Posts tagged "Illinois"

“Trains Magazine” Profiles New Station in Normal, IL

Monday, January 23, 2012

Download a PDF of the article.

Chicago Tribune: Coal plants dominate list of Chicago’s biggest polluters

Monday, January 23, 2012

According to this Jan. 22nd article in the Chicago Tribune: “Illinois’ largest single corporate polluter is Midwest Generation, the company that owns the Crawford and Fisk coal plants in Chicago and four more in the suburbs of Joliet, Romeoville and Waukegan and in Pekin in central Illinois. Burning coal from Wyoming and other Western states, the plants emitted more than 31 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2010, an amount equivalent to the tailpipe emissions of about 6 million cars.” Read the article.

PlugInChicagoMetro.org – New Electric Car Online Tool Helps Educate Chicago-Area Consumers

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

CHICAGO – The Environmental Law & Policy Center (ELPC) has launched PlugInChicagoMetro.org, a new tool to help educate consumers about electric cars available in the Chicagoland area in 2012. The interactive site includes comparative information about the seven makes/models of plug-in electric cars that are or will soon be available for purchase in the region, as well as information about electric rates, charging options, tax incentives, and other resources.

“Purchasing any car requires thoughtful consiaderation of many variables – on brand, color, price – and purchasing an electric car can involve an extra layer of research,” said Madeleine Weil, Senior Policy Advocate at ELPC. “PlugInChicagoMetro.org can help consumers by providing a central resource of information about the differences, benefits and decisions involved in being an electric car owner here in Chicago and the suburbs.”

ELPC is working to advance policies that support electric cars and public charging infrastructure in Chicago and the Midwest. “Electric and hybrid cars reduce our dependence on foreign oil, produce less pollution than conventional cars, and can help consumers save money at the gas pump,” said ELPC Executive Director Howard Learner. “We should also seize the opportunities to grow the clean car jobs of the future in the Midwest auto industry.”

According to Learner, government support for public charging stations powered by clean wind and solar power, entrepreneurial ingenuity in the business community and low-cost power available for nighttime charging are just some of the ingredients that will make Chicago a market leader. “The Chicago area can become one of the nation’s leading markets for these new clean electric, natural gas and hybrid vehicles,” he said.

More and more consumers are becoming interested in learning about electric vehicles. “There’s a lot of information about electric cars out there – from dealers selling a particular model, from ‘car guys’ obsessed with the innovative technology, from critics who will scrutinize any and all changes to the status quo – but we’re not any of those people,” Weil added. “We realize purchasing a car is a personal decision. We just want to provide a forum to help Chicago-area consumers make car-buying decisions for themselves and their families.”

For more information about electric vehicles available in the Midwest in 2012, please go to www.PlugInChicagoMetro.org.

Crain’s Chicago Business: New Illinois secretary of transportation ‘thinking multimodally’

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

In this interview with Crain’s Chicago Business, newly confirmed Illinois Department of Transportation Secretary Ann Schneider says that “job one” is “to get the organization to start thinking multimodally.” Read the article.

“Chicago Tonight” Talks with ELPC’s Mel Nickerson About Illinois’ New E-Waste Recycling Law

Monday, January 9, 2012

USDOT Awards $186 Million for High-Speed Rail in Illinois

Thursday, January 5, 2012

The Environmental Law and Policy Center (ELPC) commends Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood for awarding more than $186 million to the Illinois Department of Transportation for work on the extension of the Chicago-St. Louis line to Joliet. Work will begin in the spring and will enable improved 110-mph passenger rail service along 70 percent of the line.

Howard Learner, ELPC President and a nationally recognized expert on high-speed passenger rail, had this to say about the award:

“This grant provides a critical step in bringing high-speed rail to the Midwest. Investing in modern, fast, comfortable and convenient higher-speed rail service is a smart move, since better rail service will improve mobility, reduce pollution, create new jobs and spur economic growth. While the media is fixated on the problems of the California corridor, the Midwest has sensibly begun building a first-class system that will reach 110 mph within a year.

“We are already seeing the economic benefits rail is bringing to the region. Normal, Illinois has already seen more than $200 million in investment. With the help of this grant, trains will reduce congestion and make the Midwest a better place to start businesses and create jobs.”

The entire upgrade of the Chicago-St. Louis line will reduce travel time and improve on-time performance. Ridership has grown 137 percent during the last five years on this popular corridor.

American-made trains will be used on the lines, which will be purchased as part of the $782 million grant for domestic manufacturing. Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Iowa, Missouri, California, Washington and Oregon will purchase 120 be-level passenger cars, along with 33 quick-acceleration locomotives.

ELPC is nationally known for its high-speed rail advocacy. The organization has studied passenger rail for nearly two decades and provide transportation counsel and policy support to state, local and federal government.

