GREENC I T Y

A N A U D I T O F C H I C A G O A N D S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

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 C H I C A G O I S C U R R E N T LY R A N K E D T H E 4 T H G R E E N E S T C I T Y I N T H E U S . . .

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. . . A F T E R P O R T L A N D , S A N F R A N C I S C O , A N D S E AT T L E .

O V E R A L L S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y S C O R E

1 Portland 85.08
2 San Francisco 81.82
3 Seattle 79.64
4 Chicago 70.64
*sustainlane.com out 50 Largest US Cities. The highest possible score 100.

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HOWEVER, CHICAGO IS 4 TIMES LARGER THAN THE

L A R G E S T O F T H E C I T I E S T H AT P R O C E E D I T I N

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y R A N K I N G . . .

P O P U L AT I O N

1 Chicago 2,833,321
2 San Francisco 744,041
3 Seattle 582,454
4 Portland 537,081

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WITH IT’S LARGE SIZE, HIGH GREEN RANKING AND BUT IS THIS BRANDING REFLECTED IN REALITY?

PUBLIC IMAGE CHICAGO HAS THE POTENTIAL TO WHERE DID THIS IMAGE COME FROM? CAN CHICAGO BECOME

B E C O M E T H E M O S T S U S TA I N A B L E C I T Y I N T H E W O R L D . THE GREENEST CITY IN THE WORLD? W H AT M A K E S A . . .

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 GREENC I T Y

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 KNOWLEDGE
BASE

ENVIRONMENT/
GOVERNMENT
ENERGY
THE C R I T E R I A F OR J UD G IN G A CITY IN TERM S OF SUSTAINABILITY AR E VE RY COM P LE X .

The re a re m a n y facto rs, so me concret e ot hers m ore abst ract .

Thi s m o d e l i l lu strates th e ke y in gredient s of a green cit y.

GREENC I T Y
GREEN
WASTE
ECONOMY

TRANSIT LAND
USE

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 Green Info/ Resources

Collaboration with Professionals

Overall Plan for Sustainability

Green Energy KNOWLEDGE Marketing/ Awareness

Water Quality
BASE
Green Infrastructure
Air Quality Dedication of Officials
ENVIRONMENT/
GOVERNMENT
ENERGY

SU B - CAT E G O R IE S F URT H E R D E FINE EACH INGREDIENT.

GREENC I T Y Green Design

Recycling Program Green Building

WASTE GREEN
Resource Recovery ECONOMY Green Business and Industry

Composting Program Local Food and Agriculture

LAND
TRANSIT
Public Transportation USE
Commuting Park District/ Forest Preserve

Other Modes of Transit Green Space

Zoning

Housing

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AL L G RE E N C IT IE S A R E NOT C R EATED EQUAL.

T h e f i r s t m o d el illustrates the ingredients for a green city.

I n th i s m o d e l , th e in g re d ien ts a re scaled t o ref lect Chicago’s

s uc c e s s a n d d e ficien cies. GREENC H I C A G O

*calculated using data from sustainlane.com and conscious choice magazines ratings of Chicago’s sustainability

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W HE N Y O U TAK E A L OOK AT WHERE WE LEAD . . .

. . . A ND W H E RE W E LA CK . .

. . . A TR EN D B EC O M ES C L EA R .

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WE LEAD IN THOUGHT MORE THAN ACTION.
Chicago is the largest city in America with a comprehensive sustainable agenda. Mayor Richard M.

Daley’s impressive display of measured determination has a lot to do with this. The vast array of

environmental projects he has created are making the city more prosperous, more beautiful, and

more healthy. People are paying attention to this because very few other major cities have defined

themselves as green. You expect progressive policies in places like Seattle and Portland. When a

big, diverse city like Chicago takes these steps it’s pretty significant. The bottom line is that Mayor

Daley is committed and serious about our environmental initiatives and sees them as a key part of

the city’s competitive strategy in the future. However, it’s a bit too soon to dub him America’s “Envi-

ronmental Mayor,” he has moved forward with some spectacular and innovative environmental suc-

cesses. Yet Chicago is still burdened with staggering eco-problems. The contrasts are stunning. To

find specific examples of this idea, lets take a deeper look inside each green city ingredient.

