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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
EARTH MONTH RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, is acknowledged as the start of the modern environmental movement, and today, Earth Day is widely recognized as the largest secular observance in the world, marked by more than a billion people every year as a day of action to change human behavior and create global, national and local policy changes for a better environment, and April has come to be known as “Earth Month” by extension; and
WHEREAS, under Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s leadership, Cook County has set ambitious climate goals, to reduce carbon emissions from County-owned facilities and operations by 45 percent by 2030 and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, as well as to use 100% renewable electricity by 2030; and
WHEREAS, the Cook County Clean Energy Plan, issued in 2020 by the Bureau of Asset Management and Department of Environment and Sustainability and which received a National Association of Counties Achievement Award in 2021, sets forth a roadmap to reach these goals by reducing energy use and maintaining those reductions, and increasing use of renewable energy while supporting these actions through appropriate policies and procedures; and
WHEREAS, through the diligent work of the Bureau of Asset Management, Department of Facilities Management, Department of Capital Planning, County building engineers at facilities across the County, and other partner bureaus and departments, Cook County facilities have already reached our 2030 greenhouse gas reduction goal by reducing carbon emissions 45% from 2010 levels; and
WHEREAS, Cook County was recognized by People’s Gas Company for significant reductions in natural gas usage through updates to ventilation systems, boilers, steam traps and improved insultation; and
WHEREAS, Cook County’s Bureau of Asset Management has issued a request for proposals for an off-site renewable energy purchase agreement that will not only help meet the County’s sustainability goals, but also bolster the local green economy; and
WHEREAS, the Bureau of Asset Management has engaged in continuing education for Cook County Department of Facilities Management employees on solar installation and maintenance; and
WHEREAS, Cook County partnered with OpenLands to plant 41 mature shade trees native to northeast Illinois to replace dead and dying ash trees decimated by emerald ash borer at Maywood Courthouse, as well as collaborated with Nordson Green Earth Foundation and the City of Markham to plant a Miyawaki “tiny forest” at Markham Courthouse; and
WHEREAS, Cook County promotes both digital equity and environmental practices through donation of County salvage IT equipment at the end of its useful life and therefore of little to no value to other governments or at auction to PCs for People, a nonprofit whose mission is to provide technology access that offers employment and education to low-income individuals, families with children and those with disabilities and commits to zero landfill-use; and
WHEREAS, one of the six pillars of the Cook County’s Policy Roadmap, the strategic plan for Offices Under the President, is to support healthy, resilient communities that thrive economically, socially and environmentally; and
WHEREAS, Cook County offers many programs to help residents, businesses and communities become more sustainable, including C-PACE (Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy), which facilitates lower cost financing for businesses and institutions to invest in energy and water efficiency, renewable energy, and resiliency, and Grow Solar Chicagoland, which lowers the cost of solar panels for homeowners, and the Fair Transit South Cook pilot, which provides accessible, affordable, equitable transit while reducing congestion and carbon emissions; and
WHEREAS, Cook County has allocated over $130 million dollars in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to support the County’s efforts to make our communities more sustainable and address objectives and strategies outlined in the Policy Roadmap; and
WHEREAS, ARPA funding is supporting projects that include, among many others, installation of public electric vehicle charging stations in charging station “deserts”, assessment and remediation of brownfields, replacement of lead water service lines, addressing of drinking water affordability, support of the Good Food Purchasing Program and urban farming, installation of green as well as gray infrastructure for stormwater management, expansion of recycling facilities in the south suburbs, support of businesses to reduce their pollution and energy use, and, with the Forest Preserves of Cook County, implementation of the Community Conservation Corps, land acquisition in underserved southeast Cook County, and riparian restoration; and
WHEREAS, in 2023 during Earth Month, a new Center for Hard to Recycle Materials (“CHaRM Center”) was opened on April 22 at South Suburban College, in partnership with the Cook County Department of Environment and Sustainability, through use of American Recovery Plan Act funding, providing a new permanent drop-off site where County residents can bring their household recycling, electronic waste, furniture, clothing and textiles, used medical equipment and Styrofoam. Materials will be refurbished or recycled. Also on April 22, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency held, in honor of the CHaRM Center grand opening, a household hazardous waste take-back event at South Suburban College; and
WHEREAS, the CHaRM Center will be available at no cost to residents on an ongoing basis, and will be open to accept materials on Tuesdays from 7:00 am to noon, Thursdays 2:00 pm to 7:00 pm, and the second Saturday of every month from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Cook County Board of Commissioners commemorates and celebrates Earth Month in Cook County, recognizing the significant accomplishments and progress made to date by the County in fighting climate change and ensuring a healthy and clean environment for all people and places in Cook County, and continues our commitment to supporting further positive actions to benefit our communities and the environments in which they live, work and play.
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