tbarry

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

The zones would work similarly to Tax Increment Financing districts, which receive subsidies to encourage redevelopment and community-improvement projects in areas in need of revitalization, said Jen Walling, executive director of the Illinois Environmental Council, which supports the legislation. Read the full article here.

Despite significant efforts to reduce lead exposure from water, paint and other sources, the release of toxic lead into the environment in the form of ammunition is mostly unregulated, according to the Illinois Environmental Council (IEC). Read the full article here.

More than a thousand people visited, volunteered, exhibited and otherwise experienced the 2017 Going Green Matters environmental fair on Sunday, undeterred by cold weather and lured by the possibility of seeing their world from the inside, a fair organizer said Monday. Read the full article here.

by IEC Executive Director Jen WallingIt is no secret that the change in administrations in Washington has brought a major shift in federal environmental policies. President Donald Trump has made clear his intention to roll back key initiatives enacted during the Obama Administration that tackled climate change and promoted clean energy. Fortunately, in Illinois, we

Working alongside the Illinois Environmental Council and the Sierra Club, Moeller has introduced House Bill 685, which would prohibit local governments from fining residents who have milkweed on their property. Read the full article here.

“This is the first step in our final goal of a lead-free water system in Illinois,” said Jennifer Walling, executive director of the Illinois Environmental Council, which has been pushing a testing bill for months. “The standardization of testing protocols and parental notification of results put Illinois at the forefront of the country in protecting