Investigating and Prosecuting Environmental Crimes
Attorney General’s Agricultural Duties
Protecting our natural resources is vital to ensuring a healthier Illinois. The Environmental Crimes Bureau investigates, charges, and prosecutes environmental crimes throughout Illinois in conjunction with your local State’s Attorney’s Offices. The most common types of environmental crimes are those involving air, land, and water pollution. Examples include:
- Air Pollution:
Open burning of waste or tires, chemical releases, and illegal removal of asbestos from buildings - Land Pollution:
Tire piles, landfills, roadside dumping, agricultural waste, and other hazardous waste - Water Pollution:
Runoff, landfills, farm drainage and waste generated by construction sites and factories
Hazardous waste can be described as any material which threatens the health and safety of our environment and its inhabitants. It includes, but is not limited to, degreasers, acids, metals, paint waste, solvents, cyanides and pesticides.
Do not attempt to handle hazardous waste on your own. Call your local law enforcement or the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency for removal and/or handling of hazardous waste.
The Environmental Crimes Bureau also prosecutes cases involving endangered species and invasive species, and enforces violations of the Illinois Wildlife and Natural Resource laws. The Bureau receives referrals from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the Illinois Department of Public Health, and local State’s Attorney’s Offices.
If you suspect or have information that an environmental crime has been committed, please contact your local law enforcement agency, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, or the Environmental Protection Agency.