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PROPOSED ORDINANCE AMENDMENT
AN AMENDMENT TO CHAPTER 74, ARTICLE II, REAL PROPERTY TAXATION
WHEREAS, the Cook County Property Tax Incentive program is one of the most effective tools to attract and retain businesses in Cook County; and
WHEREAS, the program is particularly important in areas that have economic stagnation and high property tax rates such as exists in the South Suburbs of Cook County; and
WHEREAS, there exists several Illinois Department of Public Health designated food desserts throughout Cook County including in the South Suburbs; and
WHEREAS, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) 2019 data, Illinois has 318 low-income and low access census tracts where urban residents must travel more than 1 mile and rural residents travel more than 10 miles to the nearest supermarket, which represents 10.2% of all census tracts and accounts for 1,242,939 Illinois residents living in these food deserts, and the county with the greatest number of tracts is Cook County with 51; and
WHEREAS, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) 2019 data, Illinois has 870 low-income and low access census tracts where urban residents must travel more than 1/2 mile and rural residents travel more than 10 miles to the nearest supermarket, which represents 27.9% of all census tracts and accounts for 3,294,760 Illinois residents living in these food deserts, and the county with the greatest number of tracts is Cook County with 302; and
WHEREAS, lack of access to healthy food choices contributes to disparities in health outcomes and life expectancy, and access to healthy food is an integral ingredient to improving healthcare outcome disparities, which is a focal point of County Government, Cook County Health, and Cook County Department of Public Health; and
WHEREAS, one of the pillars of the County's Policy Roadmap and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) initiatives is to promote Healthy Communities including by addressing food insecurity and food acc...
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