(410 ILCS 43/5)

Sec. 5. Findings; intent; establishment of program.

(a) The General Assembly finds all of the following:

(1) Lead-based paint poisoning is a potentially devastating, but preventable disease. It is one of the top environmental threats to children's health in the United States.

(2) The number of lead-poisoned children in Illinois is among the highest in the nation, especially in older, more affordable properties.

(3) Lead poisoning causes irreversible damage to the development of a child's nervous system. Even at low and moderate levels, lead poisoning causes learning disabilities, problems with speech, shortened attention span, hyperactivity, and behavioral problems. Recent research links low levels of lead exposure to lower IQ scores and to juvenile delinquency.

(4) Older housing is the number one risk factor for childhood lead poisoning. Properties built before 1950 are statistically much more likely to contain lead-based paint hazards than buildings constructed more recently.

(5) While the use of lead-based paint in residential properties was banned in 1978, the State of Illinois ranks seventh nationally in the number of housing units built before 1978 and has the highest risk for lead hazards.

(6) There are nearly 1.4 million households with lead-based paint hazards in Illinois.

(7) Most children are lead poisoned in their own homes through exposure to lead dust from deteriorated lead paint surfaces, like windows, and when lead paint deteriorates or is disturbed through home renovation and repainting.

(8) Children at the highest risk for lead poisoning live in low-income communities and in older housing throughout the State of Illinois.

(9) The control of lead hazards significantly reduces lead-poisoning rates.

(10) Windows are considered a higher lead exposure risk more often than other components in a housing unit. Windows are a major contributor of lead dust in the home, due to both weathering conditions and friction effects on paint.

(11) The Comprehensive Lead Education, Reduction, and Window Replacement (CLEAR-WIN) Program was established under Public Act 95-492 as a pilot program to reduce potential lead hazards by replacing windows in low-income, pre-1978 homes. It also provided for on-the-job training for community members in 2 pilot communities in Chicago and Peoria County.

(12) The CLEAR-WIN Program provided for installation of 8,000 windows in 466 housing units between 2010 and 2014. Evaluations of the pilot program determined window replacement was effective in lowering lead hazards and produced energy, environmental, health, and market benefits. Return on investment was almost $2 for every dollar spent.

(13) There is an insufficient pool of licensed lead abatement workers and contractors to address the problem in some areas of the State.

(14) Through grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and State dollars, some communities in Illinois have begun to reduce lead poisoning of children. While this is an ongoing effort, it only addresses a small number of the low-income children statewide in communities with high levels of lead paint in the housing stock.

(b) It is the intent of the General Assembly to:

(1) address the problem of lead poisoning of children by eliminating lead hazards in homes;

(2) provide training within communities to encourage the use of lead paint safe work practices;

(3) create job opportunities for community members in the lead abatement industry;

(4) support the efforts of small business and property owners committed to maintaining lead-safe housing; and

(5) assist in the maintenance of affordable lead-safe housing stock.

(c) The General Assembly hereby establishes the Comprehensive Lead Education, Reduction, and Window Replacement Program to assist residential property owners through a Lead Direct Assistance Program to reduce lead hazards in residential properties.

(d) The Department of Public Health is authorized to:

(1) adopt rules necessary to implement this Act;

(2) adopt by reference the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act for administration of this Act;

(3) assess administrative fines and penalties, as established by the Department by rule, for persons violating rules adopted by the Department under this Act;

(4) make referrals for prosecution to the Attorney General or the State's Attorney for the county in which a violation occurs, for a violation of this Act or the rules adopted under this Act; and

(5) establish agreements under the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act with the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the Illinois Housing Development Authority, or any other public agency as required, to implement this Act.

(Source: P.A. 100-461, eff. 8-25-17; 101-81, eff. 7-12-19.)