IEC Blog

Federal Setbacks and the State of Illinois Energy Policy

By Cary Shepherd Policy Director, Illinois Environmental Council The federal administration unveiled its latest attempt to prevent our nation’s transition to a clean energy economy earlier this week. After announcing the repeal of the Clean Power Plan – the Obama Administration’s signature climate change policy – the EPA has proposed to replace it with the ironically named Affordable Clean Energy Rule. Little about this rule is either clean or affordable. This new proposal removes the statewide cap on carbon emissions from power plants and allows states to independently relax regulations on power plant pollution, thus leaving little federal guidance. Without rational federal policy in place, responsible state energy programs are now essential to protecting the planet and the health of our communities. Is Illinois prepared for this change? Two years ago, the answer would have been no. Back in 2016, the Illinois Renewable Portfolio Standards, the mechanism used to source

August 24, 2018

Legislator Feature: Robyn Gabel

Representative Robyn Gabel has represented the 18th District since 2010, and during that time she has earned a reputation as a champion for environmental issues.

July 18, 2018

How to Pursue a Career Protecting the Environment

By Jen Walling Executive Director, Illinois Environmental Council While I’m sure 12-year-old me would be very proud of my current career (my friend Dorothy and I would stay behind after lunch to recycle milk cartons), I’m also certain I had no idea that advocating for the environment was a potential career option. As it turns out, it is a job, and I’ve been doing that job since 2011 as the executive director of the Illinois Environmental Council. In my role, I’m contacted by many students who are passionate about environment protection, and are considering making that passion a career in advocacy. I receive enough of these messages that I thought it would be worth writing down my best pieces of advice: Internships are just as important to determine what you don’t want to do as they are in determining what you want to do. As a high school and college

July 10, 2018

The State of Water Infrastructure in Illinois

More and more emergency situations are arising from substandard water infrastructure, with the tragedy in Flint drawing national attention to this critical issue.

June 13, 2018

IEC Announces League of Conservation Voters Partnership

Innovative Partnership to Hold Elected Officials Accountable and Elevate Environmental Issues Protecting Illinois’ environment is the focus of a new partnership launched today between the Illinois Environmental Council and the League of Conservation Voters (LCV). This partnership will be used to hold decision makers accountable, put environmental issues front and center in the electoral process, and change the political dynamics that shape environmental policy in Illinois. “The Illinois Environmental Council has been working to protect Illinois’ environment in our state capitol since 1975. Partnering with the League of Conservation Voters, and the larger Conservation Voter Movement, will help the environmental community in Illinois increase our power to seek positive environmental change,” said Illinois Environmental Council Executive Director Jen Walling. IEC will work closely with LCV through an innovative partnership that will combine the power and resources of a national organization, with the community connections, local knowledge, and long-term approach of

April 10, 2018

IEC Affiliate Interview: Environmental Defense Fund

IEC Interviews: Lavannya PulluveetilClean Energy Fellow, Environmental Defense Fund Meet LavannyaIEC: Please tell us a little bit about yourself and your background. How did you come to work on policy issues related to clean energy access?Lavannya: I’m a recent grad with a degree in in Environmental and Sustainability Sciences as well as International Agriculture and Rural Development. I had the opportunity to work on a variety of community-driven initiatives in New York and internationally as an undergrad, and they all showed me the value of connecting people to resources available through local and federal governments. I became involved in policy issues related to energy access because I am hopeful about the work the Environmental Defense Fund is undertaking in Illinois. I was motivated largely by the focus on equity in relation to energy access, and I hoped that my previous work would lend itself to moving the needle forward on

April 5, 2018

Staff Feature: Lindsay Keeney

By Lindsay KeeneyDownstate Outreach Director, Illinois Environmental Council You can’t protect something you don’t love. Nurtured in central Illinois creek beds that had a tendency to banish a nice pair pair of school clothes straight to the dirty clothes pile, I love water. Geography gifted me the chance play, fish and study water from an early age and my addiction to the outdoors and to water has yet to subside. Now, I work to protect it every day.I grew up in Ashland, Illinois with Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish and Wildlife Area practically in my backyard. I spent countless hours during adolescence exploring and wading in creeks, canoeing, and navigating the surprisingly complicated politics of farm pond fishing access. Fittingly, one of my very first jobs was working at the Jim Edgar Panther Creek Area. This was the first time I was immersed into the community of sportsmen. I

December 18, 2017

Legislator Feature: State Representative Carol Ammons

IEC is excited to release our first “Legislator Feature” on our blog! Through this series, we hope to share with our supporters how legislators think about environmental issues, and what areas they are specifically interested in. For this entry, we are pleased to interview State Representative Carol Ammons. Representative Carol Ammons is serving her second term as state representative of the 103rd District, which includes Champaign-Urbana. Previously, Rep. Ammons served as a member of the Urbana City Council and Champaign County Board. IEC has been fortunate to work with Rep. Ammons on legislation to protect the Mahomet Aquifer, bolster local and sustainable food, and grow the clean energy economy. IEC is grateful to Rep. Ammons for taking the time to share her thoughts on environmental issues with IEC Legislative Director Colleen Smith: What is the most memorable environmental bill you’ve worked on?One of my first bills banned the dumping of

