Attorney General Kwame Raoul has announced a $120 million settlement with Monsanto Company and its affiliates, Solutia Inc. and Pharmacia LLC, regarding the environmental and health impacts of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) produced by Monsanto over several decades.
The lawsuit, filed by Raoul’s office in 2022, claimed that Monsanto was aware of the dangers posed by PCBs but publicly denied any knowledge of risks to human health or the environment. The settlement will provide funds to address PCB contamination across Illinois, including Chicago and the nearby cities of Evanston, Lake Forest, North Chicago, Zion, Beach Park, Glencoe, Lake Bluff, Winnetka, and Winthrop Harbor.
“This settlement helps Illinoisans recover from the unlawful and reckless behavior that led to contamination in their communities,” Raoul said. “PCBs have been banned in the U.S. for decades. I’m pleased that this settlement will hold Monsanto accountable for producing and disposing of a dangerous toxic chemical that continues to impact Illinois’ natural resources.”
According to the agreement, Illinois will receive $80 million by March 31, 2026. This amount will be distributed between the state and nine cities involved in the case. Additionally, Illinois could receive at least $40 million more—and potentially up to $200 million—depending on further legal outcomes related to PCB contamination. The total possible compensation could reach as much as $280 million for Illinois and these cities.
PCBs were banned by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1979 but had previously been used widely in products such as paints, caulks, and industrial electrical equipment lubricants. Most hazardous materials used in the United States during this period—including PCBs—were manufactured by Monsanto at its Sauget facility in Illinois. Between 1960 and the mid-1970s alone, nearly 50 million pounds of commercial PCB mixtures were sold by Monsanto to customers within Illinois.
Monsanto discharged large amounts of hazardous waste from its Krummrich Plant in Sauget into local sewers leading to the Mississippi River; waste was also disposed of in landfills where it contaminated soil, water sources, groundwater, and air.
Exposure to PCBs is linked with cancer; reproductive toxicity including increased difficulty conceiving; neuro-developmental and neurobehavioral changes; as well as liver, thyroid, skin (dermal), and eye (ocular) problems.
The case was managed for Raoul’s Environmental Bureau by Division Chief Matthew Dunn; Bureau Chief Stephen Sylvester; Supervising Attorney Elizabeth Dubats; Senior Assistant Attorneys General Gerald Karr and Nancy Tikalsky. Attorneys from Power Rogers LLP and Grant & Eisenhofer P.A. served as special assistant attorneys general during prosecution.