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KNOWLEDGE
BASE
ACCESS GRANTED
GRE E N R E SOUR C ES / INFO Drawing on the ideas, visions,
and inspirations of all stakeholders in a big project allows for the
whole to become truly greater than the sum of its parts. Such all-
encompassing collaboration has been instrumental in the process
of developing the Chicago Center for Green Technology, the city’s
new energy efficient and environmentally friendly showcase.
It is an integral part of the city’s aggressive plan to generate 20
percent of its electrical power from alternative sources within five
years. It is the new home of Spire Solar Chicago, a company dedi-
cated to manufacturing and marketing solar panels in the greater
Chicago area. It will also house the non-profit GreenCorps, an
innovative welfare-to-work life skill and landscaping training pro-
gram launched eight years ago by the City of Chicago’s Depart-
ment of Environment (DOE).
It is a place where citizens can learn about innovative ways to
harness alternative energy, understand the huge opportunities
for recycled and reused materials, and experience a world class
model of energy efficient, environmentally friendly green design.
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Docents as well as permanent signage will serve to enlighten
visitors. With GreenCorps landscapers in training, visitors will be
able to see city lot gardening in action.
The building’s focus on education will encourage citizens to learn
what’s possible. Getting involved with large scale residential,
commercial, and industrial rehabs and new construction early in
the process, and working with architects, engineers, and devel-
opers who are also the source for repeat business, generates a
higher likelihood of success.
C OLLA BO RATI O N WI TH PRO FESSI O N ALS This site’s
clean-up and the building’s renovation embody the collaborative
process, engaging the expertise of federal and local government
departments and agencies, associations, and public and private
business and industry, as well as the local community. The site
has quite a history. It used to be an old demolition debris facil-
ity. When the city received title to it, the site had 600,000 cubic
yards of construction debris piled up on top of it. So they applied
some environmentally sound principles and recycled much of
the debris, which cut our disposal costs in half. The concrete was
crushed and used in everything from the construction of parking
lots to roads and sewer projects.
As it busied itself clearing the site, the City began talking to
members of the American Institute of Architects Chicago Com-
mittee on the Environment, which shared the vision of green
design. It partne red with ComEd, which committed to generating
more energy from alternative sources. And it began looking for a
tenant. Then the Federal Department of Energy introduced Spire
to Chicago’s Department of Environment. The city’s alternative
energy plan clicked into place.
O VERALL PLAN FO R SU STAI N ABI LI TY This is just a
recent addition to a plan for sustainability that has been grow-
ing for years. It started very humbly. In the early years of Mayor
CONTRASTS
Daley’s administration, he began an ambitious program to plant The city touts a nationally renowned Center for Green Technology on the West Side but also
is home to two carcinogen-spewing coal-burning power plants in residential neighborhoods.
thousands of trees each year in neighborhoods across Chicago.
Now more than 250,000 of these living air conditioners have been
planted to provide oxygen and cooling throughout the summer.
And inspired by world class cities like Paris and Rome, the mayor
has also embarked on an ambitious beautification program in
which graffiti is blasted, flowers are planted, and litter is cleaned
up from streets and neighborhoods throughout the city.
In recent years, the Mayor teamed up with Commissioner of the
Department of the Environment, Bill Abolt, a nine-year veteran
of the administration. Internationally known green consultant
Bill McDonough introduced his view on what it will take to make
Chicago America’s greenest city.
