​We, the undersigned, urge you to attend next week's General Assembly session and vote yes on HB 2520, the Environmental Justice Act. This bill would update the Environmental Protection Act and give the IL Environmental Protection Agency (IL EPA) additional rules and tools to update the state’s environmental and health impacts data.

Its premise is simple: pollution adds up. The state must consider how much pollution is already present in a community before approving more. And before a company can open, they must meet with the people who would be their neighbors, so the people of Illinois can make informed choices about the risks and benefits these businesses bring.

Specifically, this bill strengthens the definition of Environmental Justice (EJ) Communities and creates a more robust permitting process for any new construction. Applying for a permit will include assessing the potential environmental and public health impacts. This is common sense: when the state is considering a permit, we must ask what will happen to the people who live there if it is approved. And because making sound decisions requires good data, it is essential to have the Environmental Justice Act begin the process of annual reviews as soon as possible, updating the underlying data that determines what qualifies as an EJ community.

We cannot stress enough the importance of being present at the House Assembly when this bill gets called up for a vote on the week of April 18-20th. Passing the Environmental Justice Act will be a historic bill that builds on the tremendous environmental and climate work moving in our state. We urge you to take this vote seriously for the health and safety of all the communities across Illinois.