Federal Court Decision Raises Questions about a Permit Issued for Pond Creek Mine’s Wastewater Pipeline to the Big Muddy River in Southern Illinois

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 20, 2020 Contact: Amanda Pankau, Prairie Rivers Network, 217-840-3057, apankau@prairierivers.org Cindy Skrukrud, Sierra Club, 312-229-4694, cindy.skrukrud@sierraclub.org Williamson Energy, owner of the Pond Creek Mine in Franklin and Williamson County, Illinois, has applied for or received several permits needed to construct a proposed 12-mile pipeline to pump mine wastewater into the Big…

15 Years of Cuts Leave Illinois EPA Struggling to Protect Air & Water, Act on Climate Change

A new report issued today finds that the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has been cut in half since 2003, resulting in significant reductions in public health protection efforts.  Inspection of air pollution sources, monitoring of water quality, enforcement against environmental violators, and the ability to assure environmental justice by engaging communities in decision making have…

STATE WATER QUALITY REPORT HIGHLIGHTS COLLABORATION, STAKEHOLDER COMMITMENT TO REDUCE NUTRIENT LOSS Farm, Local Government and Environmental Leaders Call for Sustained Investment to Meet Clean Water Goals

STATE WATER QUALITY REPORT HIGHLIGHTS COLLABORATION, STAKEHOLDER COMMITMENT TO REDUCE NUTRIENT LOSS Farm, Local Government and Environmental Leaders Call for Sustained Investment to Meet Clean Water Goals November 20, 2019 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contacts: Cindy Skrukrud, Clean Water Program Director, Illinois Sierra Club, 815-353-5123 Beth Vogt, President, Illinois Association of Wastewater Agencies, 217-523-1814 Andrea Casali,…

“Now We Can All Move Forward Together” as Tollway Drops Rt 53 Project

Today the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority formally moved to halt work on the controversial Route 53 extension by notifying the Federal Highway Administration that it is rescinding the authorization of the current Environmental Impact Statement. The move comes after decades of controversy over the high cost and environmental damage the project would have brought…

Illinois House and Senate Pass Landmark Legislation to Clean Up Coal Ash

Bill addresses coal ash impoundments plaguing the state for decades Yesterday the Illinois Legislature passed SB9, the Coal Ash Pollution Prevention Act, which now heads to the Governor’s desk. The groundbreaking bill addresses the many waste pits filled with coal ash, the toxic byproduct of burning coal, located all over the state. Illinois is now…

Sierra Club Statement on Introduction of the Clean Energy Jobs Act

Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition introduces new legislation to put Illinois on track to achieve 100% clean energy, expand workforce development, and responsibly transition away from fossil fuels In response, Jack Darin, Director of Sierra Club Illinois Chapter, released the following statement: “The introduction of the Clean Energy Jobs Act SB2132 (CASTRO) / HB3624 (WILLIAMS) today marks…

Governor Pritzker Issues Executive Order Signing Illinois onto the U.S. Climate Alliance

Springfield, January 23, 2019 – This morning Governor JB Pritzker signed an executive order making Illinois the 18th state to join the U.S. Climate Alliance. In response, Jack Darin, Director of Sierra Club Illinois Chapter, released the following statement: “By joining the US Climate Alliance as one of his first acts in office, Governor Pritzker…

“Illinois Must Step Up” In the Wake of Trump’s Unlawful Dirty Power Plan

As Trump and Wheeler Gut Clean Air Safeguards to Appease Coal, Will Rauner Respond? WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, former coal lobbyist and acting Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler released an unlawfully weak carbon pollution policy that would gut the Clean Power Plan’s life-saving standards and do next to nothing to fight the climate…

Sierra Club, Friends Seek to Join Attorney General in Trump Tower Lawsuit

August 20, 2018  On Monday, August 20, 2018, Friends of the Chicago River and the Sierra Club filed a motion in Cook County Circuit Court to intervene in a lawsuit against the Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago. The lawsuit stems from permit violations by the Trump Tower which uses 19.7 million gallons of…

Sierra Club Announces General Assembly Endorsements, Launches Climate Voter Contact Campaign to Elect 27 New Environmental Champions to Springfield

For Immediate Release: Monday, August 20th, 2018 Contact: Kady McFadden, kady.mcfadden@sierraclub.org, (630) 747-0915 Chicago – The Illinois Sierra Club today announced its endorsements in races for the Illinois General Assembly and its largest ever voter contact campaign to elect 27 new environmentalists to state legislative districts. Sierra Club’s full list of endorsements can be found…