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GOVERNMENT
SETTING THE EXAMPLE
MA RK E T ING/ AWA R ENES S What Chicago has accom-
plished in resplendent fashion is marketing the transformative
power of a “green city.” Over the last few years, Mayor Daley
has hauled his fair share of water for the green cause, tirelessly
traversing the nation to sign the mayors of other cities to a whole
host of climate protection and green building statements like the
“Cool Cities” campaign. In 2006, Chicago finally got its due for all
its greening efforts when it was highlighted in the “green” issue
of Vanity Fair and was chosen as the subject of two powerful
documentaries on the green revolution, Design e2: The Econom-
ics of Being Environmentally Conscious (which also features
Chicagoans Doug Farr and Blair Kamin) and Edens Lost & Found:
How Ordinary Americans are Restoring our Great American Cit-
ies.
In an era of mass-media, when one magazine or film has the abil-
ity to transform the minds of millions, the power of this achieve-
ment cannot be understated.
GRE E N INF R A S TR UC TUR E There have been new de-
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velopments supporting the mayor’s commitment to his green
initiatives. Most notable is his hiring of Sadhu Johnston who
came on with the official title “Assistant to the Mayor for Green
Initiatives.” By creating a staff position that focuses solely on this
mission, the mayor’s intent is clear: “I mean business!” Johnston
is charged with goosing the various city departments as they
ponder their mandate to become more environmentally friendly .
Ever notice those city drinking fountains that run non-stop? No
longer. As part of its water conservation program, the Chicago
Park District is retrofitting all public drinking fountains in the city
so they won’t flow 24 hours a day. It’s one of the myriad details
bundled into the green initiatives program that Sadhu Johnston
oversees as Mayor Daley’s handpicked assistant for green initia-
tives, a custom-made position on the mayor’s executive staff.
Johnston was “discovered” by Daley when the mayor traveled to
Cleveland to tour one of the “green” buildings that Johnston had
equipped. The 29-year-old founded the Cleveland Green Build-
ing Coalition and served as its executive director. His pioneer-
ing environmental successes in that city attracted the attention
of Daley, who offered him the newly created job. “My role is to
bring the department of environment into each department,” said
Johnston.
Johnston is responsible for ensuring that every agency, not just
the department of environment, considers the environmental con-
sequences of city actions. From city purchasing of environmen-
tally friendly products to creating alleys that retain more storm
water to requiring that new construction includes green roofs —
an environmentally active government can accomplish a lot. M AY O R R I C H A R D M . D A L E Y
DEDI CATI O N O F O FFI CI ALS “The mayor’s interest and
my interest aren’t just about greening from the environmental
perspective,” says Johnston, “it’s really about making the city
healthy, smart and green.”
The mayor appreciates that cities are an environmentally friendly
way to live. Dense urban areas served by good public transit are
far preferable to far flung suburbs contributing to sprawl, traffic
congestion, and the related air pollution. Mayor Daley also un-
derstands the importance of sustainability and the responsibility
that he has to be a steward of the city and its resources. There is
a tremendous opportunity to reconnect city dwellers with nature
and with natural areas. With the right kind of programs we can
beautify streets and neighborhoods, improve our air quality, and
make the city more livable and attractive — the kind of place
[where] you want to work and raise a family.
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 idea behind the new Waste-to-Profit Network is to help connect sectors, Chicago could possibly become the urban agriculture
the waste products of one business with another business that capital of America. What it would take, says Peemoeller, would be

