HeplerBroom’s Government Affairs Associate Michael Scott co-authored this blog post.
On June 12, 2025, Governor Pritzker signed into law Public Act 104-0006 which, in part, increased the maximum civil penalty amounts for violations under the Illinois Environmental Protection Act.
Prior to these amendments, a person who violated any provision of the Act, a regulation adopted by the Pollution Control Board, any permit issued pursuant to the Act, or an order of the Pollution Control Board would be liable for a civil penalty not to exceed $50,000 for the violation and an additional civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 for each day during which the violation continued.
Effective June 16, 2025, the statutory maximum penalties in Section 42(a) of the Act increased up to $100,000 for each violation and up to $25,000 for each day the violation continues. Program-specific penalty amounts in Sections 42(b) and (b.5) of the Act were also increased. The amendments also included a schedule for future increases in a new subsection 42(l), which states:
As used in this Section, “consumer price index-u” means the index published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor that measures the average change in prices of goods and services purchased by all urban consumers, United States city average, all items, 1982-84 = 100. On July 1, 2026 and July 1 of each year thereafter, the maximum penalties set forth in subsection (a) and paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (5) of subsection (b) shall each be increased by an amount equal to the annual unadjusted percentage increase in the consumer price index-u for the 12 months ending with the March preceding each July 1, including all previous adjustments.
Public Act 104-0006 was originally House Bill 2755, which was shelled late in session for the Fiscal Year 2026 revenue omnibus package. The amendments to the Illinois Environmental Protection Act were a small portion of the omnibus package, which contains over $330 million in corporate tax increases and creates a new sports wagering tax, among other items.
PartnerSince 2014, Melissa S. Brown has developed a robust environmental law practice in which she assists businesses on a wide variety of environmental issues. Clients regularly rely on her to provide counsel on complying with federal and ...
