By a 7-4 vote Monday, an Illinois House panel signed off on a measure that would allow hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in the state before the Illinois Department of Natural Resources finishes the formal rule-making process related to the controversial oil and gas drilling technology.

The legislation, SB0649, cleared the Executive Committee and now heads to the full House for consideration.

The measure put forward by State Rep. John Bradley (D-Marion) on Friday would strip provisions in the Hydraulic Fracturing Regulatory Act, which Gov. Pat Quinn signed into law last June, that authorizes the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to adopt fracking rules. The legislation also looks to install a moratorium on fracking in the northern part of the state. 

Bradley maintains that the Illinois Department of Natural Resources has not been moving fast enough when it comes to the fracking rule-making process. The agency is currently working through some 35,000 public comments it received on the state's proposed fracking rules, which do not have to be finalized until November. 

Environmental groups such as the Illinois Environmental Council, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Environmental Law and Policy Center, the Sierra Club and Faith in Place strongly oppose Bradley's legislation, explaining in a statement that it "cuts out the public’s voice in crafting these rules." 

"The environmental community rejects this late-session end run that eliminates the public from discussions on fracking in Illinois," the environmental groups added. "The established rule-making process has been hijacked, eliminating the public’s voice and scuttling the technical expertise that has gone into that rulemaking."