GREEN ECONOMY
can use those waste products to make a profit, or use them as
raw materials in another process.
As Peter Nicholson puts it: “Sustainability needs to become more
of a social norm.” This means that just as organic food has be-
come a culturally sanctioned demand in the last 10 years, sustain-
ability needs to become a widespread social goal as well. Start
demanding more, and live the way you want to see others live.
commitment to land and resources through smart public policy
and community support to transform empty lots across the city
into economically viable farms.
The city should take the next steps on the creation of a perma-
nent public market. With all the vacant land available, particularly
on the South and West Sides, the city should facilitate and fully
support more urban agriculture projects and encourage the pri-
vate sector to get involved as well. A joint public/private devel-

S U P P LY I N G T H E D E M A N D F O R A G R E E N L I F E S T Y L E
GRE E N D E SIGN When Massive Change opened in Sep-
tember at the Museum of Contemporary Art, it heralded a new
era of sustainable design, where Chicago would play an integral
role in the introduction and development of new thought, pro-
cesses and technologies that have the potential to reshape the
world. One of the most significant steps taken in that direction
occurred when the city passed an ordinance requiring all future
public buildings to meet LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environ-
mental Design) certification for a green building.
GRE E N B UIL D ING To help the private sector along, the city
has instituted an expedited permit process for developers who
agree to build to LEED standards. The city also launched a Green
Building Agenda in 2005, issuing an 18-page report outlining a
host of actions the city is taking and will take to encourage LEED-
certified building and renovation in the city. One of these actions
is the expansion of the Green Roof incentive program.
Although Spire Solar has moved to another part of the city, things
have continued to happen to promote a green corridor along Lake
Street between the Center for Green Technology and the Garfield
Park Conservatory. Christy Webber Landscaping has built a LEED
Silver-certified building behind the CGT, and a LEED Silver school
is also being built in the area.
As Peter Nicholson of Foresight Design Initiative notes, “The city
has led very well by example in this area and now it’s looking
back to see who is following. The expedited permit process is an
example of a creative solution to increase the following.”
GR EEN BU SI N ESS AN D I N DU STRY Even though Nichol-
son feels overall that Chicago is “still waiting to ‘tip’ in the area
of sustainable design and manufacturing,” he was instrumental
in hauling the city that much closer to the tipping point with the
launch of the Chicago Sustainable Business Alliance, where lead-
ers of interested businesses meet and network on a regular basis.
Another is the pro bono work Bain Consulting is doing with the
city to develop a plan to promote sustainable businesses. And the
LO CAL FO O D AN D AG RI CU LTU RE The demand for opment fund would enable neighborhoods and communities to
organic food in Chicago is still about 30 times what is supplied plan and execute their own projects independent of city or state
locally. But the city is doing more to encourage improvement government. Also, drastically increase access to healthy food in
of this situation so that this huge economic and environmental Chicago’s “food deserts,” underserved neighborhoods without
opportunity is not effectively shipped to California, where most access to fresh food, through more farmers markets, more neigh-
organic produce is grown. Mayor Daley’s Chicago Organic Com- borhood food stores, and locally planned redevelopment.
mittee created the Chicago Organic Plan, which aims to support
the cultivation and distribution of local organic food. In addition,
the city’s Farmers Market program has created the position of
“forager” with the Green City Market to find more local farmers
to supply Chicago.
M A S S I V E C H A N G E AT T H E M U S E U M O F C O N T E M P O R A R Y
ART
There is interest in building a permanent public market in Chica-
go, just east of Michigan Avenue along the Chicago River. Also,
the city is working with Goodness Greeness, the largest privately
held distributor of organic produce in the city, to expand their
business and build a larger distribution center. And City Hall itself
has become an example of urban farming. Its green roof has been
used for beehives to produce honey, and strawberries are next.
Because of the amount of land available for farming within the
city limits, and the growing interest in both the public and private

