Six state assembly members from Lake County were among 53 members of the Illinois House and Senate who last month urged the EPA to set strong limits on carbon pollution from existing power plants, and who pledged support for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan.

“The EPA limits other dangerous pollutants such as mercury, arsenic, smog and soot pollution from power plants; it is time to do the same for carbon pollution,” said the December 1, 2014, letter to Gina McCarthy, head of the EPA.

The six Lake County officials who signed the letter are:

• State Senator Julie Morrison, Senate District 29
• State Senator Melinda Bush, Senate District 31
• State Representative Elaine Nekritz, Assistant Majority Leader, House District 57
• State Representative Scott Drury, House District 58
• State Representative Carol Sente, House District 59
• State Representative Sam Yingling, House District 62

Tony Award-winning director and Illinois native Anna Shapiro recently narrated a video thanking Illinois lawmakers for leading the fight against climate change—and helping make Illinois a leader in clean energy policy.

Here are some ways in which Illinois is well-positioned to meet the challenge of reducing carbon pollution:

• Illinois led the nation in the number of communities using renewable energy between 2008 and 2012.
• Energy efficiency investments have saved Illinois consumers roughly $1 billion since 2008.
• More than 96,000 Illinoisans currently are employed across the state in clean energy jobs, according to a recent survey by the Clean Energy Trust. That number is roughly equal to the size of the state’s real estate and accounting industries—and it is expected to grow 9 percent this year.

The EPA is slated to finalize new carbon pollution standards by June 2015.