Environmental activists are ramping up advocacy efforts against hydraulic
fracturing, commonly called “fracking”. Meanwhile, the Illinois House Executive
Committee passed a regulatory compromise bill Tuesday and the full chamber is expected to take up the legislation any day now.
The oil and gas drilling technology, according to the bill’s opponents, is unsafe and damages the environment.
But as the bill makes its way through the Illinois General Assembly,
drilling companies have already leased land in Southern
Illinois — reportedly about half a million acres around the New
Albany Shale rock formation, according to the Star-Telegram.
“Fracking is not safe, it
destroys communities; it endangers our water supply; it is not safe for
the workers; and it is not a bridge fuel,” said Melody Lamar, a
member of Illinois People’s Action. “I’m so sickened by what I’ve seen
from our legislators.”
The United States is one of the last remaining industrialized
countries that does not mandate disclosure of genetically modified
organisms (GMO) on food labels. But recent state and federal legislation reflects the rallying cry of food advocacy groups calling for the government to give consumers the right to know exactly what they are eating.
Thirteen different fees associated with the debit portion of the
two-in-one Ventra card that would allow people to load it with CTA
transit funds and also use it for purchasing other goods was posted on the company's website Monday.
More than half of Illinois’ private sector employees do not have
access to a retirement savings plan through their jobs, according to a
new study released by the Woodstock Institute.
The
Chicago-based nonprofit, a research and policy organization focused on
fair lending, wealth creation, and financial systems reform, analyzed
data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Census Bureau, and the
Employee Benefits Research Institute.
State Rep. Deborah Mell became the first Illinois politician to be in a same-sex marriage after she and her now-wife held a private ceremony in Iowa last week.
Parts of the iconic Corinthians verse was recited, group photos were
taken, and a string quartet and men’s chorus serenaded the crowd at
Millennium Park early Thursday, when 32 same-sex couples unionized.
Environmental activists are ramping up advocacy efforts against hydraulic
fracturing, commonly called “fracking”. Meanwhile, the Illinois House Executive
Committee 
More than half of Illinois’ private sector employees do not have
access to a retirement savings plan through their jobs, according to a
new study released by the Woodstock Institute.
