
Illinois led the way for other states to create programs to hire young people to do environmental jobs. So where is Illinois’ own program?
A bit of background: Adopting a campaign originally led by the Illinois environmental group Openlands, President Joe Biden’s 2021 Build Back Better legislation included $30 billion to create a version of the Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps that would train young people to build green projects around the country, such as maintaining and restoring parks, trails and natural areas.