Call For Capital Bill Investment In Lead Paint Abatement

Last week was the 5th year anniversary of the Flint lead crisis. Lead poisoning and exposure continues to be a prominent problem in the country. In Illinois, the burden of lead poisoning is one of the highest in the nation.

As most children are poisoned by lead paint exposure, Legal Council and the Civitas ChildLaw Center at Loyola University Chicago Law School submitted written testimony to the Senate Capital-Appropriations Subcommittee in support of Capital bill funding for statewide lead paint abatement investments. There is no more important infrastructure for children and families than the homes and buildings in which they spend the majority of their time. Pew Charitable Trusts estimates that if all children born in the US in 2018 had blood lead levels at zero, it would generate $84 billion in benefits accrued from increased lifetime earnings and savings to healthcare, education and criminal justice systems. Investing in lead abatement is investing in the future of Illinois children.

Providing more funding for lead abatement while leveraging existing resources and programs will save costs and increase the earning potential of many future generations of Illinoisans by preventing further lead poisoning.

Read our full written testimony.

Capital Budget Testimony by on Scribd