In the great state of Illinois, clean air is hard to come by. Last year, Sierra Club research found that roughly 3 in 4 Illinois residents live in areas that regularly experience air that the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has determined is unsafe to breathe. Illinoisans—especially children, the elderly, and those with asthma or other respiratory illnesses who are most vulnerable to pollution impacts—deserve better.
Tailpipe pollution is a leading cause of our state’s air quality crisis. The chemicals in gasoline and diesel exhaust are known to increase the risk of heart attacks and cardiac events, cancer, asthma and other lung diseases, developmental delays, and countless other health problems.
Pollution from diesel trucks has gotten significantly worse with the rapid expansion of Illinois’ mega-warehouse and delivery economy. At least 1 in 6 Illinois residents live within half a mile of a large warehouse, where they are chronically exposed to high levels of toxic diesel exhaust from truck traffic. Due to generations of systemic racism and unjust housing practices, black and brown people and low-income households are more likely to live near sites where these and other polluting facilities are built, concentrating the bad air in these neighborhoods.
Illinois has the power to fix this.
According to the American Lung Association, shifting to pollution-free vehicles and clean power generation would prevent nearly 5,500 premature deaths, 138,000 asthma attacks, and 670,000 days of work lost to illness saving the state $59.5 billion in cumulative public health benefits through 2050.
To inspire action on EV adoption, the Sierra Club and a coalition of conservation, public health, and environmental justice allies petitioned the Illinois Pollution Control Board, setting in motion a process to adopt three vehicle pollution standards: Advanced Clean Cars II, Advanced Clean Trucks, and Heavy-Duty Omnibus.
These policies would require manufacturers to gradually increase the supply of zero-emission cars, trucks, and buses available at Illinois dealerships through 2035 while setting reasonable limits on health-harming tailpipe pollution from new diesel engines. The rules only set limits on manufacturers, not consumers, and apply only to new cars and trucks. Vehicles already on the road, off-road vehicles, and used vehicles would remain entirely unaffected. And the equity provisions in the Advanced Clean Cars II rule will encourage car makers to make EVs that are more affordable and accessible.
At a time when working families across Illinois are struggling with the cost of living, making EVs more accessible can help drivers save a lot of money. Charging an EV at home in Illinois is the equivalent of paying less than a dollar per gallon of gasoline. In fact, by switching to an EV, the average driver in Springfield could save more than $1,000 per year on fuel costs alone. Plus, with fewer moving parts and no oil to change, EVs cost half as much to maintain and repair. Couple that with the state’s EV incentive program benefits and the savings really start to add up.
By investing in EV technologies we deliver not just consumer savings and cleaner air, we will have a more prosperous economy. Governor Pritzker and the Illinois legislature understand this well. That is why they passed the Climate & Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA).
Illinois is already a major hub for the electric vehicle industry — the electric SUVs, pickup trucks, and school buses built in the Prairie state are shipped all over the world. In addition to manufacturing, putting more EVs on the road creates new job opportunities for installing and maintaining charging infrastructure, creating about 160,000 jobs across the U.S. by 2032. These jobs are needed everywhere we drive cars and present great opportunities for union representation. The state is already preparing for this, with 12 communities in northern Illinois recently completing the EV Readiness Program. By implementing forward-thinking policies that make it easier to get behind the wheel of an EV, we can grow family-sustaining jobs in this cutting-edge manufacturing sector.
Adopting these rules would put Illinois in good company among peer states joining to fight their unique air pollution problems. Eleven states have already adopted the Advanced Clean Trucks standard, and 12 states (plus the District of Columbia) have adopted the Advanced Clean Cars II standard.
While states can choose to follow weaker federal standards, Illinois has an opportunity to flex its right, granted under the Clean Air Act, to do more to protect its residents from the health-harming impacts of tailpipe pollution. Clean technology leadership at the state level is more important than ever before, and Illinois must act now to make it harder for the incoming Trump administration to strip us of our right to clean air.
After the election, Governor Pritzker made it clear he would protect Illinois from federal overreach — telling the press, “You come for my people, you come through me.” If he intends to keep that promise, supporting the adoption of the Advanced Clean Cars II, Advanced Clean Trucks, and Heavy-Duty Omnibus standards would be a great place to start.