•November 16, 2016•

Governor Bruce Rauner’s Cabinet on Children and Youth recently announced a statewide, cross-agency initiative to reduce children’s exposure to lead. Lead poisoning is one of the most prevalent, preventable, environmental health hazards and is known to contribute to learning disabilities, developmental delays, and violent behavior.

“There is no safe level of lead in the body. Children exposed to high lead levels tend to suffer from life-long complications that affect their ability to think, learn, or behave,” said Illinois Department of Public Health Director Nirav D. Shah, M.D., J.D. “Reducing blood lead levels among all Illinois children six years of age or younger would reduce crime and increase on-time high school graduation rates later in life.”

Compared to other states, Illinois remains among the highest for percentage of children with elevated blood lead levels. Out of approximately 270,000 Illinois children tested in 2014, more than 18,000 had blood lead levels at the federal public health intervention level.     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.