Environmental Group Gives Top Marks To Local Legislators

EVANSTON, IL — The Illinois Environmental Council has given its top ratings to seven North Shore state lawmakers this year. Founded in 1975, the Springfield-based group lobbies legislators and corporations on environmental issues and releases an annual scorecard tallying up how supportive members of the General Assembly have been to its agenda.

The group's 2017 score card takes into account votes on 14 pieces of legislation, some of which were sponsored by local members. The bills counted by the environmental group include restrictions on hunting bobcats, loosening of restrictions on cottage food producers, wind farms, nonprofits who collect cooking oil and farmers markets.

The following legislators representing North Shore communities received perfect scores, meaning they voted along with the environmental group's recommendations 100 percent of the time on those 14 votes.

• Rep. John C. D'Amico, Morton Grove, 15th District
• Rep. Lou Lang, Skokie, 16th District
• Rep. Laura Fine, Glenview, 17th District
• Rep. Robyn Gabel, Evanston, 18th District
• Rep. Elaine Nekritz, Northbrook, 57th District
• Rep. Scott Drury, Highwood, 58th District
• Sen. Daniel Biss, Evanston, 9th District

In a letter accompanying the scorecard, Executive Director Jen Walling cited the passage of a bill allowing for property assessed clean energy financing and making money from the Natural Areas Acquisition Fund available to fund the maintenance of open spaces as major accomplishments in 2017.

"We were also pleased to see progress on expanding opportunities for local food and sustainable agriculture through the Food Freedom Act and changes to Farmers Market regulations," Walling wrote. "However, the Industrial Hemp Act, which would have allowed farmers to grow this sustainable crop, was stalled in the House."

Check out the full 2017 scorecard and explanation from the Illinois Environmental Council:

_{Top photo: (Clockwise from top left) Lou Lang, Robyn Gabel, Scott Drury, John D'Amico, Elaine Nekritz, Daniel Biss, Laura Fine | Image created via official portraits}