Support Coal-Producing Communities
Why should communities benefit from a coal severance tax? When companies pull out, or changes in production cause substantial job loss, communities experience spikes in unemployment, and loss of business and trade.
IDNR Feels the Heat
Residents believe that decisions made by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources favor the mining company over farmers and residents, who must live with the impacts of the coal mine.
PROTECT THE MIDDLE FORK
Over a 55-year period, Illinois Power and its successor Dynegy constructed and operated three separate coal ash disposal pits, depositing over 3.3 million cubic yards of coal ash waste. These three coal ash pits are located in the western floodplain of the Middle Fork. Two of the pits are unlined and actively leaching into underlying groundwater. One is lined, but is located over underground voids created by prior coal mining.
Dynegy closed the power plant in 2001. Today, the Dynegy Vermilion site is a toxic waste dump – not an operating power plant.
COAL – THE “COMEBACK KID”?
ILLINOIS – BRIGHT SPOT IN A DECLINING ECONOMY Why Illinois? Illinois has vast reserves of high-energy, high-sulfur coal that lay under much of our state. But when the Clean Air Act was amended in the 1990’s, Illinois’ coal was determined to be too polluting to burn, putting an end to much of that state’s coal […]
Taking Back Local Control
Take back local control through community rights ordinances. Don’t communities have a right to determine what they want to see in their towns? Here’s a success story.
End Kids Coal Education in Illinois
Did you know that Illinois state law currently requires the development of a coal education program for our state’s children?
Coal Education with Tax $$ Doesn’t Add Up
This week, June 19-22, Illinois grade school teachers will gather at the Rend Lake Resort near Mount Vernon for the 15th annual Coal Education Conference sponsored by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. Each year, IDCEO spends up to $70,000 for this all-expense-paid teachers’ retreat. While our children’s teachers deserve to be recognized for their dedication and hard work, this particular retreat is nothing more than a corporate ploy to advance the coal industry’s “clean coal” message through grade school lesson plans at taxpayer expense.
BREAKING – Chicago Coal Plants Closing!
VICTORY!! EJC Announces Chicago’s Coal Plants Will Close Eco-Justice Collaborative, the initiator of the most recent campaign to close Chicago’s […]
Selling Coal to Our Kids
From the Coal Mines to the Power Lines The education of our children is a sacred trust that we give […]
Illinois – The Next Appalachia
Today, Illinois is ranked 5th among states in coal production, and its coal is being mined by some of the largest coal companies in the world, including Peabody Energy and Chris Cline’s Foresight Energy. But not without costs to Illinois communities who are left with pollution, environmental degradation and depopulation of once vibrant rural towns.