Hundreds of advocates and organizers headed to Springfield this week for Environmental Lobby Day in Illinois.
Gathering in the rotunda of the State Capitol, speakers rallied for the passage of three bills currently moving through the legislature. They are all central environmental priorities for the state.
One speaker, 12-year-old Charlie Johnson from Glen Ellyn, said it is not right that Styrofoam containers are used once but remain in the environment for hundreds of years.
"It's not fair for kids like me, kids all around Illinois, to inherit foam we had no hand in creating," he said.
He attended Environmental Lobby Day to help advocate for the Polystyrene Foam Foodware Ban, which would make Illinois the 11th state to ban foam foodware.
State Rep. Anna Moeller, D-43rd, of Elgin spoke at the rally as well. She is the chief sponsor of the Wetlands Protection Act, which would enact state-level protections for wetlands in response to major rollbacks in federal protections following a 2023 Supreme Court ruling.
Advocates also lobbied for POWER Act, which would regulate energy and water use in new data centers coming to Illinois. It would also create protections limiting pollution and protecting vulnerable communities.
The Illinois Environmental Council organized the rally with many of its partners and said nearly 250 people attended. They also said Illinois residents who attended the lobby day coordinated meetings with at least 40 lawmakers about environmental policies.
Copy Edited by Eryn Lent
