The latest

President Obama has announced new nationwide pollution reduction and fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks. The new standards will largely track the clean car standards being advocated by the Environmental Law & Policy Center and considered by the Illinois General Assembly in HB422 and SB1941. Learn more.

Sign the petition

Let your elected officials know that you want to bring Clean Cars to Illinois. Bringing clean cars to our state will reduce global warming pollution, and reduce our fuel consumption. It also will bring significant health benefits from reducing other pollutants emitted by cars, especially for children and thosewho suffer from respiratory problems.

Sign the petition now!

The background: Why clean cars are a win for Illinois

• Health: lower air pollutants will mean relief to people with asthma and other respiratory ailments.
• Economy: fuel-efficient vehicles will save 1.2 billion gallons of gas every year. Instead of spending their hard-earned dollars on fuel from other countries, Illinois residents will spend most of these additional funds on goods and services produced right here in Illinois.
• Environment: clean cars will reduce global warming pollution from new cars by an average of 22% by 2012 and by average of 30% by 2020
• National security: We all want to lessen our dependence on foreign oil. The Clean Car Act provides incentives for domestic automakers to make more fuel-efficient vehicles.

The Clean Car standards reduce other air pollutants that the CAFÉ program doesn’t even cover, such as carbon monoxide and several air toxics that cause cancer. The resulting improvement in public health-particularly for those affected by respiratory disease, is significant. Tens of thousands fewer lost school days each year, around 100,000 fewer respiratory symptoms annually, and on and on.

It’s time to bring Clean Cars to Illinois. Send the letter to your state representative and state senator today. Make sure to tell them to support Rep. May’s and Senator Link’s bill so we can start driving the cleanest cars possible here in Illinois!

Send a letter

Write to your state elected officials now to support Clean Cars for Illinois.

Illinois and other Midwest states are moving to adopt tough new standards to reduce pollution, benefiting the region’s health and reducing global warming pollution-while also improving the area’s economy. Illinois has the opportunity to lead the Midwest in ensuring all new passenger cars and light-duty trucks will emit lower levels of global warming and other air pollutants while improving public health, and saving Illinois consumers money at the pump.

Download ELPC’s new report - Breathing Free in Illinois: Reducing Air Pollution and Improving Health through Cleaner Cars (pdf). The report highlights public health and the environmental benefits of bringing Clean Cars legislation to Illinois.

You can help take the global warming pollution of more than 950,000 cars off the road each year in Illinois!

The new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFÉ) standards recently passed by Congress and signed by President Bush does not do nearly enough to increase fuel efficiency or significantly reduce global warming pollution from cars.

It’s time for Illinois to demand better.

We have the opportunity to lead the Midwest by joining 14 states in adopting standards requiring auto manufacturers to build cleaner cars. State Representative Karen May and State Senator Terry Link are sponsoring legislation in the Illinois General Assembly to do just that.

How will clean car legislation benefit Illinois? Listen to this interview with Joe Shacter, senior policy advocate at the Environmental Law & Policy Center: