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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
RESOLUTION TO SUPPORT ILLINOIS CLEAN ENERGY TECH CONSORTIUM WITH COUNTY RESOURCES
WHEREAS, the federal government through the American Rescue Plan has allocated $1 billion to the US Economic Development Administration (EDA) to establish the Build Back Better Regional Challenge (BBBRC) to assist communities nationwide in their efforts to build back better by accelerating the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and building regional economies that will be resilient to future economic shocks; and
WHEREAS, Cook County joined the Illinois Clean Tech Economy Coalition (CTEC) led by mHUB, a center for physical product development and innovation, to pursue the EDA’s Build Back Better Regional Challenge; and
WHEREAS, previously Cook County provided a $100,000 grant to mHUB to support the preparation of the initial submission in October, which included two projects that directly involved the Bureau of Economic Development and the Department of Environment and Sustainability; and
WHEREAS, the EDA received 529 applications from all over the country, the EDA named 60 finalists in December 2022 including that of the Illinois Clean Tech Economy Coalition and requested more detailed proposals from all finalists to be submitted by March 15, 2022 ; and
WHEREAS, Cook County serves on the Build Back Better Steering Committee and is a major contributor to the overall proposal in terms of program development and outreach; and
WHEREAS, the final CTEC proposal provides a strategy and plan to seed the existing clean energy ecosystem and establish a clean tech cluster in the Midwest, which will lead the country in the commercialization of Clean Energy Technologies and drive resilient and equitable economic recovery from the shock caused by the COVID-19 pandemic; and
WHEREAS, if the Coalition’s application proves successful, the Coalition will receive up to $77 million to support six distinct projects over the next 48 months in a comprehensive and coordinated way; and
WHEREAS, mHUB will provide oversight and coordination for the CTEC to ensure linkages across and among the application’s key pillars of: innovation and entrepreneurship, production capacity and deliberate and equitable deployment. In addition, Argonne National Laboratory will provide targeted technical support to all project teams; and
WHEREAS, Cook County serves as a lead for Project #3 Capacity Building and Supply Chain Diversification and a partner in Project 6 Electric Vehicle and EV Charger Planning and Deployment; and
WHEREAS, as part of the Capacity Building and Supply Chain Diversification project, Cook County would receive $ 7,733,078 in federal funds to work directly with manufacturers in Cook County to help them adopt sustainable practices to reduce carbon emissions, identify clean tech supply chain gaps and assist local firms meet supply chain needs through financial incentives (grants) to support re-tooling, new technologies and pivots in manufacturing operations. The Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center and Climate Vault will assist with this project; and
WHEREAS, as part of the Electric Vehicle and EV Charger Planning and Deployment project, Cook County will receive $ 1,100,000.00 in federal funds to increase electric vehicle (EV) charging stations and access throughout Cook County, with an intentional focus on areas with large gaps in service areas without publicly available charging stations, primarily in the south suburbs; and
WHEREAS, the Build Back Better Regional Challenge will select 20-30 regions across the country, from the 60 finalists; and if successful the CTEC will receive up to $77 million to support projects in Illinois; and
WHEREAS, the Build Back Better Regional Challenge requires at least a 20% local match and a governing board resolution that identifies the amount of match, its source and its availability for the term of the four year period of the grant; and
WHEREAS, Cook County will provide a non-federal cash match of $2,480,071 over four years beginning in Year 1 of grant of non-Federal funds for Project #3. This match represents 24% of the total project cost of $10,212,149. These funds will be identified annually in the Cook County Budget; and
WHEREAS, Cook County will also provide contribution of a total of $894,697 to support Project #6 which includes contributions of personnel and fringe, purchase of electric vehicle charging stations, and construction and installation of the Electric Vehicle Stations.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Cook County Board of Commissioners does hereby authorize the County’s commitment of matching funds to Project #3 Capacity Building and Supply Chain Diversification and Project #6 Electric Vehicle and EV Charger Planning and Deployment that are featured in the Illinois Clean Tech Economy Coalition’s application to the Economic Development Administration’ s Build Back Better Regional Challenge.
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