Environmental Progress - Summer 2005

Douglas P. Scott was appointed Director of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, effective July 1, 2005, by Governor Rod Blagojevich.

Director Scott chats with Bureau of Water staff members Rick coffman, Gary Lael, and Renesheia Owens during a July welcoming reception.

In announcing the appointment, Governor Blagojevich said he was confident Director Scott will be "an energetic and innovative advocate for public health and the environment."

Director Scott took over leadership of the nation's oldest state environmental agency on the 35th anniversary date of the Illinois EPA's start on July 1, 1970. He is committed to maintaining and enhancing the Agency's key role in protecting our air, land and water and carrying out Governor Blagojevich's pledge to make government more accountable and accessible to citizens and the regulated community, including local governments and businesses.

Among the many new progressive programs started under Governor Blagojevich that Director Scott will continue and expand include the Safe and Healthy Schools Initiative to protect our kids; a brownfields program that is one of the nation's most successful in cleaning up and redeveloping abandoned industrial and commercial sites; continued clean air progress through enlisting citizens and industry and supporting clean coal technology, wind power and other alternative energy and fuel sources; protecting vital public water supplies in Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River; making Illinois the nation's leader in public notification and community relations activities on environmental concerns; and implementing the Governor's program to clean up more orphaned open dump sites and ensure that all Illinois landfills are properly operated.

Director Scott announces Springfield brownfields project.

Director Scott succeeds Renee Cipriano, who is returning to the private sector after serving as the IEPA's 10th Director, starting in August 2001. Governor Blagojevich thanked Cipriano for "her strong leadership in this demanding and crucial post."

"I am very pleased to be joining the administration and exhilarated by the opportunities and challenges ahead. I would like to thank Governor Blagojevich for this honor and for placing his confidence in me. I look forward to continuing to build upon Renee's good work," Scott stated when the appointment was announced.

Doug Scott was born in Rockford in 1960 and graduated from Rockford East High School in 1978. He returned home after receiving his Bachelors Degree with honors from the University of Tulsa in 1982, and graduating with a law degree with honors from Marquette University in 1985.

He served as Assistant City Attorney and City Attorney for Rockford from 1985 to 1995, working with local residents, city staff and elected officials on ways to address Rockford's needs, including aggressively going after slum landlords and helping to start the city's recycling programs.

While working for the City, Scott began the curbside recycling, compost collection, used tire, used engine oil and household hazardous waste collection programs that are still in successful practice today. He also represented the City on a number of environmental issues.

During his tenure from 1995-2001 as an Illinois State Representative for the 67th District, Rep. Scott distinguished himself as a champion of working families and urban renewal. As Chair of the House Urban Revitalization Committee, he introduced initiatives to give Rockford and its residents the tools that they need to rid their neighborhoods of abandoned buildings and vacant lots. Rep. Scott also served on the Energy and Environment Committee, and was a member of the committee that rewrote the state's electric utility laws.

Doug Scott was elected to the Office of the Mayor of Rockford in April 2001 and served a four-year term.

As Mayor, Scott formed task forces to study biotechnology, higher education and broadband issues related to future business expansion. The City also purchased vital riverfront property for future development and has continued its support of local arts, cultural and tourism programs. He also secured state and federal funding for important infrastructure improvements, including the extension of water mains to promote new west side residential development.

Mayor Scott was actively involved in health and education issues, holding public forums and forming citizen committees to encourage community participation in the local school system, and announced a program to encourage healthy lifestyles. Emphasizing regionalism and intergovernmental cooperation, Mayor Scott formed two groups, one with other elected officials in Winnebago County, and the other an organization of Mayors and County Executives from a four-county area, to explore issues of mutual concern.

In addition to being elected to leadership positions in the Illinois Municipal League, United States Conference of Mayors and National League of Cities, Scott has served as President of the Illinois Chapter of the National Brownfields Association.

Since their marriage in 1985, his wife Tammy has become a community leader in her own right, working as a professional grant writer and serving on numerous non-profit boards.