Illinois Leaders Prioritize Great Lakes Recovery

On July 14, U.S. Representatives Rahm Emanuel (D–IL) and Mark Kirk (R–IL) introduced legislation, H.R. 2720, that would establish the Great Lakes Restoration Fund, creating a pool of $4 billion over five years for Great Lakes cleanup and rehabilitation. A parallel bill, S. 1398, introduced in the senate and co-sponsored by U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D–IL), would provide alternative financing at $6 billion over 10 years.

"For too long we've had fragmented good intentions, not enough action. We've had loose change for our health around the Great Lakes when we need real resources," said Cameron Davis, executive director of the Lake Michigan Federation, who assisted in the effort's development. "With this bill, there's finally hope that we can hit Great Lakes problems head on with comprehensive, coordinated work."

If passed, the bills will focus attention on select threats such as polluted runoff, sewage overflows, invasive species, and toxic air pollution, among others. The bills will also help fund shoreline habitat restoration, including urban coastal care for places such as Chicago. As such, the bills could help fund critical Chicago Wilderness work in the Lake Michigan watershed at places like Northerly Island in Chicago, Waukegan, and Illinois' 63 miles of beaches that have been hard hit this summer by bacterial pollution.

Just a week after the funding bills were introduced, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley announced the creation of headquarters in Chicago for the Great Lakes Cities Initiative, a coordinated effort by mayors of cities around the Great Lakes to address similar lake health issues.

When asked how funding could be found for the Great Lakes during tight budget times, Davis responded, "We finance the things that are important to us. With 96 percent of Midwesterners surveyed by a recent Joyce Foundation/Biodiversity Project poll saying they want the Great Lakes protected, that's a mandate to start working now."