Not everyone is happy that the governor wants hydraulic fracturing.
In his Budget Address, the governor said fracking is coming to Illinois with the potential to create thousands of jobs. He says legislation permitting the oil- and natural gas-producing practice will have the strongest environmental regulations in the nation.
Some are concerned about the environmental effects. Annette McMichael, a spokeswoman for Southern Illinoisans Against Fracturing Our Environment, says SAFE doesn't understand the rush to begin fracking when other states are signing moratoriums on the practice. McMichael says another concern is that the fracking legislation doesn't address water usage.
Hydraulic fracturing is the process of releasing oil and natural gas from rock deposits deep underground by fracturing shale formations.