Commissioner Goslin was recently appointed to serve on the Green Government Initiative of the National Association of Counties. This initiative is charged with assisting counties with efforts to protect the environment while saving taxpayer money and improving services. Commissioner Goslin is dedicated to finding environmental best practices across the country and implementing them here at the County.
Visit Commissioner Goslin’s Facebook Page for tips and resources on how you can go green!
Current Policies
Green Purchasing
Whenever practical, recycled products are used for items such as toner cartridges, plastic products, rubber mats, paint, office furniture and paper products. All letterhead paper, copy paper, computer printer paper, and note pads used by county departments contains at least 30 percent post-consumer recycled content.
Idling Policy
Cook County vehicles are not permitted to idle at any location for more than five minutes or any period totaling more than five minutes in a one-hour period, except in cases necessary for law enforcement personnel or to comply with traffic.
Green Building Ordinance
All newly constructed buildings and buildings scheduled for capital improvement are designed, built, and operated in accordance with the standards and requirements of the LEED Green Building Rating System. Every new and retrofitted building must meet the requirements for LEED certification.
Green Lights Program
Cook County is in the process of replacing its Fluorescent light bulbs with energy-efficient models, as well as installing motion-sensors to automatically shut off lights in areas of buildings that are not in use.
Bottleless Water Purification Systems
As facilities are upgraded and repaired, bottleless water purification systems are being installed wherever feasible in place of bottled water coolers. The County Administration Building at 69 W. Washington already employs these environmentally-friendly water systems.
White and Green Roofs
The roofs of the County Building, Oak Forest Hospital, Durand Building, Medical Examiner’s Office, Hektoen Building and Criminal Court Administration Building have all been painted white to prevent excess heat absorption and reduce energy usage for cooling the buildings. Additionally, the new RTU (Residential Treatment Unit) at the Department of Corrections will be built with a green roof.
Green Construction Ordinance
Cook County construction contracts require that any heavy-duty diesel vehicles employed in the construction use ultra low sulfur diesel and have certain levels of controls which lower overall air pollution by the vehicles.
Bird-Safe Building Ordinance
New construction and major renovation projects incorporate bird-safe building materials and design features in their designs.
Proposed Policies
Facility Green Teams
Commissioner Goslin recently proposed a resolution which will create “green teams” for every county facility. These teams will be able to better coordinate, implement and promote sustainable practices within these facilities, and will additionally provide an important framework to understanding obstacles to and considerations necessary for future county-wide green initiatives.
Green IT
Both the County and the Forest Preserve District Boards have approved Commissioner Goslin’s proposal to create a PC Power Management Policy to conserve energy when computers and monitors are not in use. Policies are being developed and will be presented to the County Board later this summer.
Car Sharing and Electronic Fleet Management
Commissioner Goslin Sponsored a resolution earlier this year to research the use of an electronic fleet management program to implement car-sharing for county vehicles. This proposal would reduce the number of vehicles required to conduct county business, increase the efficiency of fuel usage and allow greater monitoring of the county’s idling policy to minimize environmental impact.
Green Road Construction
Cook County has run a pilot program of a green construction effort which uses rubber from ground-up tires to asphalt pavement to improve performance and help the surface last longer. Used tires are a major component in many dumps across the nation, including in Cook County. Commissioner Goslin is committed to reviewing the results of this program, and if successful, to implement it on road projects throughout Cook County.
Reducing Administrative Paper
Electronic document storage and management can help significantly reduce paper usage within the county, especially if a system can be designed to efficiently and securely transmit electronic documents for internal business. The Forest Preserve District is putting out a request for proposal which will begin this process.
