Community action/Illinois

Climate change in Illinois encompasses the effects of climate change, attributed to man-made increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide, in the U.S. state of Illinois.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency reports that the climate of Illinois is changing. According to a 2016 report, Illinois is already experiencing the effects of climate change, including warming of approximately one degree Fahrenheit (about 0.6 degrees Celsius), more frequent flooding and later ice formation on the Great Lakes, and earlier melting. This same article notes that in the future, Illinois is likely to experience greater hazards from human-caused climate change, including heaving precipitation and higher flooding, large algae blooms on Lake Michigan, a longer growing season, but higher temperatures, which will offset the benefits of the longer season, higher levels of ground-level ozone, and more days with high temperatures above 95 °F (35 °C).

On January 23, 2019, Governor J.B. Pritzker committed Illinois to joining the United States Climate Alliance. In 2021, the Illinois Legislature passed the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, which was signed into law by Pritzker on September 15, 2021.

Illinois has a variety of protected areas, including over 123 state-protected areas, dozens of federally protected areas, hundreds of county-level and municipal park areas, and historic sites under various governmental levels of protection. Illinois also contains sites designated as internationally important protected areas. These multiple levels of protection contribute to a statewide network of numerous recreation opportunities and conservation schemes, sometimes in a small area. For example, DeKalb County contains a 1,000-acre (4.0 km²) forest preserve system and a 1,500-acre (6.1 km²) state park (Shabbona Lake State Park); within DeKalb County, the DeKalb Park District in the City of DeKalb has a 700-acre (2.8 km²) park system.

Illinois ( IL-ih-NOY) is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash and Ohio rivers to its south. Of the fifty U.S. states, Illinois has the fifth-largest gross domestic product (GDP), the sixth-largest population, and the 25th-most land area. Its capital city is Springfield in the center of the state, and the state's largest city is Chicago in the northeast.