Asian Carp Advance On Lake Michigan; Trump Halts Project to Stop Them, Threatens To Cut Off All Great Lakes Funds

Yesterday an invasive adult silver carp was caught within nine miles of Lake Michigan in the Calumet River. The 8-pound fish was captured in a gill net by a commercial fisherman working for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (ACRCC) as part of their seasonal intensive monitoring program…

Statement on Trump EPA Budget Proposal

  President Trump released his proposed FY 2018 federal budget today.  Sierra Club, Illinois Chapter Director Jack Darin released this statement about the proposed budget for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: “President Trump’s proposed budget for the EPA is a plan only polluters could love.  Trump wants to slash funding for enforcing clean air and…

Why We March On May Day

May Day has historically been a day of action for workers, immigrants, and social justice. This May Day, we are joining these allies for major demonstrations of resistance, and in support of communities that are threatened both by climate change and pollution, and from the Trump administration’s many attacks on our rights. The environment includes…

Pruitt Strikes Out on Chicago Trip

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s trip to Chicago today failed to ease grave concerns about the potential impact of unprecedented budget cuts and the Agency’s direction under his leadership. Apparently Pruitt had time to take in a ball game this afternoon at Wrigley Field, but no time or interest in meeting with employees at the EPA…

Trump’s Great Leap Backward on Climate: Time for Illinois to Lead

Chicago, IL – Today, President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order to begin the process of repealing several Obama-era actions tackling the climate crisis and protecting clean air and water, including steps to begin the process of dismantling the Clean Power Plan, roll back Oil and Gas New Source Performance Standards, rescind…

Lisa May: A Champion for Waukegan

by Kady McFadden, Deputy Chapter Director I am proud to share that Sierra Club Illinois today announced our endorsement of Lisa May for Mayor of Waukegan. Residents of Waukegan who have long advocated for cleaning up their lakefront, for a transition from coal to clean energy, and a healthier community to raise their children will…

Illinois Acts To Require Testing For Schools & Daycares

Today the Illinois General Assembly passed Senate Bill 550, which will require testing for lead contamination in Illinois elementary schools and daycares.  Sierra Club volunteers worked over the last year to educate lawmakers about the risks of lead contamination to children’s health, and to support the new testing requirement. Sierra Club, Illinois Chapter Director made…

Illinois Acts On Climate

We just did something truly historic in Illinois, at a time when we needed it most. Here in the industrial heartland, Republican Governor Bruce Rauner today signed the Future Energy Jobs Bill, which will slash carbon emissions from the electric sector in half by 2030. In the face of a Trump presidency, we just took…

All In For Environmental Justice

This Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we at the Sierra Club, Illinois Chapter are taking a moment to pronounce our resolve to become a “deeper shade of green” in our work for the environment and for justice. We believe that every Illinois resident, regardless of gender, race, age, income, citizenship or where you live, should…

Statement on Clean Power Plan & Illinois

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Obama Administration released the final version of the landmark Clean Power Plan. In response, Jack Darin, Director of the Illinois Chapter of the Sierra Club released the following statement: “The Clean Power Plan is the most significant single action any President has ever taken to…