It’s clear on this Earth Day, that President Donald Trump’s administration is rapidly moving backward from protecting our core environmental values. So far, the federal courts are almost uniformly deciding that the Trump administration cannot ignore and must reasonably apply and enforce statutory and regulatory requirements. Trump must comply with the environmental laws as written. That is the most elementary principle of the rule of law.

No president can willy-nilly ignore statutory Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and Great Lakes protection funding and policies.

What’s also clear is that Illinois, Chicago and other local governments must step up to advance environmental progress while the federal government is backpedaling and issuing misguided executive actions of dubious legal authority.  

Midwesterners share the commonsense values that we should all be able to breathe healthy clean air, drink safe clean water and live in communities without toxic threats. While the Trump Environmental Protection Agency is giving out “get out of jail free” cards that exempt coal plants and other polluters from complying with the Clean Air Act, our state and cities implement and enforce our laws and use our constitutionally reserved local powers.

The Great Lakes are where we live, work and play. Restoring and protecting the Great Lakes is bipartisan, nonpartisan and just plain common sense. But the Trump EPA is pulling back Clean Water Act implementation and proposing budgets that would radically cut U.S. EPA staff and funding for Great Lakes restoration and resilience.

As the Trump administration sadly withdraws from its environmental protection responsibilities, here are six ways that Illinois and local leaders should step up and act.

1. Apply Illinois’ environmental laws.  Aggressively, fairly and effectively implement and enforce Illinois and local environmental protection laws to hold down pollution that harms public health. Article XI of the Illinois Constitution provides: “Each person has the right to a healthful environment.” The Illinois Environmental Protection Act is enforceable and can provide stronger clean air, clean water and toxin protections than federal law. The city of Chicago has local ordinance authority, which limits new landfills, and the City Council is considering important cumulative impacts assessments.  Gov. JB Pritzker and the Illinois EPA, Attorney General Kwame Raoul and Mayor Brandon Johnson should use their legal authority to help fill the huge gap from the Trump EPA’s legally impermissible abandonment of environmental protection responsibilities.
2. Public transit that works.  Chicago cannot be a green city without a public transit system that works for all.  The Regional Transportation Authority’s “doomsday” scenario explains potential service cuts if state legislators don’t address the financial cliff facing the CTA, Metra and Pace.  Deteriorating transit would decrease mobility to jobs, families and essential services, and increase congestion and pollution. State Sen. Ram Villivalam and Rep. Eva-Dina Delgado are sponsoring legislation to provide funding and reform to make Illinois’ transit system work better. Lawmakers should act to advance mobility, affordability, access and climate solutions by saving our transit system now.

3. Accelerate clean energy. Illinois is ranked fourth among states for solar energy capacity and fifth for wind power. That’s driven by Illinois policies that are good for jobs, economic growth and the environment. Energy efficiency is saving residents and businesses money on their utility bills while reducing pollution, creating jobs and keeping energy dollars in our local economy. There are many challenges, but let’s recognize the progress. The Illinois Commerce Commission issued new grid improvement plans for Ameren and ComEd that will modernize the system, integrate more local renewable energy and improve reliability while cutting unnecessary costs. A recent Community Power Scorecard ranked Illinois highest among all states for rooftop solar, community solar and policies that give people choices. Clean energy isn’t going back.

4. Environmental justice. The Army Corps of Engineers proposed building a new 25-foot-high toxic waste landfill along the Lake Michigan shoreline on the Southeast Side, which has long been overburdened by pollution. Community and environmental groups filed a lawsuit in federal court to stop this misguided project.  The Corps recently withdrew its flawed proposal but has refused to finally end this bad idea. Enough is enough. The Corps should restore the site and move on.  The Chicago Park District should take back this site and seize the opportunity to create the long-promised new lakefront park just north of Calumet Park. The lakefront is for people and parks, not toxic waste dumps.

5. Protecting vital wetlands. In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court’s Sackett decision removed protections for about 50% of the nation’s wetlands under the Clean Water Act, leaving states to pick up the slack.  The Trump EPA is making the problem worse. Wetlands provide important benefits for flood control, protection of clean water and wildlife habitat, and increased outdoor recreation opportunities. The Illinois Wetlands Protection Act, sponsored by Sen. Laura Ellman and Rep. Anna Moeller, would restore protection of vital wetlands. Pritzker should support and legislators should pass this legislation to move Illinois forward as a leader among states providing protections.

6. Protecting our Lake Michigan shoreline. We all love the lake, and the Clean Water Act has worked to achieve tremendous progress since the days of foamy, contaminated water and alewives filling the beaches. Protecting safe drinking water, healthy fisheries and outdoor recreation is not partisan. We can keep the shoreline parks and beaches clean, safe and enjoyable. As climate change causes more extreme weather, with high winds whipping up heavy waves that batter shoreline infrastructure, we need to adapt and improve resilience. Illinois and Great Lakes legislators should focus on renewed federal funding for the successful Great Lakes Restoration Initiative programs and to keep invasive carp out of the lakes.  If the Trump EPA retreats on Clean Water Act implementation and enforcement, Illinois and the other Great Lakes states should step up to force polluters to clean up their operations and reduce pollution that threatens our safe water supplies, harms fisheries and aquatic ecosystems, and prevents enjoyable water recreation for all.

Environmental protection doesn’t begin and end in Washington. It’s being shaped right here and advanced by people and public officials who understand that a healthier environment means healthier families and stronger neighborhoods. This Earth Day, let’s step up in Chicago and Illinois.

Howard Learner is CEO and president of the Environmental Law & Policy Center.

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