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LAND USE
L O O K I N G G R E E N E R E V E R Y D AY
PA R K D IST R ICT/ FOR ES T PR ES ERV E Millennium Park
has changed everything. This unique urban space has reinvented
what a park is—how it is conceived and planned, funded and
managed, constructed, and operated. Critics of this oft criticized
“vanity project” were resoundingly humbled when the park
opened and everyone… and we mean everyone… came out to
enjoy it. And they haven’t left.
As for the Chicago Park District, there’s a lot to try to assess. But
there are several undeniably positive developments. It has also
acquired 30 acres for park space along the Chicago River. A bird
hospital opened on Northerly Island in April, and the Garfield
Park Conservatory continues to play a central role in the revital-
ization of its surrounding neighborhood. There is also good news
from the Forest Preserve District of Cook County. $2.75 million
has been added to the $17 million budget for land acquisition.
At the neighborhood level, the Park District works closely with
community groups on projects, though that’s not the case with
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certain massive proje cts such as the rebuilding of Soldier Field.
The Daley administration has been redeveloping the peninsula of
Northerly Island as a park. Though it meant the close of Meigs
Field airport, the people of Chicago are undoubtedly the winners.
It’s a truly beautiful place to behold the majesty of the city.
GR EEN SPACE Beyond the dazzling success of
Millennium Park with its fantastic garden, what’s happening with
open space in Chicago? Schools and community groups who
want help with their gardens can get it from Greencorps, a pro-
gram sponsored in part by the city’s Department of Environment.
Community gardening groups can also get help from Neighbor-
Space, a non- profit that helps secure their property and find
liability insurance.
ZONING “Open space zoning” passed the City Council in
2004 and is now in effect for four categories: little parks, big
parks (which also includes county Forest Preserves within the
city), natural habitats and cemeteries. Prior there was not a code
category for “open space.” At the time, even city parks were
zoned residential. The city has zoned 300 acres as natural habitat.
Chicago neighborhoods run the gamut from extreme poverty
to extreme privilege, from ethnic or racial enclave to diversity
exemplar. Gut wisdom tells us that the health of neighborhoods
is essential to the health of the whole city. So what’s up with the
’hoods? Many people believe that big box stores pose a threat by
driving out independent retailers and destroying the pedestrian
character of neighborhoods. MarySue Barrett of the Metropolitan
Planning Council points out that the city’s earlier development
was tied to streetcar stops every four blocks, and that’s why
there’s still a large commercial street at that frequency in many
parts of the city. But, says Barrett, this does not conform to the
way we shop now. There now is a zoning designation for pedes-
trian-oriented shopping districts.
HO U SI N G In the area of public housing, there is a huge CONTRASTS
transformation taking place with the Chicago Housing Authority’s The city spent $475 million on Millennium Park yet, many of its housing projects are still in shambles.
properties. In theory at least, mixed income development – one-
third market rate, one-third affordable, one-third public housing
– is replacing the huge public housing developments of the past.
The health of the new neighborhoods and the health of older
neighborhoods facing an influx of former CHA residents are in
question.
The city needs to do more to help CHA populations in transi-
tion, and to work out better coordination of different government
entities in planning new and revived neighborhoods. We need to
continue with the effort to reclaim streets from auto domination,
and to publicize and encourage the use of LEED for Neighbor-
hood Development standards.
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TRANSIT
UNDERFUNDED, UNDER SERVED, UNDER CONSTRUCTION
P UBL IC T RA NSPORTATION No other city in America
comes anywhere close to the lack of funding for public transpor-
tation than the city of Chicago. For the last 32 years the city has
spent $3 million per year, or $1 per person out of the city’s bud-
get, on the CTA. The next city up the ladder, Pittsburgh, spends
$33 million, and only has a population of 334,562: ten times as
much as Chicago spends, for just one-tenth of the people. New
York City spends $200 million, Los Angeles, $165 million. Clearly,
here is one obvious opportunity for rather substantial change.
The city gives only three million dollars a year to the agency and
goes begging to Springfield when fiscal crises loom. It is time for
the mayor to use more city money to repair and improve the CTA.
It is also time to get the universal fare card going to allow trans-
fers between suburban and city transit.
The CTA is part of a larger transit picture. People come into the
city on Metra and then get on a CTA train or bus, and the CTA
provides service out to many suburbs. This justifies state funding
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of the CTA. But the reliance on state funding leads to perennial
problems and service cutbacks, though it should be pointed out
that overall ridership is up. Some transit advocates think the city
should make a more substantial contribution while others think
that this isn’t feasible, likely, or even reasonable.
The city is not completely in control of the CTA. The Regional
Transportation Authority (RTA) is the financial and oversight body
for the CTA, Metra, and Pace. RTA serves Cook, DuPage, Kane,
Lake, McHenry and Will counties. RTA has a new campaign called
Moving Beyond Congestion (movingbeyondcongestion.org), to
raise awareness about the importance of transit to everyone, not
just those who actually use it.
C OM M UTI N G Obviously, Chicago Transit Authority changes
are in the works. The Pink Line was recently introduced, and the
