AGRICULTURE-DUST STORM STUDY

Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of SB3267

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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
SB3267

Introduced 2/3/2026, by Sen. Laura Ellman

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

505 ILCS 135/7 new

Amends the Sustainable Agriculture Act. Provides that the Department
of Agriculture and the Department of Natural Resources shall conduct a
joint study to evaluate the corrective actions that may be adopted within
the agricultural sector to mitigate dust storm occurrences and the
severity of dust storms. Provides that the Department of Agriculture and
the Department of Natural Resources may consult with and seek assistance
from similar state agencies in other states and federal agencies, to the
extent that such coordination aids in furthering the purposes of this
study. Requires the Department of Agriculture and the Department of
Natural Resources to coordinate with the Illinois Emergency Management
Agency and the Office of Homeland Security to evaluate and publish
findings on the short-term and long-term threats of dust storms and the
protocol that should be developed to protect the public from current and
future threats posed by dust storms. Provides that the Department of
Agriculture and the Department of Natural Resources shall publish the
joint study on an agreed upon publicly available website and shall provide
suitable copies to the Governor and the General Assembly by no later than
December 1, 2027.
LRB104 19278 TRT 32724 b

A BILL FOR

SB3267
LRB104 19278 TRT 32724 b
1

AN ACT concerning agriculture.

2

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3
represented in the General Assembly:

4

Section 5.
The Sustainable Agriculture Act is amended by
5
adding Section 7 as follows:

6

(505 ILCS 135/7 new)
7

Sec. 7.
Dust Storm Study.
8

(a) The General Assembly finds that:
9

(1) In May of 2025, northern Illinois and the City of
10

Chicago were hit with a severe dust storm, the likes of
11

which had not been seen in the region since the Dust Bowl
12

of the 1930s.
13

(2) In 2023, a dust storm occurred in the State along
14

the Sangamon County and Montgomery County line on I-55,
15

causing over 70 accidents, 37 injuries, and 7 fatalities.
16

(3) Exposed soil and a lack of windbreaks influenced
17

the formation and severity of these severe dust storms
18

observed in recent years.
19

(4) The increasingly common phenomenon of dust storms
20

in Illinois negatively impacts commerce and agriculture
21

within the State and endangers the public.
22

(5) The Department of Agriculture and the Department
23

of Natural Resources have the expertise to evaluate and

SB3267
- 2 -
LRB104 19278 TRT 32724 b
1

present findings related to the threat of future dust
2

storms within the State, to assess how climate change and
3

drought may exacerbate those threats, and to recommend
4

corrective actions that can be taken to reduce the
5

likelihood of future dust storms.
6

(b) Therefore, the Department of Agriculture and the
7
Department of Natural Resources shall conduct a joint study to
8
evaluate the threat of future dust storms within the State and
9
the potential solutions to those storms. The Departments shall
10
consider and shall publish findings on how the risk of dust
11
storms may vary across the State.
12

(c) The joint study shall evaluate corrective actions that
13
may be adopted within the agricultural sector to mitigate dust
14
storm occurrences and severity, including:
15

(1) corrective actions that can be taken to reduce the
16

likelihood of dust storms occurring;
17

(2) corrective actions that will incentivize
18

widespread vegetative windbreak adoption;
19

(3) corrective actions that will incentivize cover
20

crop adoption; and
21

(4) corrective actions that will incentive the
22

adoption of permaculture practices by farmers.
23

(d) The Department of Agriculture and the Department of
24
Natural Resources shall coordinate with the Illinois Emergency
25
Management Agency and Office of Homeland Security to evaluate
26
and publish findings on:

SB3267
- 3 -
LRB104 19278 TRT 32724 b
1

(1) the short-term and long-term threats of dust
2

storms; and
3

(2) the protocol that should be developed to protect
4

the public from current and future threats posed by dust
5

storms.
6

(e) The Department of Agriculture and the Department of
7
Natural Resources may solicit information from entities that
8
have been impacted by the 2023 and 2025 dust storms and from
9
entities the Departments determine are likely to be impacted
10
by future dust storms. The Department of Agriculture and the
11
Department of Natural Resources may consult with and seek
12
assistance from other similar state agencies in other states
13
and federal agencies to the extent that such coordination aids
14
in furthering the purposes of the study required under this
15
Section.
16

(f) The Department of Agriculture and the Department of
17
Natural Resources shall publish the joint study on an
18
agreed-upon publicly available website and shall provide
19
suitable copies to the Governor and the General Assembly by no
20
later than December 1, 2027.

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