"When oil companies frack, they leave a trail of devastation behind them. We’ve seen this in Ohio, in Pennsylvania, in Texas, and in North Dakota, Food and Water Watch official Mel Whitehouse stated in the release on Monday. "We’re looking at you, Governor Rauner, and the rest of the officials we elected in Illinois to step up and protect us."
Food and Water Watch aired its demands in a protest with more than 100 activists in the city of Chicago, which warned that fracking causes earthquakes, exposes people cancer-causing radioactive elements such as radon and creates other health risks.
Oil and gas drillers use fracking, in which water and chemicals are injected into the ground at high pressure to increase well output.
The industry claims the process is safe if done properly. But high-profile cases of contaminated drinking water have made the practice controversial, and some states have banned the practice.
An energy company has applied to use fracking in a large shale deposit that overlaps three states, including southern Illinois.
