Sustainable 
Cook 
County 
News
   

Cook County Sustainability Office
and Department of Environmental Control
What's the Potential for Solar Power in Your Backyard?

From Sustainable Chicago Blog, October,5, 2015 :
In 2015, Illinois added 11 MW of solar energy production, which was a 75% increase over the previous year. But the state remains middle-of-the-pack for overall capacity, ranking 27th in the nation. So what can be done to encourage more solar panel installation? A new, interactive map developed by the Cook County Department of Environmental Control and Elevate Energy shows the potential for solar power capacity in the Chicago region. To read the full blog,  go to the Sustainable Chicago Blog Post .

Click on image to go to the Cook County Community Solar Portal, a new, interactive map developed by the Cook County Department of Environmental Control and Elevate Energy.


The parcel-level map allows users to search by address; or fine-tune the information by property type, solar power potential, roof type and municipality or Chicago neighborhood. Over time, the map will be expanded to include much of Cook County.
Green Your Brownfield

Gene Ryan,Deputy Director for Operations Cook County Department of Homeland Security & Emergency Management and Margaret Renas, Senior Manager and Environmental Engineer at the Delta Institute.
On September 15th community leaders, planners and residents attended a brownfields workshop co-hosted by the Cook County Department of Environmental Control and the Technical Assistance to Brownfields (TAB) Program. This workshop presented "green" practices in the cleanup and redevelopment of brownfield sites, which include abandoned and potentially contaminated properties that impede a communities' growth. Highlights included:
  • Greener cleanups: Jon Peterson of the USEPA explained how to access the USEPA's Greener Cleanups resources.
  • Making money on brownfields: Nichole Chavas of Fresh Coast Capital explained how they finance and install revenue-generating environmental projects such as urban forestry or stormwater management, which can "phytoremediate" or help clean up sites.
  • Value from deconstruction: Martin Brown of the Delta Institute highlighted ways to retrieve value from building materials.
  • Flooding grants available: Gene Ryan of Cook County Emergency Management and Homeland Security provided information about funding for flood mitigation.
  • Landfill to LEED: Carter O'Brien of the Field Museum highlighted greening this historic Chicago museum, including sustainable food, and habitat restoration.
Click here to view presentations from the workshop, along with many other resources for brownfield redevelopment.
Smart Thermostat Rebates Available To Cut Energy Bills
Residents are eligible for significant rebates on smart thermostats that can cut in half the cost of the device. Smart thermostats connect to Wi-Fi and allow remote control of heating and air conditioning settings in homes through smart phones, tablets and computers. They can help increase comfort, convenience and control over energy usage. Eight different smart thermostats qualify for up to $175 in rebates for eligible customers. Click here to learn more.
Wa$ted Market: Building Materials Reuse Industry of the 21st Century

I nterior of the Softcore installation at NeoCon 2016, reflecting value of reused materials.
Archeworks (a public interest design school in Chicago) is leading an initiative to expand the building material reuse marketplace to capture wasted valuable materials and avoid environmental impacts from landfills. 

Collaborating with the Cook County Department of Environmental Control, the Building Material Reuse Association, the ReBuilding Exchange and leading design firms, this intensive research and design project explores the barriers and opportunities for reuse in current design culture and public policy, and proposes expanding the reuse economy by re-envisioning architectural practice and the built environment. 

Students enrolled in the Postgraduate Certificate in Public Interest Design program engaged hundreds of local and international architects, strategists, stakeholders, contractors and reuse experts. Click here to find out more on just a few of the innovative projects from Wa$ted Market.


President  Preckwinkle Announces Cook County's New Mapping System


Cook County Releases Long Range Transportation Plan


Oak Forest Heritage Preserve Opens

Cook County Accepts Grant to Remove Lead based Paint in Targeted Suburbs  


Policy for Community Solar


Forest Preserves, Friends of Chicago River to Help Turtles


County Saves Through Smaller Real Estate Footprint; Warehouse Consolidation to Save Another $1.5 Million


County Staff Participate in Surge Summit: Humanizing the Energy Future


green leaf texture

green leaf texture

green leaf texture
 
Our Mission

The Cook County Department of Environmental Control follows Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle's directive that our County become a world-class model of sustainability. We are working not only to boost sustainability practices throughout County government, but also to join forces with local governments, nonprofits and business, to accomplish more than we could separately in making each of Cook County's communities sustainable. To further communications about our work, we have developed this
 e-newsletter, along with our two websites. 


October, 2016