Circle Line Plan, which would create a new line that links all of
the CTA and Metra lines in Chicago, continues its long march
through the public hearing process. But some transit advocates
ask: What about bus service cutbacks in neighborhoods of color?
What about fare increases? What about spending a lot on big
downtown projects—such as a superstation under Block 37 and
beautification of Loop subway stops—while bus service to poorer
neighborhoods suffers cutback after cutback? At the same time, in
response to requests from consumers, the CTA has added more
express buses. It’s clear that there is a transit funding problem in
our region. It’s also becoming clear that all of the region’s resi-
dents need to think in terms of digging deeper into their pockets
to maintain and improve the system.
O THER MO DES O F TRAN SPO RTATI O N The massive
O’Hare expansion plan does not currently include any real plans
for a high-speed rail connection (such as Newark Airport). This
is unfortunate, as the development of a Midwest high-speed rail
T H E C TA I S T H E S E C O N D L A R G E S T T R A N S I T S Y S T E M I N A M E R I C A , B U T
network is just as important to Chicago as modernizing airport.
O N LY B U D G E T S $ 3 M I L L I O N P E R Y E A R , O N E D O L L A R P E R P E R S O N .
The city has equipped school buses with diesel oxidation cata-
lysts and particulate-matter filters. The city has transferred a few
hundred of its vehicles to flex fuel and compressed natural gas,
and also plans to increase the conversion by 10 percent annually.
Johnston reports that the city is negotiating the construction of
the first ethanol-to-hydrogen fueling station.
The city’s commitment to bicycling remains admirable, as 93
miles of a planned 200-mile on-street bike lane are completed.
The city’s expectation is that more residents will bike to work if
the trek is made convenient and safe, ultimately easing conges-
tion and pollution.
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WA S T E
BAGGING THE BLUE BAG?
RE C YC L ING For many years, Chicagoans committed to recy-
cling have lived in an parody of an official program that on its sur-
face seemed unworkable from the start, and was at best, grossly
under-effective: mixing blue bags of recyclables with regular bags
of household garbage in the same cart and then in the same gar-
bage truck. But this past October, the city announced a change.
In 2007, seven out of 50 city wards will have separate cart collec-
tion, meaning that a blue cart in the alley will hold recyclables
and will be picked up by a separate truck. Even more promising,
according to Betsy Vandercook, president of the Chicago Recy-
cling Coalition, is the future plan to buy a total of 600,000 blue
carts for household recycling, thanks to an $8 million grant from
the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
In addition, 15 new drop-off centers have already been opened to
provide new recycling opportunities throughout the city.
Although the city deserves serious praise for efforts to improve
its recycling program, and the new pilot program is definitely a
start, it cannot rescue the city from its historically woeful and in-
32
adequate recycling infrastructure. As Vandercook says, “Chicago-
ans must hold the city to its word to ensure that the new blue-cart
program is fully established in the first seven wards by the end of
2007, that source-separated recycling is subsequently extended
to the entire city, and that sufficient education and publicity are
produced to make the new program a success.” She adds that
as larger apartment complexes and condos — including all those
gargantuan new skyscrapers — are served by private haulers and
not city trucks, it would also be necessary to pass and enforce
a new ordinance mandating that source-separated recycling be
provided for residents of these multi-unit buildings as well.
So the larger issue of recycling is not necessarily a legislative or
policy issue, it’s more an issue of culture. Recycling, like most
sustainable practices, cannot be solely a top-down endeavor.
The reason why recycling is so successful in a major metro area
like San Francisco is because the values and practices are woven
in the social fabric on the community level. Everyone recycles
because everyone else recycles. It’s a self-reinforcing value: one
does as one’s neighbors do. If the city, or more importantly, some
enterprising retailers, found a way to locally manufacture and
B L U E C A R T S E PA R AT E R E C Y C L I N G C O L L E C T I O N B Y WA R D
distribute simple recycling collection and transport systems for
every home, apartment and office building in Chicago, and made
them easily available, it would go a long way. Recycling isn’t just
socially responsible, it’s also a huge economic opportunity.
RESO U RCE RECO VERY Besides this improvement, the city
has opened a permanent facility to accept hazardous household
waste and used electronics, and it has passed tough construction
and demolition waste legislation that mandates 50 percent recy-
cling in 2007. It established a city-wide battery recovery system
through drop-off sites in 83 public libraries and 114 Walgreens
drug stores. Chicago Public Schools have added recycling to all of
their schools, and the city’s Christmas tree recycling program has
expanded. There is a Waste-to-Profit Network underway to con-
nect the waste products of one industry to another industry that
can make use of them.
CO MPO STI N G When it comes to composting, there are
many neighborhood and non-governmental run programs.
The city is conducting a pilot project in public schools to set up
separate dumpsters for and collection of food waste and recy-
clable paper to keep it from contaminating the paper. It is not sure
whether the city was considering composting the food waste, but
it certainly should. There’s no reason the city couldn’t contract
with someone to do the same for food waste from the Chicago
Public Schools. We would learn opportunities for greater efficien-
cies from this pilot and apply the lessons learned to other areas.
33

