Earlier this month, the White House called out some suspect lobbying by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Just a year after the national business lobby was more than willing to bend its free-market philosophy to help big business snag its share of the federal bailout, presidential advisor Valerie Jarrett noted their awfully "self-serving" position in favor of protecting big polluters and health insurance companies from government regulation. In fact, the chamber is so bent on weakening climate change and health care reforms that they shelled out $34.7 million on lobbying between July and September alone. Encouragingly, some of the group's most high-profile members -- including Apple, Nike, and Illinois' own Exelon -- have quit the business lobby in protest. As the chamber met for a regional conference on government affairs in downtown Chicago today, more business owners and environmental activists came out to make it clear that they too think the chamber's positions are out of step with its members' priorities.

"We hope that they learn something here in Chicago," Jack Darin of the Illinois Sierra Club said, "that Americans here in Illinois,  in the heartland of America, they don't want the status quo, they want change. They want health care, they want workers' rights, and they want clean energy solutions for America." Watch:

Despite the denials made by the corporate lobby (and the Illinois GOP), there's plenty of evidence demonstrating that the Midwest will soon face peril because of its disastrous environmental habits. Even more emerged today. After combing through nearly two-decades worth of government data, Environment Illinois reports that the Prairie State ranks sixth in the nation for its energy-related carbon emissions (the full report is available below). Moreover, the state's pollution output is on the rise -- increasing by 26 percent between 1990 and 2007. Most of that pollution is tied to electricity generation and transportation, which are responsible for 70 percent of the state's emissions combined.

The climate change legislation moving through Congress with the support of Illinois Democrats -- which would encourage the use of renewable energy and force companies to clean up their toxic messes or pay a price -- is certainly a start in reversing the trend. So are the landmark tail-pipe and smokestack pollution standards that are being drafted by the Environment Protection Agency. (Some chamber members have been lobbying heavily against those for some time now.) The fact that heavyweights like Exelon are breaking ranks with the status quo is a sign that they agree reform is imminent. Let's hope the chamber is listening.

In the meantime, check out Environment Illinois' latest report:

Too Much Pollution (IL)