Illinois Pollution Control Board Celebrates 50 Years

 

[July 02, 2020] 

Fifty years ago, Wednesday, July 1st, the Illinois Environmental Protection Act took effect and established the Illinois Pollution Control Board and Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to implement the environmental protections as set forth in the landmark statute. In commemoration of reaching this milestone, Governor JB Pritzker has proclaimed July 1, 2020, as Illinois Pollution Control Board Day in the State of Illinois.

"The Pollution Control Board has met many environmental challenges. We've worked, over these last fifty years, to protect the people of Illinois from pollution of every kind,” said Barbara Flynn Currie, Chair of the Illinois Pollution Control Board. “I know we will face many more challenges, and I am confident that, fifty years from now, the Board will be able to point to a continuing record of protecting the environment and the health of the people of Illinois."

Over the course of the last half century, the Pollution Control Board has succeeded in its mission to adopt rules and hear permit appeals, enforcement actions, and other matters to safeguard the environment and public health.

In doing so, the Board has made public participation an integral part of all its proceedings, ensuring that its decisions reflect full consideration of information from all perspectives.

Also in celebration of this major milestone, the Pollution Control Board has released its 50th Anniversary Report, highlighting the Board’s accomplishments, its history, and its staff, as well as the development of the Environmental Protection Act and related case law. The Report pays tribute to past Board Members and recognizes that the Board’s first half century ends the way it started, with a Currie as Chair: David P. Currie was the Board’s first Chair and now his wife, Barbara Flynn Currie, is the Board’s thirteenth Chair.

[Illinois Office of Communication and Information]