“I am joining with the Sierra Club to endorse Kwame because we are in a moment where the willingness of our elected officials to stand up for environmental protections will determine whether we pass on a healthier planet to future generations or lose the progress we’ve made,” said Senator Durbin. “Now more than ever we need an attorney general who will act as a check on the Trump administration and stand up for environmentalprotections. Kwame has a proven record in this fight, and I know he’s ready to step up and protect Illinoisans as attorney general.”
“It is vital that Illinois’ next attorney general protect our health and our communities from corporations who violate our environmental laws,” said Jack Darin, Director of the SierraClub, Illinois Chapter. “With Donald Trump and his cronies rolling back protections for our water and air, it has never been more important that Illinois’ top law enforcement officer put the health of our communities first. Kwame Raoul has a track record of fighting for clean energy, environmental justice, and the rights of citizens to protect themselves from pollution, and he will stand up to challenge the Trump administration’s illegal attempts to roll back vital protections.”
“As attorney general, I will aggressively and fairly enforce environmental laws and stand strong for state-level standards to protect Illinoisans’ air, water and health, no matter what the federal government does,” said state Senator Raoul. “I’m honored to have the endorsement of Senator Durbin and the Sierra Club: a public servant and an organization that stand up to Donald Trump every day, fighting for our natural resources and the rule of law.”
Raoul has sponsored legislation that would combat federal rollbacks by requiring state agencies to maintain environmental standards as strict as the federal government’s were on the day before Trump’s inauguration. He has worked to ensure that residents whose health, property and quality of life may be harmed by environmental permitting decisions have a voice in the process. He also helped create the Commission on Environmental Justice and supported renewable energy procurement goals, testing school water fountains for lead and banning plastic microbeads, which threaten wildlife in the Great Lakes.