La Grange Differs With Trump 'Hoax' Claim

LA GRANGE, IL – President Donald Trump calls climate change a "hoax" and a "con job."

La Grange's leader disagrees.

In a September letter, La Grange Village President Mark Kuchler opposed the Trump administration's proposal to repeal a 16-year-old rule designed to control greenhouse emissions.

In 2009, the EPA determined that greenhouse gases endangered human health and welfare.

Its "endangerment finding" was considered the legal foundation for federal regulations that limit pollution under the Clean Air Act.

"As a community directly impacted by climate change, the Village of La Grange has recognized the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," Kuchler wrote to the EPA's administrator, Lee Zeldin.

He said the village has taken local action by endorsing the Greenest Region Compact and the Climate Action Plan for the Chicago Region.

"However, local efforts alone cannot address this challenge. The Endangerment Finding represents exactly the kind of science-based decision-making that our communities need and deserve," Kuchler said.

Patch obtained the letter through a public records request this week.

In September, Trump told the United Nations that climate change was the "greatest con job" in the world.

"The carbon footprint is a hoax made up by people with evil intentions, and they're heading down a path of total destruction," Trump said.