Every year, the Illinois Environmental Council (IEC) issues a voting scorecard that grades members of the Illinois General Assembly on how they voted for bills affecting the environment.
The 2026 Environmental Scorecard gave 100% scores to 95 state legislators, all of whom are incumbent Democrats.
This included 58% of state representatives and 46% of state senators.
The IEC’s Chief Communications Officer Tucker Barry says that while Democrats were the only ones to receive perfect scores, some Republicans still had scores in the high 80s.
“We all share our environment,” he said. “We are all impacted by the growing impacts of climate change. It is an issue that just by the very nature of how we are all impacted is bipartisan."
According to IEC CEO Jen Walling, the annual scorecard helps Illinoisans evaluate whether their legislators are adequately doing their part to protect the environment.
"We put this tool in the hands of Illinois voters as a mechanism for holding elected officials accountable," she said in an IEC press release. "It is a valuable resource as folks head into the voting booth this November.”
2026 is the second year in a row that over half of Illinois’ current general assembly had a perfect voting record.
This year’s scores depended on how legislators voted for 13 recent environmentally conscious bills during the last veto and spring sessions at the Springfield statehouse.
Notable bills include the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability (CRGA) Act, the Northern Illinois Transit Authority Act, and the Plastic Pellet Free Waters Act.
