walling, Executive Director for the Illinois Environmental Council, said, ‘Dynegy is a big corporation that owns several coal plants in Illinois. They’ve just been bought by a Texas corporation called Vistras, and they want to get a bail out. That is not only bad for the environment, because polluting coal plants open, but

By Bailey Bischoff“The negative environmental effect of microbeads first gained attention in 2013 after a report by 5 Gyres and the State University of New York at Fredonia revealed a high concentration of the plastics had infiltrated the Great Lakes. In response, Illinois became the first state to pass legislation against microbeads. The plastic pollution

By Johnathan Hettinger“‘There has been such a slow burn of cuts and cuts and cuts,’ said Jen Walling, executive director of the Illinois Environmental Council, an association of 80 environmental groups across Illinois. ‘But what this administration is doing is worse because they havethe capacity to do more.’” Read the entire piece at Illinois Public

By Brenden Moore“Soil and water conservation districts, which have their roots in the Dust Bowl, are a collection of 96 mostly county-level districts that work with local farmers and landowners to prevent soil erosion and conserve the state’s water resources. ‘One of the things that’s really important about what they do is that they’re very

By Alex Ruppenthal“‘I think that public hearings are incredibly important on this issue because what VW did was harm the public, harm the environment,’ said Jen Walling, executive director of the Illinois Environmental Council. ‘Doing this without giving the public a chance to weigh in was a real mistake.’” Read the entire piece at Chicago

By Brendan Pedersen“‘We are calling on every Illinois politician, including those, Republican and Democratic alike, campaigning for Governor, every community leader, and every voter to commit to these goals and join the conversation, so the state wins a clean, equitable energy future,’ said Jen Walling, executive director of the Illinois Environmental Council and a member

By Alex Ruppenthal“‘In each of these cases, this is literally neighbors,’ said Jen Walling, executive director of the Illinois Environmental Council, which is helping to craft the legislation. ‘This is their property and their ability to defend their property rights.’” Read the entire piece at Chicago Tonight

By IEC Executive Director Jen Walling“Soil and water conservation districts (SWCDs) in Illinois are the only locally based infrastructure that protect Illinois’ soil and water. Cuts to these programs have cost taxpayers money through dirtier water and soil erosion, as well as harm to the environment and public health. To protect Illinois’s valuable soil and

“Here in Illinois, we’re choosing a different direction,” [IEC Executive Director Jen Walling] said. She pointed out that the legislature approved the Future Energy Jobs Act just weeks after Trump was elected. The wide-ranging measure established energy efficiency goals for electricity companies and started a fund to help pay for solar power in low-income communities.

The Illinois Environmental Council’s [Executive Director] Jen Walling said the council supports “a range of proposals that would reduce plastic pollution including education, increased littering enforcement, fees, and bans of single use plastic material, as feasible.” Read the entire article at Great Lakes Now.

“I think passing this law prompted a lot of schools to do testing and it showed there were issues there,” said [IEC Executive Director Jen Walling], who added the agency plans to advocate that testing be expanded to middle and high schools.” Hear and read the story at CBS News Chicago.

“I think passing this law prompted a lot of schools to do testing and it showed there were issues there,” said [IEC Executive Director Jen Walling], who added the agency plans to advocate that testing be expanded to middle and high schools.” Read entire article at The State Register-Journal.

“[IEC is] supportive of groundwater monitoring of these quarries. We think that would be a very positive step because with the material that they are taking – if they are going to take that in – we should have monitoring to make sure that they are not taking in anything that leaks to ground water…I

“Milkweed is labeled a weed because it’s something that in the past was a really prolific plant,” said Jen Walling, executive director of the Illinois Environmental Council, which supports the bill. “Farmers had some issues with [milkweed]. But because of habitat changes, it’s not a noxious weed anymore.” For monarchs, the plant remains vital to

“This rule change would limit the state’s ability to enforce levee height limits,” Jennifer Walling, executive director of the Illinois Environmental Council said. “Without oversight, these levees could increase flooding downstream which will not only harm communities, but devastate riparian natural areas and wildlife habitat.” Read the full article here.

