Environmental Protection Progress

9/1/22

LWVIL works on environmental protection issues throughout the year with a number of coalitions. Examples from two of these coalitions show that together we are making a difference for the Illinois environment. 

The Coalition for Plastic Reduction is helping write a bill making manufacturers more responsible for reducing our dependence on plastic.

The Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition is helping create plans to implement the historic Climate Equity and Jobs Act (CEJA). When CEJA became a law nearly a year ago, Illinois became the first state in the nation to pass sweeping climate job reforms, ahead of this year’s federal BiPartisan Inflation Reduction Act. 

The Downstate Caucus of the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition is now working to increase the tree canopy in southern Illinois and to halt construction of carbon dioxide pipelines until safety protocols are established. New pipelines are planned for Central and Southern Illinois as the result of $12 billion in funding for carbon capture and storage projects in the federal BiPartisan Infrastructure Act.