SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Illinois came a giant step closer to approving the nation's strictest regulations for high-volume oil and gas drilling on Friday, as lawmakers approved a measure they hoped would create thousands of jobs in economically depressed areas of southern Illinois.
The Senate passed the legislation 52-3, one day after it was overwhelmingly approved in the other chamber. Gov. Pat Quinn promised to sign it, calling the legislation a "shot in the arm for many communities."
The legislation was crafted with the help of industry and some environmental groups — an unusual collaboration that has been touted as a potential model for other states.
Legislation sponsor Mike Frerichs, a Champaign Democrat, said stakeholders "sat down for hundreds and thousands of hours" to hammer out the issue.