ENVIRONMENT/
ENERGY
THE UNDELIVERED PROMISE
GRE E N E NE R G Y Five years ago Chief Management Officer
Bill Abolt said the cornerstone of the vision to make Chicago the
greenest city in America is the mutli-tiered energy plan the mayor
had devised. The plan aimed to meet most of our future electri-
cal needs through a few simple strategies: 1) Making most of our
facilities energy efficient. 2) Use clean-burning small-scale power
plants placed in city facilities to generate power at peak times. 3)
Promote renewable energy.
Mayor Daley promised that by 2006 the city would be buying 20
percent of its electricity from renewable sources. However, last
November, a Chicago Tribune report revealed that, as 2006 drew
to a close, the city had fallen short of its goal . . . by nearly 20 per-
cent. The city’s deal to buy wind power fell apart, and Chicago’s
contract to buy landfill energy (generated by burning methane)
from Commonwealth Edison expired in 2004 and was not re-
signed. Even the most aggressive timetable for renewable energy
leaves 80 percent of our electricity produced by coal and nuclear
power.
34
Chicago has put forth some smaller scale energy conservation
initiatives. The city has a winter preparation program that Chi-
cago Environment Commissioner Sadhu Johnston describes
as “grassroots energy efficiency.” The city gives away kits with
packs of compact fluorescent light bulbs and weather stripping to
low-income residents, encouraging them to increase the conser-
vation of energy. There have been solar panels installed on many
cultural institutions and schools. Though there are many vision-
ary thinkers crafting alternative energy economies that could
bring a whole new economic boom to the Midwest, Chicago is
really falling behind the pack here.
WATER Q U ALI TY Water quality is high on the list of the
mayor’s green initiatives. For one, the city has developed a
detailed water quality/conservation agenda that includes making
residents of all single-family homes accountable for their water
use. It’s been shown that when people pay for the amount of wa-
ter they use, they tend to conserve it. Mayor Daley believes that
new technology will deliver a cheap way to meter homes.
In 2005, Mayor Daley hired a point person for the Chicago River
and published a “Chicago River Agenda” that would improve
water quality, protect nature and wildlife, balance river uses, and
enhance neighborhood and community life. In addition, the city
has developed a stormwater ordinance requiring larger develop-
ments to keep and absorb the first half-inch of stormwater, which
is the most polluted part of the run-off into the river. Furthermore,
there is now a tunnel to Lake Michigan from McCormick Place
so that rain on the roof of this massive structure does not add to
the sewer system, which backs up into the river when it reaches
capacity. The Chicago Department of Environment has also initi-
ated a rain-barrel program. The barrels collect stormwater for
lawn and garden watering, water that would otherwise add to the
overburdened sewers.
AI R Q U ALI TY Finally we come to air quality. Some believe
it is the black tumor affixed to the side of the otherwise beautiful
and elegant “Greenest City in America,” and in the same breath,
some of the best news of the decade on the environmental front.
According to a 2001 Harvard School of Public Health study, sulfur
dioxide and nitrogen dioxide emissions from nine coal-fired pow-
er plants in Illinois are responsible for 14,000 additional asthma
attacks and 300 premature deaths annually. As the study points
out, these coal-fired power plants were “grandfathered in,” ex-
empting them from the stricter standards required of new plants.
And contrary to the state’s expectation, it’s turned out to be
cheaper for owners to replace part after part after part on the old
plants than to build new plants that would have to meet current
standards. These plants release mercury in the air, which settles
in the ground and water and is absorbed into the food chain.
However, as tough new federal regulations for mercury emissions
come into effect, finally, in a monumental announcement in mid-
December, Midwest Generation, the owner of the two coal-fired
plants in the city along with others in Will County and Joliet, will
spend $3.5 billion over the next 10 years to clean up and or shut
down all of their coal-fired plants, build a $1.4 billion “clean burn-
ing coal” plant that they hope will be a showcase for this new
technology, and invest $800 million in wind technology. Fisk and
Crawford, the two plants in the city, will either be shut down or
have scrubbers installed by 2017.
Chicago must make Midwest Generation stick to its 10-year/$3.5
billion commitment to clean up and/or shut down their coal-fired
plants and invest in wind energy, because corporations are no-
torious for reneging on promises. Though this doesn’t change a
thing about Chicago’s current air quality problems, it will make a
significant difference in Chicago’s future.
CONTRASTS
The lakefront ranks among the best parks in the world, while
the beach is constantly being closed down because of ecoli.
35
 CAN CHICAGO BECOME THE GREENEST CITY IN AMERICA?
Despite the glaring environmental problems that have yet to be fixed, Daley’s accomplishments so

