Agency Unveils Exhibit in Capitol Complex
 "Building Partnerships for a Sustainable Future" is the theme of a
new Illinois EPA display in the Stratton Office Building in Springfield. The exhibit is
part of an overview of state operations permanently on display in the office building
adjacent to the state capitol building.
The Illinois EPA display emphasizes recent efforts to include the private sector and
the regulated community in Agency programs, in a move away from earlier "command and
control" approaches to environmental regulation.
Featured in the "Partnerships" exhibit are: the Clean
Lakes Program, that involves lake area landowners and interested
groups in efforts to improve lake water quality; Clean Break,
an amnesty program in the Office of Small Business, that lets firms with up
to 200 employees identify and correct violations of most environmental regulations
without fear of penalties for past actions; Partners
for Waste Paint Solutions, an innovative program in which
participating paint dealers accept leftover or unwanted paint for re-blending;
the Governor’s Environmental
Corps, an expanding program underwritten by private industry partners
that lets high school seniors and college students work at the Illinois EPA
for eight weeks during the summer, as an introduction to possible environmental
careers; Partners for Clean Air,
which unites the Illinois EPA with several hundred Chicago-area businesses in
efforts to reduce unhealthy air quality tied to emissions of pollutants; and
the Great Printers Project, that enrolled firms in the state’s
single largest manufacturing industry to reduce pollution by increased use of
environment-friendly materials like recycled and soybean based inks,
and reduced reliance on pollutant-generating activities such as alcohol-based
processes.
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