Support Illinois Climate Change Superfund Act
- Cathy
- 4 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Former Accelerate Climate Solutions intern and BLAST 2024 competition winner, Lana Alnajm, has been working with us since last summer on advocating for a the Illinois Climate Change Superfund Act. Similar laws have been passed in New York and Vermont, with the objective to hold high greenhouse gas emitters (fossil fuel companys!) accountable while funding climate adaptation and recovery.
Lana, currently a pre-law student at Northwestern, and I had the opportunity to meet with State Senator Laura Ellman to the discuss the proposed legislation (SB2981) in December (the House version is HB4773) and will be meeting with other representatives this month. Our goal is to encourage them to co-sponsor the legislation, which will likely come to a vote in 2027.
As part of the Make Polluters Pay Table, Accelerate Climate Solutions is encouraging our friends and neighbors to advocate for this bill with their state senator and representative. You can start by signing the petition.
The Illinois Environmental Council has a handy lookup tool to help you find your elected officials and their contact info so that you can also email or call them directly. To help with talking points, we've attached a fact sheet. Here's a sample email:
Dear Senator/Representative:
I urge you to co-sponsor the Illinois Climate Change Superfund Act. The impacts of climate change are costly for our infrastructure and our health, but the Superfund Act is a path forward to fund climate adaptation and recovery. This bill addresses the need for infrastructure improvements without having to go through normal budgetary negotiations because it is funded by polluters. I ask you to fight for working families and hold greedy fossil fuel companies accountable.
Sincerely,
[your name]
You can keep it short and to the point, emphasizing why it matters to you. Whether it's job creation, environmental justice, or a matter of fairness, your representative or senator will pay more attention if you share your personal take, rather than copying and pasting a generic email.
Thank you for taking the time to support both this legislation and Lana's advocacy. Listen to young people - they will inherit the consequences of climate change and they know what it takes to create a livable future.
