Long Battle Over Cook County Landfill Not Yet Finished

Springfield, Ill. — After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County (SWANCC) last year in a controversial landfill siting case, many believed that the landfill was a foregone conclusion. But Illinois legislators Carole Pankau and Doris Karpiel have co-sponsored a bill that would require SWANCC to go through the entire landfill permitting process again. Pankau and Karpiel argue that because the state's landfill permitting rules have changed since the original permit was issued, SWANCC should have to reapply and meet the new requirements. The landfill has yet to be constructed or receive any garbage, so the legislators and environmental groups believe that the landfill should abide by the new rules.