News & Analysis
April 23, 2026
As Big Oil’s allies in Congress introduce legislation to block efforts to hold the industry accountable for its climate harms, leaders in Illinois’ largest county called on federal lawmakers to oppose giving fossil fuel companies legal immunity.
Last week, Cook County — which encompasses Chicago — passed a resolution urging Congress to reject the fossil fuel industry’s attempts to secure legal immunity from laws and lawsuits that aim to hold the industry accountable for its role in advancing climate change. The resolution notes that giving fossil fuel companies sweeping legal immunity would “nullify state and local authority, interfere with consumer protection laws, and deny communities their ability to seek justice in court” over the industry’s historic and ongoing climate deception.
“We all know the basic principle: you break it, you buy it,” Cook County Board Commissioner Bridget Degnen said during a press conference about the resolution. “But for decades, big oil and fossil fuel companies were told by their scientists that their products caused climate change, resulting in significant costs to the public. Knowing they were responsible for climate change, fossil fuel companies led decades of disinformation campaigns to deflect and delay regulation, and inhibit clean energy, all with the goal to reap record profits.”
The Cook County resolution was passed the same week that Republican lawmakers introduced legislation that aims to put Big Oil above the law. Bills introduced by U.S. Representative Harriet Hageman (R-WY) in the House and U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) in the Senate would give Big Oil sweeping immunity from climate liability.
These bills would block communities from holding Big Oil companies accountable for fueling the climate crisis and lying about it. A legal shield for the industry would stick communities with the bill for the rising cost of climate-driven extreme weather — which is now close to a trillion dollars a year nationwide. The legislation comes as dozens of climate accountability lawsuits from communities across the country — including a case filed by the city of Chicago — are moving closer to trial. The bills also target climate superfund laws that have been passed or introduced across the country.
"This bill would slam the door on holding fossil fuel polluters accountable and shift the burden onto New Yorkers," Minority Senate leader Chuck Schumer (D- N.Y.) said in a statement to Newsday about the federal legislation. "Polluters should pay for the climate damage they caused, not taxpayers."
Like local governments across the country, Cook County is struggling with how to pay for the millions of dollars in clean-up costs from damaging floods, as well as much-needed upgrades to stormwater infrastructure to adapt to rainfall events that are becoming more extreme due to climate change. More than 5 inches of rain fell in 90 minutes in Chicago in July 2025 — a nearly unprecedented “1-in-500 year storm,” according to weather experts. Barely a month later, another storm nearly matched that, dropping up to 4.5 inches in an hour.
Cook County also passed a resolution supporting the passage of climate superfund legislation in Illinois that would make polluters help pay for climate damages in the state.
