North Cook News

The Village of Skokie held a special board meeting Nov. 14 to discuss the future of sustainability in Skokie.

“This special meeting is the first of two board meetings and the subject of the future of sustainability in the village of Skokie,” Mayor George Dusen said. “This meeting is strictly intended for the sole purpose of having the Sustainability Commission report to the Village Board on its much-anticipated findings and recommendations. Taken together, these recommendations will be the village's guide for the next eight years, hopefully leading us to a stronger, more sustainable future. I want to specifically acknowledge and thank the village's Sustainability Commission that researched plans across the country and was instrumental in bringing our consultant forward to develop a detailed and professional plan.”

The council uploaded a livestream of the special meeting to the city’s YouTube channel.

Max Slankard, Public Works director, opened the presentation by talking about the background of sustainability in Skokie and the formation of the committees, boards, and the plan that will be presented. He also introduced Ted Redmond of PaleBluedot LLC to present the sustainability plan that his firm helped put together. The plan was built on research looking at heat and carbon emissions with Skokie-specific numbers.

To learn more about the city sustainability plan, visit the meeting’s agenda.

The plan has ten strategic sections with specific goals. The first is transportation (increasing electric vehicles and use of public transportation), housing and land use (reduce energy poverty, update community plans and standards in housing), buildings and energy (increasing efficiency, reducing fuel usage), waste management (decrease landfill waste, increasing recycling), water and wastewater (promote water conservation, reduce consumption), local food and agriculture (increase availability of local food, reduce food waste), greenspace and trees (increase tree canopy, replace turf), health and safety (support vulnerable populations), and economy (develop economic potential for sustainability).

Village officials presented some recommendations for immediate actions. These included reducing their trash pickup from twice a week to once a week, utilizing city resources to encourage food composting by residents which might look like city drop off points or a pick-up system. Based on the city’s research, it should be able to change their garbage pick up with almost no impact on citizens. The city is also reworking their building-permit process to promote more environmentally friendly building methods and create a more eco friendly city fleet with green vehicles.

The council will meet again at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 5 at the Council Chambers at 5127 Oakton St. in Skokie.