Two recent articles contrast lobbying efforts over the Illinois Clean Car Act. The Illinois Times talked with students during the environmental citizen lobby day last week. They represent the vast majority of Illinois residents who want manufacturers to modernize by producing more fuel efficient, less polluting cars.
Angela Caputo at Progress Illinois writes about the auto industry spending millions to fight new emissions standards even while they tell legislators they support building more fuel efficient vehicles. Their talk is cheap but the billing hours of lobbyists are not.
Maybe American auto companies would be in better shape today if they spent those millions on research and updating their manufacturing plants, instead of manipulating the political system in their favor and running misleading ad campaigns.