Political Quotes

“Mr. President, among Chicago's most treasured assets is Lake Michigan. The Great Lakes are among this country's most valuable natural resources, but the lakes face many natural and man-made threats. I'm pleased to join my Illinois colleague, Senator Mark Kirk, in introducing today the Great Lakes Water Protection Act to address one of those threats--municipal sewage. A recent report found that from January 2010 through January 2011, 7 U.S. cities dumped a combined 18.7 billion gallons of waste water into the Great Lakes. Sewage and storm water discharges have been associated with elevated levels of bacterial pollutants. For the 40 million people who depend on the Great Lakes for their drinking water, that is no small matter. When bacterial counts go too high, beaches have to be closed. In Illinois, we have 52 public beaches along the Lake Michigan shoreline. People use these beaches for swimming, boating, fishing and many communities generate revenue from the public beaches. Every lost visitor to a public beach costs the local economy between $20 and $36 in revenue. Our legislation would quadruple fines for municipalities that dump raw sewage in the Great Lakes and direct the revenue from these penalties to projects that improve water quality. The bill also includes new reporting requirements to provide a more complete understanding of the frequency and impact of sewage dumping on this critical water system. The Great Lakes are a national treasure. Illinoisans know that.…”