Giannoulias’ air quality bill puts the brakes on idling
Law increases fines for excessive truck idling

August 20, 2009

Illinoisans can breathe easier knowing a bill drafted by Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias aimed at stopping excessive truck idling in Chicago and other highly populated communities is now law.

The legislation, designed to curb health risks and improve air quality, was signed by Governor Pat Quinn on Tuesday. It increases the fines for excessive idling from $50 to $90 for a first offense and from $150 to $500 fine per second and subsequent violations.

“All too often, truckers and tour bus drivers in downtown Chicago disregard current laws and absorb the fines as a cost of doing business,” Giannoulias said Thursday outside the Thompson Center. ”We need to put the brakes on excessive idling by increasing the penalties, deterring drivers from willfully violating the law and polluting our most densely populated cities and tourist sites.”

The new law, sponsored by State Sen. Mattie Hunter and State Rep. Elaine Nekritz, is similar to anti-idling laws in other states. The minimum penalty for a first offense ranges from $750 in Utah to $22,500 in New York, while in Missouri vehicles are prohibited from idling more than three consecutive minutes. A portion of Illinois fines will go to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to educate the trucking industry on air pollution and preventative measures specifically related to idling.

“This new law will significantly enhance the penalties for this illegal activity and will go a long way toward modifying bad behavior, ensuring greater compliance and, most importantly, it will help limit excessive vehicle idling and the related emissions that pollute the air in our more densely populated communities,” said Chicago Alderman Brendan Reilly, who represents downtown Chicago’s 42nd Ward and who worked closely with Giannoulias to help craft and promote the legislation.

Restricting the time that occupied, stationary vehicles run their engines when not in traffic decreases emissions, which cuts ozone levels and results in cleaner air. In addition to protecting the public’s health and environment, it also conserves fuel.

A study performed by the Clean Air Task Force in 2007 using Environmental Protection Agency methodology estimated that diesel exhaust alone was responsible for over 17,000 asthma attacks, 1,000 non-fatal heart attacks and 750 premature deaths a year in the Chicago metropolitan region alone.

More than two-thirds of all Illinois residents live in areas that don’t meet minimal air quality standards. In December 2008, the EPA declared that metropolitan Chicago and its collar counties, Metro East, the Quad Cities and the metropolitan Paducah were all in violation of the federal air quality standard for a pollutant containing diesel soot.

“The fact that most Illinois residents live in areas that still don’t meet minimal air quality standards shows clear consequences for willfully breaking the law and polluting the air are sorely needed,” said Joel J. Africk, president and chief executive officer for the Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago. “Diesel soot just doesn’t look dangerous, it is dangerous.  Diesel soot has been tied to increased numbers of asthma attacks, strokes and heart attacks, as well as lung cancer and premature deaths.”

“Today there is good news for all Chicago-area residents, and particularly those who are living with asthma or other respiratory diseases,” added Jack Darin, director of the Illinois Chapter of the Sierra Club. “Now new, higher fines should encourage more truck and bus drivers to comply with clean air laws, and not leave their engines running for extended periods, belching soot and smoke into the air we breathe. When drivers leave their engines running for no reason, they waste fuel, add to our smog problem, and add that much more global warming pollution.”

Current law prohibits drivers from allowing their diesel-powered vehicles to idle for more than a total of 10 minutes within any 60-minute period, except under certain circumstances. Those can include being stuck in traffic, defrosting a windshield, making repairs or performing military, emergency or law enforcement functions.

The law applies to vehicles weighing more than 8,000 pounds, which includes delivery trucks, tractor trailers, tow trucks and buses. Truckers with sleeping compartments are exempt. The law allows buses to idle for 15 minutes in a 60-minute period to provide heat or air conditioning for passengers.

The idling law affects the counties of Cook, DuPage, Lake, Kane, McHenry, Will, Madison, St. Clair, and Monroe and the townships of Aux Sable and Goose Lake in Grundy County and the township of Oswego in Kendall County. On average, at least one idling ticket has been issued everyday in downtown Chicago each of the past two years.

Anti-idling initiatives have become increasingly popular in recent years as dozens of states and cities across the nation have adopted laws in an effort to combat air pollution. A Harvard University Study released earlier this year that tracked air quality and death rates in U.S. cities showed that decreased air pollution in recent decades has led to increases in life expectancy by an average of five months.

The trucking industry has also responded as some truckers are equipping their rigs with alternative power units – or smart boxes – to provide power to run heating and air conditioning without running the engine.