JEFFERSON CITY, MO - Today, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed into law a bill that incentivizes increasing blends of biodiesel. The bill, championed by Senator Patrick Joyce and Representative Eva Dina Delgado, extends the current B10 sales tax exemption until 2023 and then increases the biodiesel blend level subject to the tax exemption to B13 in 2024, B15 in 2025 and B19 in 2026. This major initiative establishes Illinois’ commitment to reducing carbon emissions and incentivizing the use of domestically produced, renewable fuel.

The legislation was spearheaded and guided through the legislative process by the Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) with support from Clean Fuels Alliance America and several of its member companies, including REG and ADM. Clean Fuels CEO Donnell Rehagen applauded the effort and the collaborative nature of the work by those involved. 

“This law continues to build on the biodiesel leadership that Illinois, through ISA, has demonstrated in the past,” Rehagen said. “This innovative tax exemption program in Illinois, which has been in place since 2003, has drawn hundreds of millions of gallons of biodiesel into the state. This modification, signed by Governor Pritzker today, will expand that demand and solidify Illinois as a leading source and user of better, cleaner biodiesel.” 

Clean Fuels Director of State Governmental Affairs Floyd Vergara added, “I am extremely proud of our team at Clean Fuels for the support they gave to the process. As we watched things unfold around this legislative effort, it was evident the coordination between all of the stakeholders was going to get this bill past all the hurdles. Kudos to ISA staff and board, as well as our Director of State Regulatory Affairs Jeff Earl and Technical Director Scott Fenwick for their hard work that led to this success.” 

Illinois is currently fourth among all states in biodiesel production and third in consumption with 160 million gallons consumed annually. Efforts to pass this legislation were aided by the Trinity Health Benefits Study that included the city of Chicago. In Chicago, the study found that switching to B100 would decrease diesel particular matter-related cancer risks by up to nearly 1,600 cases and result in over 31,000 fewer or lessened asthma attacks per year and save over $677 million per year in avoided health care costs. 

“The successful passage of our biodiesel legislation is a proud accomplishment for the Illinois Soybean Growers (ISG) and the 43,000 soybean producers in our state,” said Illinois Soybean Association Chairman, Steve Pitstick. "This hard-won victory is the result of ISG's unrelenting collaboration with bill sponsors, numerous partners across agriculture, biofuels producers, transportation stakeholders and clean air advocates, who worked together to present a viable and immediate solution to combat carbon emissions in the transportation sector."