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On April 16, 2025, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) and the Illinois Finance Authority (IFA) closed the State of Illinois Clean Water Initiative Revolving Fund Revenue and Refunding Bonds, Series 2025 (Green Bonds), and successfully yield $544.2 million of proceeds for Illinois EPA’s State Revolving Fund (SRF) Programs. “Illinois continues to receive strong bids from the bond market, amid the economic uncertainty being created on the federal level,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Our strong fiscal discipline is allowing us to save taxpayers money, while also providing local governments the capital to replace lead pipes and create economic opportunities across the state.”

- Illinois is taking action against the nation’s top health agency and its plan to compile information on people with autism. Governor JB Pritzker signed an executive order Wednesday that restricts state agencies and departments from sharing personal information about people with autism. It states that personally identifiable information may only be shared when legally required, necessary for care, or with written consent. The Governor’s office said the executive order made Illinois the first state to make that restriction. The order is Pritzker’s response to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s plan to collect information for autism research through sources like pharmacy chains and personal devices.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is accepting applications for Illinois Natural Areas Stewardship grants through June 13, 2025. Eligible applicants are conservation land trusts exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the federal Internal Revenue Code and whose originating documents include in its purposes the restoration and stewardship of land for conservation purposes. The goal of the grant program is to increase the delivery of much-needed stewardship activities to natural areas protected within the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission (INPC) system. Stewardship needs at natural areas throughout the state have continued to outpace the ability to deliver these services by individuals, volunteers, organizations, and government agencies. This grant program is designed to fund projects that immediately address this deficiency and begin to expand on the stewardship capacity of conservation land trusts through grants that will expand their staff and equipment for these activities.

Six measles cases are confirmed in Illinois so far this year, including two new cases in Southern Illinois confirmed over the weekend, the Illinois Department of Public Health announced Monday. Three linked cases in Franklin and Williamson counties meet the Center for Disease Control's technical definition of an outbreak.

The Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) encourages farmers and agrichemical facilities to take part in a free agrichemical container recycling program. Beginning in the middle of July and continuing into August, sites throughout the state will collect containers that are recycled to make shipping pallets.