far have put him on the national stage. Everyone is looking at us and asking the question . . .

36 37
 C H I C A G O A L R E A D Y H A S A S T R O N G S E N S E O F W H AT

THE FUTURE A G R E E N C I T Y S H O U L D B E . In many of the areas where we are lacking

there are already people finding solutions to them, we are just yet to see the results. It lies

IS GREEN
in the hands of the citizens, the government and us as designers. After all Chicago didn’t

pop up over night. It was designed. More than most cities are designed. When Chicago

was destroyed in 1871 by the Great Chicago Fire, it created a unique opportunity to build

from scratch with the newest technologies and the modern lifestyle in mind. We can not

let devastation be the motive for a revolution in design. Sooner or later sustainable design

will be the only type of design, hopefully for all of us sooner.

38 39
RESOURCES
C R EATED B Y A D J O A O PO K U F O R TH E C H I C A G O G EN S L ER
Main c o n t en t w as e d ite d fr o m th e s e s o u r c e s
S U S TA I N A B L E I N T E R N S H I P P R O G R A M 2 0 0 7 .
sustainlane.com /us-city-rankings/
TO B E U S ED A S A TO O L F O R G EN S L ER F I R M W I D E.
consciouschoice.com

The Chicago Green Report Card 2007 Jack Bess

How Green is Our Mayor? Dan Johnson-Weinberger
Chicago will be America’s Greenest City Jim Slama
The Good, the Bad, and the Blue Bag Dave Aftandilian
I woul d l i k e to tha nk m y gr e e n m e ntor s B e tha ny J ohns on
a n d D a n e R a u s c h a n d m y s t u d i o l e a d e r To n y L a P o r t e f o r
gui di ng m e thr ough thi s i nte ns e r e s e a r c h pr oj e c t.

Gensler
40 41
42 Gensler