Through his work with the Illinois Stewardship Alliance, the Illinois Environmental Council and Downtown Springfield Inc., [State Representative Tim Butler] has seen the benefits of local food systems.“I’ve seen firsthand over the years the impact that local food systems have on the economy, on people’s health and just the good things they offer through the

“While swimming in the river is unthinkable today, it’s important to remember that only a couple decades ago, fishing was not on the menu,” said Jen Walling, executive director of the Illinois Environmental Council, in a press release. “This event served as a great reminder of the progress we’ve made, as well as the potential

“Illinois as a whole has a high number of lead pipes moving water within communities, and the problem has been a concern for decades,” Walling said.“With the crisis in Flint, there is an increased public awareness of the ability of lead pipes to contribute lead into the drinking water we have,” she said. “There was

The Bobcat Foundation worked with Illinois state Sen. Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, and a number of other groups that were involved in the issue, including the IDNR, Illinois Trappers Association, Illinois Humane Society and Illinois Environmental Council.The new law would allow 1,000 permits, increasing from the present 500, but would limit the harvest to 350

“Open space provides real environmental and economic benefits to Illinois’ residents and should remain a consistent priority among decision-makers,” said Jennifer Walling, executive director of the Illinois Environmental Council. “Conservation Land Trusts are experienced in managing natural areas, and therefore make an ideal partner for a public-private partnership designed to promote stewardship of natural areas.”

“I think this should be started as soon as possible,” said Jen Walling, executive director of the Illinois Environmental Council. “I think the sooner the better, the more people who get to participate the better.” Read the full article here.

A forum on renewable energy jobs expected from the Illinois Future Energy Jobs Act is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday at the Trutter Center on the campus of Lincoln Land Community College. Read the full article here.

In January, Gov. Bruce Rauner signed a new law requiring schools and day care facilities to test for lead contamination of potable water in their buildings.The law was initiated by the Illinois Environmental Council and Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, according to her office. Read the full article here.

In January, Gov. Bruce Rauner signed a new law requiring schools and day care facilities to test for lead contamination of potable water in their buildings.The law was initiated by the Illinois Environmental Council and Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, according to her office. Read the full article here.

A bill that passed unanimously in the Illinois Senate, and now goes to the House, would allow the Illinois Department of Agriculture to license farmers to grow industrial hemp.The Illinois Stewardship Alliance and Illinois Farmers Union initiated this bill, and have collaborated with the Illinois Environmental Council and Illinois Farm Bureau in a coalition of

An “emergency protest” against President Donald Trump’s decision to pull the United States out of the Paris climate accord will take place in front of Chicago’s Trump International Hotel and Tower. The rally is backed by more than a dozen groups including Indivisible Chicago, the Sierra Club, the Illinois Environmental Council and AFGE Local 704,

The Electronic Products Recycling and Reuse Act, established in 2008, currently covers 17 types of devices and banned their disposal as of 2012. The Illinois Environmental Council — which supports the amendments to update this plan along with other state environmental groups — reportedly fought to keep all of those devices on the list and

An Illinois legislator says striking seven words from the state’s massive energy bill would clear the way for more than $2 billion in new wind energy projects. Read the full article here.

The legislation, Senate Bill 71, passed the Senate by a vote of 47 to 3 on April 25 and has moved on to the House. The bill has received support from environmental and labor groups, including the Environmental Law and Policy Center, Illinois Environmental Council, Laborers’ International Union of North America Midwest Region and the

“The current system is broken and legislators have made a sincere effort to work with local governments, recyclers, collectors, manufacturers and environmentalists to try a new approach,” IEC Executive Director Jen Walling said. Read the full article here.

Illinois Stewardship Alliance and Illinois Farmers Union initiated this bill, and have collaborated with the Illinois Environmental Council and Illinois Farm Bureau in a coalition of farm and environmental interests to bring hemp back to Illinois. Read the full article here.

State Rep. Kelly Cassidy of Chicago first proposed the Location-based Video Game Protection Act in August following reports of gamers searching for virtual Pokemon at places like the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., the Auschwitz Memorial in Poland and Japan’s Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. Read the full article here.

Illinois Environmental Council Executive Director Jen Walling said the study proved the tax was working. Read the full article here.

“We’ve all seen where disposable bags often end up – wrapped around trees and bushes, in Lake Michigan or the Chicago River, blowing around on windy days,” said Jen Walling, executive director of the Illinois Environmental Council, in a press release. “Hopefully the reduction we’ve seen so far is a first step in getting all

“It is great news that disposable bag use has declined since the Checkout Bag Tax went into effect,” said Jen Walling, Executive Director of the Illinois Environmental Council, in a statement. “We’ve all seen where disposable bags often end up – wrapped around trees and bushes, in Lake Michigan or the Chicago River, blowing around

While the Illinois Department of Natural Resources declared it first bobcat hunting season a success after 141 animals were taken from the lower third of the state last fall, groups that oppose the hunt plan to keep the pressure on. Read the full article here.

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