Media Center

Fossil Fuel Industry Stalls Illinois’ Most Comprehensive and Equitable Clean Energy Legislation

June 17, 2021 Press ReleaseIllinois

Fossil fuel interests stalled the most comprehensive clean energy package in Illinois’ history. Negotiations continue as legislators push to save Governor Pritzker’s comprehensive energy bill, which would transition the state to 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2045.

Biden Administration Moves to Restore Protections for Tongass National Forest

June 11, 2021 Press ReleaseAlaska

The Biden administration today announced it will consider restoring protections for the 9 million acres of Tongass National Forest in Alaska.

City of Chicago Halts Controversial Metal Shredder Permit in response to Community Pressure and EPA Letter

May 8, 2021 Press ReleaseChicago

The Lightfoot administration announced late yesterday that it would stop the permitting process for General Iron, a controversial massive metal shredding operation, pending an environmental justice analysis conducted in partnership with the U.S. EPA. This follows a letter from U.S…

City of Chicago Calls for More Information on Controversial Metal Shredding Operation Move

March 15, 2021 Press ReleaseChicago

In response to a permit application for the controversial move of a notorious metal shredding operation to the Southeast Side, the Chicago Department of Public Health sent a deficiency letter today to Reserve Management Group (RMG) seeking further information and…

Illinois Has a Lead Pipe Problem It Must Solve As Biden EPA Suspends Trump Lead in Drinking Water Regulations

March 11, 2021 Press ReleaseChicago

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today suspended the Trump-era Lead and Copper Rule to seek additional public input, particularly from communities with lead-contaminated drinking water. Illinois has more lead service lines than any other state in the nation, with…

Court Settlement: EPA Must Evaluate Impacts of Harmful Pesticide on Imperiled Species

January 28, 2021 Press ReleaseChicago

NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have reached an agreement that requires the agency to evaluate the impacts of imidacloprid, one of the most commonly used neonicotinoid pesticides, on endangered and threatened bees, butterflies, birds…

NRDC Expands Regional Food Matters Project to Reduce Food Waste in 5 Great Lakes Cities and Counties

January 19, 2021 Press ReleaseChicago, Cincinnati, Madison, Detroit, Ohio

NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) announced the expansion of the Food Matters Project in the Great Lakes region with the goal of furthering larger-scale change related to food waste throughout the region. Building on projects previously launched in the Mid-Atlantic…

In Major Reversal, Trump Administration Denies Permit for Pebble Mine

November 25, 2020 Press ReleaseAlaska

The Army Corps of Engineers today denied a permit for Pebble Mine, the massive gold and copper mine proposed for construction at the headwaters of Bristol Bay in southeastern Alaska.

Trump Administration Opens Alaska Rainforest to Loggers

October 28, 2020 Press ReleaseAlaska

The Department of Agriculture today announced that it will open vast swaths of the Tongass National Forest in Alaska to logging and development, a move that tramples Indigenous rights, and threatens one of our biggest carbon sinks, which is vital…

Lightfoot Administration Announces Start of Lead Water Pipe Replacement Program

September 10, 2020 Press ReleaseChicago

The Lightfoot administration announced today that it will begin a program to replace lead service lines next year. Chicago code required lead service lines far longer than most American cities, until 1986, leaving Chicago with the dubious distinction of having…

Lawsuit Aims to Block Drilling in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

August 24, 2020 Press ReleaseAlaska

Oil and gas leasing would cause irreparable harm to wildlife, tundra, and climate

In Major Reversal, Trump Administration Stalls Pebble Mine

August 24, 2020 Press ReleaseAlaska

The Army Corps of Engineers today said the Pebble Mine project in Bristol Bay, Alaska, would inflict “unavoidable adverse impacts” and lead to “significant degradation” to water and marine life. The agency gave its backers 90 days to come up…

Chicago Southeast Side Residents to Mayor: Deny General Iron’s Move if You are Serious about Equity

July 27, 2020 Press ReleaseChicago

Chicago officials released a report over the weekend that highlights the disproportionate air pollution burden faced by the city’s communities of color in the South and West Sides and promised a new “reform agenda” in response.

Trump Administration Rubber Stamps Pebble Mine Review

July 24, 2020 Press ReleaseAlaska

The Army Corps of Engineers today issued a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) that will pave the way for Pebble Mine, a colossal proposed gold and copper mine that would threaten the world’s greatest wild salmon fishery and the tribal…

Another Chicago Southeast Side Little League Field with Dangerous Levels of Toxic Metals

July 15, 2020 Press ReleaseChicago

Tests show another Southeast Side little league field with  dangerously high levels of heavy metals that may result in a federal clean-up.

IEPA Approves General Iron’s Move from Affluent Lincoln Park to Vulnerable Community of Color

June 25, 2020 Press ReleaseChicago

The Illinois EPA today granted a permit allowing the notorious polluter, General Iron, to move its operation from the affluent Lincoln Park neighborhood to the working class community of color in Chicago’s Southeast Side.

Southeast Siders Call on Mayor Lightfoot for Moratorium on Any Approvals for Metals Recyclers During Pandemic

May 29, 2020 Press ReleaseChicago

Southeast Side residents are calling on Mayor Lightfoot to place a moratorium during the pandemic on all approvals needed for the construction or operation of new or expanded metal recycling facilities. General Iron, the notorious Lincoln Park metal shredder that…

Southeast Side Groups React To General Iron Incident

May 18, 2020 Press ReleaseChicago

A coalition of community groups fighting the relocation of a controversial metal shredding operation from the North Side of Chicago to the Southeast Side of the city had a very simple reaction to the explosions that rocked the General Iron facility earlier today:  “Don’t…

Sens. Duckworth and Durbin Call on USEPA to Monitor Chicago Southeast Side Metal Scrappers

April 21, 2020 Press ReleaseChicago

Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin urged USEPA Region 5 today to require four metals facilities on Chicago’s Southeast Side, a heavily burdened environmental justice community, to install monitors for toxic metals and other air pollutants. In the past year…

Peoria-Area Grantees Announced Today Following $8.6 Million Settlement with Energy Company

February 21, 2020 Press ReleaseIllinois

Following a multi-million dollar settlement with the owner of the E.D. Edwards coal plant, Peoria-area organizations met today at Mt. Zion Baptist Church to celebrate the grants being awarded as part of the settlement process.