Governor Quinn Encourages Participation in Earth Hour 2013

CHICAGO - Governor Pat Quinn today urged families and businesses across the state to participate in Earth Hour 2013 by turning off their lights for one hour tonight. The announcement is part of Governor Quinn's commitment to ensuring Illinois remains a national leader in sustainability. The governor today ordered lights to be extinguished at several state facilities, including the James R. Thompson Center, Michael A. Bilandic Building, the Illinois Department of Human Services' Chicago headquarters, and Central Management Services regional facilities in Springfield, Peoria, Rockford, Carbondale and Marion.

"Earth Hour is the world's biggest grassroots campaign and we're proud to participate," Governor Quinn said. "I ask everyone in Illinois to show their commitment to sensible and sustainable energy practices by turning off their lights from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. tonight."

Launched in 2007 by the World Wildlife Fund, Earth Hour is a global effort to encourage responsible energy practices by turning off non-essential lights for one hour. In 2012, hundreds of millions of people from 7,000 cities in 152 nations on seven continents went dark for 60 minutes.

By going dark tonight, Chicago's Thompson Center will join such other iconic venues as the Eiffel Tower, Sydney Opera House, British House of Parliament, Beijing Bird's Nest, Tokyo Tower, Las Vegas Strip, Times Square and Niagara Falls. Other participating Chicago buildings include the Wrigley Building, Chicago Theater, Navy Pier Ferris Wheel, Shedd Aquarium, Daley Center and Soldier Field.

Since taking office, Governor Quinn has been strongly committed to making Illinois one of the greenest states in the country. He has secured millions of dollars in federal grants to help local governments implement energy efficiency and conservation efforts, and to ensure that Illinois' workforce is trained in cutting-edge, green technologies. In March 2012, Governor Quinn rolled out the nation's largest network of fast-charging electric vehicle stations. Illinois is also among the nation's leading states for LEED green buildings and new LEED construction projects.

To learn more about Earth Hour, visit worldwildlife.org. For more on Illinois' other environmental initiatives, please visit Green.Illinois.gov.