Bill Text: IL SR2073 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Condemns the Governor's Office's response to the developing health crisis in Southeast DuPage County and demands the Governor's Office and the Illinois EPA's prompt and unreserved cooperation with the Illinois Attorney General's Office, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, local governments, and stakeholders affected in order to expeditiously resolve this crisis.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2019-01-09 - Session Sine Die [SR2073 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2017-SR2073-Introduced.html
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1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, It is the mission of the Illinois Environmental | ||||||
3 | Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) to "safeguard environmental | ||||||
4 | quality, consistent with the social and economic needs of the | ||||||
5 | State, so as to protect health, welfare, property and the | ||||||
6 | quality of life"; and
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7 | WHEREAS, The Illinois EPA exists within the Executive | ||||||
8 | Branch of State government and carries out the Governor's | ||||||
9 | environmental policy within the framework of State and federal | ||||||
10 | laws; and
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11 | WHEREAS, The Governor appoints the director of the Illinois | ||||||
12 | EPA; and
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13 | WHEREAS, The Citizens of Willowbrook and the surrounding | ||||||
14 | populous areas of Southeast DuPage County are located within | ||||||
15 | close proximity to Sterigenics International, a company which | ||||||
16 | specializes in fumigating medical instruments, pharmaceutical | ||||||
17 | drugs and food to kill bacteria; and
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18 | WHEREAS, Sterigenics International utilizes a gas called | ||||||
19 | ethylene oxide as a main component in the fumigation process; | ||||||
20 | and
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1 | WHEREAS, The chemical ethylene oxide has been on the | ||||||
2 | federal list of carcinogens since 1985 and has been linked more | ||||||
3 | conclusively to breast and blood cancer by the United States | ||||||
4 | Environmental Protection Agency in 2016; and
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5 | WHEREAS, According to published reports, the Citizens of | ||||||
6 | Willowbrook and the surrounding areas of Southeast DuPage | ||||||
7 | County may be exposed to a strikingly-high level of | ||||||
8 | cancer-linked toxins as a result of Sterigenics | ||||||
9 | International's use of ethylene oxide; and
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10 | WHEREAS, According to published reports by the United | ||||||
11 | States Department of Health and Human Services, the cancer | ||||||
12 | risks from breathing ethylene oxide pollution in Southeast | ||||||
13 | DuPage communities could be up to 6,400 per million, or more | ||||||
14 | than six cases for every 1,000 people; and
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15 | WHEREAS, In August of 2018, the Illinois EPA declined to | ||||||
16 | provide the Office of the Attorney General with key documents | ||||||
17 | about highly toxic ethylene oxide gas emitted by Sterigenics | ||||||
18 | International; and
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19 | WHEREAS, It has been published that the Illinois EPA | ||||||
20 | released said documents to the Office of the Attorney General | ||||||
21 | only once pressured to do so by House Republican Leader Jim | ||||||
22 | Durkin and Senator John Curan, who represent the affected area |
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1 | of Southeast DuPage; and
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2 | WHEREAS, It is the moral and ethical responsibility of the | ||||||
3 | Executive Branch to implement a sound environmental policy and | ||||||
4 | to respond swiftly to emergencies that directly impact the | ||||||
5 | health of the Citizens of Illinois; therefore, be it
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6 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL | ||||||
7 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we condemn the wholly | ||||||
8 | deficient response by the Governor's Office to the developing | ||||||
9 | health crisis in Southeast DuPage County; moreover, we demand | ||||||
10 | the Governor's Office and the Illinois EPA's prompt and | ||||||
11 | unreserved cooperation with the Illinois Attorney General's | ||||||
12 | Office, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, | ||||||
13 | local governments, and stakeholders affected in order to | ||||||
14 | expeditiously resolve this crisis.
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