title
PROPOSED RESOLUTION
SUBRECIPIENT AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY AND THE CHICAGO URBAN LEAGUE TO ADMINISTER THE BUSINESSES REDUCING IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT (“BRITE”) PROGRAM
WHEREAS, on March 11, 2021, the federal government authorized the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”) which includes $1.9 trillion in federal stimulus funds to hasten the United States’ recovery from the economic and health effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic; and
WHEREAS, specifically, the federal government has authorized and allocated a federal award of approximately $1,000,372,385 of ARPA funding to Cook County to assist the County in its recovery from the economic and health effects of COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, on June 24, 2021, the Cook County American Rescue Plan Act Framework (the “ARPA Framework”) was presented to the Cook County Board of Commissioners; and
WHEREAS, the Cook County Board of Commissioners via Resolution 21-3654 accepted the ARPA federal award allocated to Cook County to assist the County in its recovery from the economic and health effects of COVID-19 in the amount of approximately $1,000,372,385.00; and
WHEREAS, Resolution 21-3654 further authorized the Cook County Budget Director and Comptroller to create and implement a Special Purpose Fund for the ARPA award and other accounting measures to track the acceptance and spending of the federal award; and
WHEREAS, the Cook County Board of Commissioners authorized the Chief Financial Officer, Budget Director, Chief Procurement Officer and applicable using agencies to issue grants, contracts and agreements for ARPA programs approved via Resolutions 22-3657 and 22-0637; and
WHEREAS, Resolution 22-0637 further authorized up to $25M in ARPA funding for Sustainable Community programs, including $15M for hazard mitigation and pollution prevention; and
WHEREAS, to further the goal of pollution prevention, Cook County’s Department of Environment and Sustainability (“DES”) established the Businesses Reducing Impact on The Environment (“BRITE”) program to offer free on-site assessments, technical assistance, and grant funding to small business operating as dry cleaning facilities, auto body and auto repair shops, metal finishers and food and beverage manufacturers, who are interested in identifying opportunities to reduce their impact on the environment; and
WHEREAS, the Chicago Urban League is a well-established nonprofit social services and civil rights organization, which has extensive experience promoting strong, sustainable communities through advocacy, innovation, and collaborative community, corporate and civic relationships; and
WHEREAS, DES has selected the Chicago Urban League to facilitate and administer the issuance of direct grants to qualifying Cook County small businesses under the NT007: BRITE program, as described herein; and
WHEREAS, Resolutions 22-3657 and 22-0637 provided that any grants issued regarding ARPA programs in an amount over $1M shall require the approval of the Cook County Board of Commissioners.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Cook County Board of Commissioners hereby authorizes DES to utilize ARPA funding for multiyear terms through Fiscal Year 2026, subject to annual appropriation by the Board, for the NT007: BRITE program, to enter into a Subrecipient Agreement with the Chicago Urban League in the amount of $8,294,076.50 to facilitate the issuance of grant funding to Cook County small businesses that have received BRITE environmental assessments to assist businesses with project implementation. The subrecipient will also assist with program marketing and outreach.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Cook County Board of Commissioners recognizes that time is of the essence and authorizes the Director of the Department of Environment & Sustainability to negotiate and enter into the various agreements that outline the specific metric and impact data, and compliance with all ARPA reporting and monitoring requirements with the Subrecipient listed above to implement the above program.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Cook County Board of Commissioners hereby authorizes the Director of the Department of Environment & Sustainability or its designee to modify the agreements and funding allocations to the Department of Environment & Sustainability’s selected Subrecipient based upon need and utilization.
end