The Illinois EPA has found groundwater contamination from coal ash waste sites dating back to 2009. Illinois has the highest concentration of coal ash impoundments in the country. It also requires Illinois to put in place standards for coal ash impoundments that are at least as protective as federal coal ash rule requirements, with additional protections against dust and water pollution. The legislation creates a regulatory framework to ensure polluters, not taxpayers, pay for needed closure and cleanup, guarantees public participation and transparency around cleanups for affected communities, and provides Illinois EPA the funds it needs to properly oversee closure and cleanup. Illinois is now the third state in the country to pass legislation providing significant coal ash protections above and beyond federal requirements. The groundbreaking bill addresses the many waste pits filled with coal ash, the toxic byproduct of burning coal, located all over the state. the Illinois Legislature passed SB9, The Coal Ash Pollution Prevention Act, which now heads to the Governor’s desk. * The enviros were able to pass this bill partly by attracting the support of a union… The agency plans to build a new convention hall over King Drive and tear down the above-ground portion of the Lakeside Center, widely viewed as outmoded convention space.Īn earlier proposal to fund the expansion with a $1-a-ride tax on Uber and Lyft has been dropped amid opposition from those companies. The revenue would allow the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, which runs McCormick Place, to borrow an additional $600 million, increasing its bonding limit to $3.45 billion.
![cleanboard brightness cleanboard brightness](https://i2.wp.com/eskanusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/IMG_20210414_163748.jpg)
#Cleanboard brightness full
The bill could go to the full Senate later Wednesday. The Senate Executive Committee approved the measure 12-1, with one member voting present, during a hearing Wednesday. The proposal, which has strong backing from trade unions, would enlarge the part of Chicago’s central business district in which the tax is collected. Money to support McCormick Place expansion would be raised by expanding a 1% tax on restaurant meals and drinks under legislation advancing Wednesday in the Illinois Senate.