Illinois lawmakers are expected to approve final rules regulating high-volume oil and gas drilling in Illinois at a legislative hearing.

The Joint Committee on Administrative Rules has the last word on whether the rules for hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," can take effect. Rules are on the agenda for a committee hearing Thursday.

The committee has been grappling with how to ensure regulations are fair to industry while protecting the environment. Illinois passed legislation allowing fracking about a year and a half ago. At the time the state was hailed because the legislation seen as a model of compromise over the disputed practice.

But pro-industry groups have since complained about delays in approving the rules. A group of southern Illinois landowners is suing the state for failing to implement fracking.