State of Illinois
06/26/2026 | Press release | Archived content
Statement from Director Jennings on Gov. Pritzker Signing Protections Against Federal Environmental Rollbacks
Illinois EPA Initiated bill will prevent the Illinois Pollution Control Board from being required to automatically adopt weakened federal environmental rules
SPRINGFIELD - Today, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) Director James Jennings issued the following statement commending Governor JB Pritzker for signing House Bill 5070 into law:
"Longstanding environmental protections have repeatedly come under attack by the Trump administration, necessitating action at the state level to ensure Illinois' environmental regulations remain intact and Illinois residents are protected. I am especially grateful to Representative Williams and Senator Ellman for their partnership in championing this effort in the General Assembly.
"HB 5070 prohibits the use of expedited rulemaking processes before the Board to implement any new federal standards that are less stringent than Illinois's existing clean air, clean water, safe drinking water, and hazardous waste standards. This will ensure Illinois maintains its strong environmental protections that are legally supported and based on sound science."
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) was created in 1970 as part of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act, making it the longest standing environmental protection agency in the U.S. The mission of the Illinois EPA is to safeguard environmental quality, consistent with the social and economic needs of the State of Illinois, so as to protect health, welfare, property, and the quality of life. For more information, visit the Illinois EPA's website at www.epa.illinois.gov.
State of Illinois published this content on June 26, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on June 29, 2026 at 16:28 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]