ICC Orders Workshops to Develop Distributed Solar REC Procurement Program

Thursday, January 5, 2012

The Illinois Commerce Commission issued its Final Order in the case approving the Illinois Power Agency’s 2012 Procurement Plan. The Order should trigger a productive and inclusive workshop process that will result in an Solar Renewable Energy Credit (SREC) procurement program for distributed solar projects.  There were 37 public comments submitted to the ICC supporting solar DG workshops. Read the public comments here.

New Federal Mercury and Air Toxics Standards Will Protect Children’s Health and the Environment

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Chicago – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized the first-ever federal standards to reduce mercury, arsenic, chromium and other toxic air pollutants from power plants. EPA estimates that these standards will prevent thousands of hospitalizations and emergency room visits and 17,000 premature deaths each year. Implementing the standards, which were called for in the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments and are now long overdue, creates a level playing field for the energy industry after more than 20 years of uncertainty and delays.

“These standards mean power plants will invest in modern pollution controls, and that investment will create jobs, cleaner air and better public health,” said Howard Learner, Executive Director of the Environmental Law & Policy Center. “Illinois adopted mercury pollution reduction standards in 2006 and modern control equipment has been installed at almost all coal plants in the state.  The technology works, the lights have stayed on, mercury pollution has been reduced and children’s health is better protected.  It’s time for the holdout utilities to stop crying wolf, stop stalling and clean up their pollution to protect children’s health and our rivers and lakes.”

“Illinois and other states have led the way and shown that these federal standards are reasonable and attainable,” said Learner. “With federal standards in place, all Americans will gain the benefits of better health and cleaner and safer water.”

Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that can harm fetal brain development, reducing children’s IQ and their ability to learn.  According to EPA estimates, about 300,000 babies are born in the U.S. every year at risk of neurological damage because of mercury.

The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards set a three-year timeline for power plant owners to install widely available modern technology to reduce mercury pollution by 91% and drastically reduce arsenic, chromium, acid gases and other toxic air pollutants which are known or suspected of causing cancer and other serious health effects. The new standards will create thousands of jobs around the country as power plant owners hire people to build, install and operate modern pollution control equipment needed to reduce mercury and other toxics from their plants.

McHenry County Adopts Water Resources Action Plan

Friday, October 28, 2011

On Tuesday, Oct. 18th, the McHenry County (Ill.) Board adopted the McHenry County Water Resources Action Plan (WRAP) that is designed to protect and preserve the area’s limited groundwater supply through conservation and efficiency.  According to ELPC Staff Attorney Jessica Dexter, who has been working on water supply policy issues in the county for several years, “This action is a first step toward adopting policies necessary to protect water supply for McHenry County.  Now, several county agencies have direction on how to properly consider water supply issues.  The next step will be adopting strong measures to protect water supply in the county’s Unified Development Ordinance and in local municipalities.”

ELPC recently published a series of reports on “Land Use Tools to Protect Groundwater.” Click here to download the reports and learn more about ELPC’s water conservation efforts.

Chicago-Detroit High-Speed Rail Line Gets $196M

Friday, October 7, 2011

Less than a week after Michigan legislators approved the state’s portion of funding for enhanced passenger rail, Transportation Sec. Ray LaHood released the $196 million federal award that will reduce train travel time by 30 minutes between Detroit and Chicago.

The project will create approximately 800 new jobs during the construction phase, which is expected to begin late spring 2012, and will facilitate service to current and future freight rail customers, including major shippers like Ford Motor Company. The money will be used for track and signal improvements between Detroit and Kalamazoo, Mich., allowing for speeds up to 110 mph on 77 percent of Amtrak’s Wolverine and Blue Water services between Detroit and Chicago. The net result is a 30 minute reduction in travel time between those destinations.

“Michigan’s elected officials have put the needs of their constituents above partisan bickering.  They have recognized that transportation is a bipartisan concern.  By working together across party lines, they have allowed Washington to lay the tracks for Michigan’s economic future,” said ELPC Executive Director Howard Learner.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder summarized the issue. “Investing in rail service will spark economic development in communities along a corridor linking Detroit and Chicago, two vital Midwest cities,” Snyder said. “A faster, reliable passenger rail system is a priority for younger generations and vital to Michigan’s ability to compete globally as businesses look to locate or expand. The rail improvements will also hasten the transport of freight, a priority for Ford Motor Company and other Michigan businesses along the route.”

ELPC is a vocal advocate for improved passenger rail, working closely with lawmakers around the region to establish new service and improve existing rail lines. The rail line between Chicago and Detroit is part of the Midwest High-Speed Rail Network that will connect cities around the region and tie together the regional economy.

Visit www.highspeedrailworks.org for more information.