November 27, 2017

Why the Race for Attorney General Matters for Environmentalists

By Jen WallingExecutive Director, Illinois Environmental Council I’ve never imagined an Illinois where Lisa Madigan was no longer attorney general. She has been an immutable figure on the Illinois political landscape for two decades, and a reliable decision-maker and partner on many of the environmental community’s campaigns. When embarking on a campaign, we begin by assessing potential opponents, allies, and other stakeholders. Perhaps it has been taken for granted that nearly every time we have performed this analysis over the past twenty years, we have been able to add the AG to the ally column. I am proud to say that I’ve personally worked with the staff of the attorney general’s office to keep lead out of children’s drinking water, petroleum coke out of people’s lungs, and animal wastes out of drinking water. We’ve worked to regulate high volume hydraulic fracturing, provide people with the right to file citizen suits,

November 15, 2017

Affiliate Feature: HeartLands Conservancy

By Mary VandervordPresident/CEO, HeartLands Conservancy What’s the mission of your organization?To sustain and enrich the diverse environmental resources of southwestern Illinois. To accomplish our mission HLC works with individuals, local governments, state and federal agencies, and other organizations on three priorities: conservation of open space, building greener communities, and engaging people with nature. Where in Illinois is a majority of your work and your members?We primarily serve southwestern Illinois counties of Madison, St. Clair, Monroe, Bond, Clinton, Washington, and Randolph. This area is known as the St. Louis “Metro East.” Our reach also extends farther south to include Perry, Jackson, Union, and Alexander Counties. What are you current campaigns? Lots of things going on. We are working with the City of Edwardsville in Madison County to protect an threatened old growth forest – Bohm Woods Nature Preserve. We are also working on water quality and flood mitigation plans for 4

October 5, 2017

2017 Environmental Leadership Dinner in Review

AG Madigan, President Preckwinkle among award winners at the 2017 Environmental Leadership Dinner This past Wednesday, September 27th, IEC hosted our 2017 Environmental Leadership Dinner. We were thrilled to be joined by nearly 400 advocates, affiliates, and elected officials who support policies and programs that protect the environment and grow our clean energy economy. You can view some great pictures from the event here. Recipients of our 2017 Environmental Leadership awards represent officials from several levels of government from areas throughout Illinois. Leading up to the dinner, we asked our award winners to answer a few questions about how they work to protect the environment in their respective roles: Attorney General Lisa Madigan AG Madigan was honored for the vital role she and her office played in creating and passing the Preventing Lead in Drinking Water Act. Since becoming law earlier this year, this legilsation is already protecting Illinois school

September 29, 2017

Unprecedented number of retirements include many environmental champions

By Colleen SmithLegislative Director, Illinois Environmental Council Many of the environmental community’s top legislative champions will not be returning to the Illinois General Assembly for another term. Just yesterday, we heard the devastating news that Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, a winner of IEC’s lifetime achievement award for her environmental leadership, will not run for re-election and today, Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced that she would not be seeking reelection. Since the beginning of this year, 25 members of the General Assembly have resigned or announced they will not be seeking re-election. Of these, 12 received a 100% on IEC’s 2017 Environmental Scorecard and another 14 have scored 100% at some point during their tenure. Losing these environmental champions means we are now facing a crisis of leadership in the legislature. The Illinois Legislative Green Caucus was formed by Rep. Karen May and Rep. Mike Fortner in 2009 for the

September 15, 2017

Illinois Bobcat Hunting Program is Flawed

By Jennifer WallingExecutive Director, IEC Governor Rauner’s Illinois Department of Natural Resources recently increased the number of bobcat hunting permits from 500 to 1,000 for the upcoming season. The announcement of an increase in the number of permits was issued despite the fact that there is currently a bill sitting on the Governor’s desk that would restrict the location and number of bobcats that can be hunted. Governor Rauner has two weeks to sign HB3399, which would ban bobcat hunting in over 35 counties and restrict the number that can be hunted to 350 in the upcoming hunting season. This announcement concerning the increase in permits is especially troubling now, considering this past legislative session Senator Don Harmon secured an agreement between the IEC, Humane Society of the United States, the Trappers Associations, IDNR, Republicans, and Democrats that offers protections to bobcats in vulnerable areas. IDNR is actively advertising its

September 13, 2017

The High Cost of Cheap Meat

As an organization that has been working to solve the pollution crisis caused by concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) in Illinois for years, we applaud the Chicago Tribune’s recent in-depth investigative report on large hog confinements. Few could read this piece without gasping at the stories of environmental pollution, animal abuse, and destruction of rural life and property rights. Fortunately, our Governor and state legislators can fix many of these issues with common sense approaches, and they should start today. First, Governor Rauner and the Illinois EPA (IEPA) could immediately propose and seek to pass rules that require registration of all livestock operations. As reported, there is no way in Illinois to even tell where these facilities are located. The IEPA could also – under existing laws – begin requiring water protection permits (NPDES permits) from more CAFOs. In addition, legislation and regulations should be enacted to require all large

August 9, 2016

More Composting Options for All Illinois Farmers

Thriving and successful community gardens, rural farms, school gardens and urban farms are all united by one foundational requirement—healthy soil.

July 14, 2013