More than 2 million kids in Illinois are breathing unhealthy levels of air pollution, according to new report issued on Wednesday by the American Lung Association to mark Earth Day.
The yearly “State of the Air” report found nearly half of U.S. children are breathing polluted air. According to the report, the Chicago-Naperville metro area was named the 15th most polluted in the nation for ozone pollution and received an F grade. Statewide, the report found just over 2.2 million children are experiencing unhealthy air, the report found.
Nationwide, the report found 33.5 million children — 46% of people younger than 18 — live in areas that received a failing grade for at least one measure of air pollution. Across all age groups, 44%, or 152 million people, also live areas that received a failing grade for at least one measure of air pollution.
While there were some improvements in terms of particle pollution, the report found worsening impacts of ozone.
“Clean air is essential to the health and well-being of families across Illinois. Children deserve to breathe air that won’t make them sick,” Kristina Hamilton, director of advocacy for the American Lung Association, said in a news release accompanying the release of the report. “Unfortunately, too many people in the Greater Chicago area are living with unhealthy levels of ozone and particle pollution. This air pollution is causing kids to have asthma attacks, contributing to chronic health conditions and making people who work outdoors sick.”
On July 31, Chicago had the worst air quality in the world according to IQ Air, a Swiss air-technology company. Canadian wildfire smoke was to blame for the hours a thick smoke blanket coated the metro area. According to the Lung Association’s report, the Chicago-Naperville area experienced 18 days of unhealthy air quality in 2025, three fewer days than in 2024.
Under the Trump administration, rollbacks on healthy air rules by the Environmental Protection Agency aren’t making the situation better, according to the report.
Hamilton said Illinois policymakers must take action to improve air quality. She also urged the Chicago City Council to pass the Hazel M. Johnson Cumulative Impacts Ordinance, introduced by Mayor Brandon Johnson last week. The ordinance includes several measures intended to protect those Chicago neighborhoods bearing an unfair portion of the city’s air pollution.
She also said she urges support for state-level legislation to curb warehouse pollution and expand infrastructure, such as charging stations, that help support zero-emission vehicles.