Reis, Others Urge Speedup of Fracking Guidelines

Lawmakers joined leaders from business, labor and energy urging immediate action on fracking's rule-making process to ensure thousands of new jobs and billions in state revenue remain in Illinois.

"Fracking will bring a windfall of jobs, especially union jobs, and billions in new revenue for Illinois and its downstate communities," State Representative David Reis (R-Ste. Marie) said. "The politically-driven delays by the Governor and his Department of Natural Resources are single-handedly stymieing the economic boom fracking will bring to our state. With a 7.9% unemployment rate, our state needs the thousands of good-paying jobs fracking will create." The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is charged with drafting the fracking regulatory rules.

The Department promulgated the first draft of rules in November and received nearly 35,000 public comments. By May of this year, the Department remains stalled on addressing the comments and has failed to publish a second draft of rules. If the fracking rules are not adopted by November 2014, then the rulemaking expires and the Department must start over.

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, could create upwards of 45,000 new jobs and $9 billion in new economic development, according to an Illinois Chamber Foundation study. The Governor signed the bi-partisan fracking measure into law in June 2013. The landmark law permits high volume fracking while enforcing some of the nation's strictest water and air protections.