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Quick Hit
by Ellyn Fortino
4:58pm
Thu Jan 14

EPA Climate Regs To Be 'Big Fight' In State Legislatures This Year

As 2016 state legislative sessions gear up across the country, including in Illinois, expect new environmental regulations outlined under the Obama administration's Clean Power Plan to be a key issue debated in the nation's state houses this year.

The Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan, finalized in August, looks to slash carbon emissions from existing U.S. power plants. The goal is to reduce carbon emissions from the power sector to 32 percent below 2005 levels by 2030.

States, which are given flexibility to meet the plan's carbon pollution standards, have to submit an implementation plan or request an extension by September.

"There's a range of actions that states will be considering to address the rule, including cap and trade, carbon taxes, renewable portfolio standards, scaling up solar energy use, amongst other things," said Nick Rathod, executive director of the State Innovation Exchange (SiX), a group working with state legislators to advance progressive policies across the country.

PI Original
by Ellyn Fortino
7:30pm
Tue Jun 2, 2015

Few Illinois Municipalities Meet State Deadline For Submitting Affordable Housing Plans

Housing

Progress Illinois details which Illinois municipalities have thus far met the state's Tuesday deadline to submit plans designed to address affordable housing shortages. 

PI Original
by Ellyn Fortino
7:54pm
Thu Oct 9, 2014

Striking Waukegan Teachers, School Board Remain At Odds Over Contract (VIDEO)

Labor

Progress Illinois provides coverage of the teachers strike in Waukegan, which entered its sixth day on Thursday. 

PI Original
by Ellyn Fortino
3:54pm
Wed Sep 17, 2014

Is Bob Dold A Friend Of The Environment?

Environment

Although former one-term congressman Bob Dold, the Republican candidate in the competitive 10th congressional district race, claims to have a "strong record of protecting the Great Lakes and the environment," his critics aren't convinced. Progress Illinois takes a look at the environmental voting records of both Dold and incumbent Democratic Rep. Brad Schneider.

Quick Hit
by Ashlee Rezin
5:40pm
Thu Aug 28, 2014

Study: Businesses In Low-Income, Majority Minority Areas Struggle To Access Credit

Small businesses in low-income, majority minority neighborhood in the Chicago area were less likely to receive loans between 2008 and 2012, according to a new report by the Woodstock Institute.

On average, about two of every seven businesses in low-income, majority minority areas received small business loans—including business credit cards, lines of credit, and traditional loans of under $1 million—from large financial institutions with assets of more than $1 billion, according to the report, “Dis-Credited: Disparate Access to Credit for Businesses in the Chicago Six County Region.”

Quick Hit
by Ellyn Fortino
7:32pm
Wed Jul 2, 2014

Report: 10 Percent Of Illinois Beach Water Samples Have Unsafe Bacteria Levels

Hitting the beach this Fourth of July holiday?

A recent report from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) suggests that swimmers take precautions to avoid getting sick from beach water that might be contaminated.

The NRDC's annual "Testing the Waters" report showed that 10 percent of water samples taken last year from 49 monitored Illinois coastal beaches and beach segments — all located in Cook and Lake counties — tested positive for high levels of bacteria from human or animal waste.

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