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 farm and environmental interests to bring hemp back to Illinois.
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Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order Tuesday directing city departments to intensify scrutiny of new data centers in Chicago — a politically potent move that doesn’t unilaterally impose new limits on the fast-growing industry, but could slow its growth.
Every year, the Illinois Environmental Council (IEC) issues a voting scorecard that grades members of the Illinois General Assembly on how they voted for bills affecting the environment.
Richard Chew is joined by Dany Robles, senior legislative director at the Illinois Environmental Council (IEC); he talks about IEC's 2026 Legislative Environmental Scorecard.