By Ann Baskerville
Each year, Sierra Club volunteer
grassroots lobbyists make an appointment with their State Representative and
State Senator to advocate for priority environmental legislation.
Volunteers receive training and extensive background on the policy in Sierra
Club’s priority legislation, which is selected with volunteer input. Many
volunteers have spent years lobbying their local legislators, establishing the
types of local relationships that paid, out-of-district lobbyists can only
dream of! If you would like to join our lobbying efforts or
learn more, contact Linda Sullivan, lsullivan23@hotmail.com.
Listed below you will find information on our priority legislation for Spring 2026.
Illinois is facing a rush of data center proposals. In just the past few months, data centers that would require over 2 gigawatts of electricity at maximum capacity have been approved in Joliet and Yorkville. Notably, both Joliet and Yorkville are in the process of switching from well water to Lake Michigan water, which would be used by the data center for cooling. Clearly, conserving Great Lakes water and using it responsibly is of the utmost importance. The POWER Act establishes common sense guardrails on data centers' water use and also establishes transparency measures to inform the public on how much water data centers use.
Furthermore, we know everyone's electric bills are increasing at unsustainable rates. As data centers' electricity use adds to strain on the grid, prices have increased due to data centers gobbling up more of the supply of electricity. The POWER Act requires that data centers show how they will power their operations with new, clean energy. These plans must rely on renewable energy and battery storage projects that can deliver electricity where the data center is located and add new power to the grid. We must ensure data centers bring their own new, clean energy so they do not unfairly cause prices to rise by increasing electricity demand without also increasing the supply of new electricity.
The POWER Act has been the topic of several subject matter hearings in Springfield, and legislators are acutely aware of the impact data centers are having on power bills and many local communities. As with many recent bills dealing with electricity, we expect a negotiating table in Springfield to be convened to draft a data center bill. Sierra Club and our allies at the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition have been and will continue to prepare to negotiate for nation-leading guardrails on data centers that will protect people and planet.
Wetlands provide many ecosystem services such as helping to control flooding, filtering water, and providing habitat to many species. Illinois has already lost 90% of its wetlands acreage. The wetlands bill establishes a state program to help replace wetlands acres that are lost to development. For example, if a data center were to be built on land that contained wetlands, the State would require a fee before construction and then use the fee to create and preserve wetlands in another area, helping to make up for the lost wetlands. The wetlands bills has not been called for a vote in either chamber, but advocates including Sierra Club continue to advocate for swift attention to our remaining wetlands.
Exposure to styrene has been linked to increased risks of cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma, as well as neurological effects for workers and communities near production facilities. From manufacturing plants to waste disposal sites, the lifecycle of styrene disproportionately exposes frontline communities—often low-income and communities of color—to harmful pollution. SB 1531 shields Illinois communities from toxic polystyrene foam by phasing out the sale and distribution of foam foodware containers in the state of Illinois by 2030. The Fact Sheet contains some cost comparisons showing the availability of alternatives. SB1531 has passed in the Senate, and we are continuing to work on persuading Representatives to vote yes on this bill.
Designating a
State Bee for Illinois
This bill will draw attention to the importance of native bees in Illinois and hopefully encourage all of us to do our part in planting more native habitat for bees to use for food. Many folks are unaware that honey bees can create stresses on limited food sources for native bees. This bill is designed to educate us all on the need for additional habitat for native bees. This bill passed unanimously in the House and we expect similar results in the Senate!
Illinois
Climate Change Superfund Act
This is a cost recovery program modeled on long-standing Superfund principles that have required polluters to pay for environmental cleanup for more than four decades. We know that polluters have impacts on our community and this bill will create funding for climate resilience projects in communities impacted by pollution. We expect conversations around this bill to continue this year as more legislators become familiar with the policy in this bill.
SB2842: No Eminent Domain for CO2 Pipelines
Sierra Club supports this
bill to ban eminent domain in Illinois for CO2 pipeline permits, allowing
landowners the power to negotiate to protect property rights, to support
farmland productivity, and to improve the safety of CO2 pipeline routes.
Neither the U.S. Government nor the State of Illinois imposes setbacks
for CO2 pipelines, even though these pipelines transport a toxic
asphyxiant and are dangerous. Eliminating the option of eminent domain could
force the private CO2 pipeline companies to consider safe routing in order to
obtain voluntary right-of-way easements from landowners. This bill was
introduced in early 2026 and has quickly added bi-partisan sponsors. The
advocates working on this bill are hopeful for passage in Spring 2026 and
especially appreciate Sierra Club’s work to ensure legislators all across the
State know Sierra Club supports this bill.
