Cook County announces $10 million to revitalize neighborhoods through brownfield remediation program
New funding promotes economic growth and investment through redevelopment.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced $10 million for the Neighborhood Revitalization Brownfield Remediation program at a remediated brownfield site in Bellwood, Illinois, on Tuesday. The program is spearheaded by the Cook County Department of Environment and Sustainability (DES) to assess and remediate contaminated brownfield sites in suburban Cook County to promote economic growth and investment through redevelopment for businesses, housing, parks and other uses that benefit communities. The County began accepting nominations for site selection today.
“Cleaning up contaminated brownfields is an essential part of achieving environmental justice,” says President Preckwinkle. “This program will allow us to directly address historic inequities in terms of the disproportionate effect of past pollution on underserved communities. Today’s announcement opens the door for new developments that will bring jobs and other community benefits to these impacted areas.”