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.
POWER Act Data
Centers
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.
Protect
Illinois Wetlands
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.
Polystyrene
Foam Ban
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.
