|
|
||
       |
||
| > |
 |
The Future Of Blue Eco Blue Eco Legal Council has achieved its success through the volunteer efforts of many group members who are attorneys, religious leaders, and concerned citizens. We dont raise any money or require anything more of our members than that they support our mission to protect the environment through litigation. It is especially important that we have regular citizens as members from a wide geographic area. This is because, according to prior Supreme Court decision, groups cannot bring suit for environmental violations unless its members have a specific stake in the outcome. |
 |
More Needs To Be Done Besides fighting lakeside landfills at Fort Sheridan, Blue Eco is currently working on getting the federal government to stop shooting lead bullets into the waters of the United States. Another recent issue was a plan to deregulate deck sweeps from cargo ships, allowing what regulators deem small excess quantities of cargo material to be deposited in the Great Lakes. The current regulations require these sweeps to be collected and not be placed in the lakes but you can guess what special interests were pushing this exemption. Unfortunately, because Steve was studying for the Illinois Bar and running his small family business, he could not spend the time required to prepare and submit public comments in opposition to this proposed plan. Without laying the proper foundation during the public comment period it is difficult to initiate litigation if the rule goes into effect. |
 |
What Your Donation Will Provide In order for Steve to run a full time law office devoted to these issues that affect all our health and welfare, we need to raise at least $100,000. This will provide for a reasonable salary and office rent so he can continue to monitor the regulatory community, provide public input for proposed plans that are contrary to the public good, and litigate lapses in regulatory oversight of the public trust. Without raising this amount, Steve will of course continue to personally fund this program on the same limited basis while also providing for his family's needs through other employment. But aren't we all better off pulling together and giving him the resources he needs to protect our environment? With proper funding, Steve can work on these issues full time so that the next time a ship sweeps rule comes up, our collective welfare will not go unanswered. |
 |
Can I Make a Small Donation? Unfortunately, we cannot accept any donations because we are not an Illinois not-for-profit. Setting ourselves up as a charitable organization is under consideration but because it will increase our administrative costs we would rather not do so until it is worth the effort. If a substantial donor were to step forward then we would certainly expedite this process but until then the cost of setting up the entity must compete for scarce resources that we feel are put to better use towards our core mission, the protection of the Great Lakes ecosystem. So please contact us if you wish to become a major sponsor of our efforts so we can discuss the issue further. Call Steve at 847-436-9566 The most valuable thing you can do now is join our organization for free so that we have standing to bring suit for environmental issues in your neighborhood. |
|