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Cook County officials and partners break ground at

affordable housing site in Maywood

Joined by members of the community, the Interfaith Housing
Development Corporation and other County officials (the Bureau of
Economic Development, the Housing Authority of Cook County, the
Cook County Land Bank Authority, and the Justice Advisory
Council), Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle broke ground at
the planned site of Fifth Avenue Apartments, a 72-unit affordable
housing development located in Maywood, Illinois.
"Investment in affordable housing is a critical component in
our work to build vital communities throughout Cook County,"
stated President Toni Preckwinkle. "The need is growing by the
day while resources are diminishing. This project represents
another step in the right direction as we address this need
moving forward.”

The building will be comprised of studio, one-, two- and three-
bedroom residential units along with interior and exterior shared
community spaces for resident use. It also includes approximately
5,500 square feet of retail space on the ground floor, currently
slated for development into a grocery store, addressing the lack of
this amenity in the area. The five-story development will provide affordable housing for
NEWS & UPDATES
households at or below 60 percent of area median income (AMI). Sixteen (16) of the NEWS & UPDATES
units are designated for households at or below 30% AMI; 28 units are for households
at or below 50% AMI; and 28 units will support households at or below 60% AMI. Nine-
teen (19) of these units will be targeted to special needs populations, including eight
units set aside for homeless veterans and 11 units for tenants selected from the Illinois The McHenry County Board voted to
State Referral Network. The residence was designed with several sustainable features eliminate mileage reimbursements for
and will achieve National Green Building Standard’s Bronze Level upon completion. board members to attend regularly
During remarks, County officials announced the formation of an Affordable Housing scheduled meetings effective in 2022,
Task Force launching in Spring 2020. The group will be charged with establishing priori- the same time a separate proposal to
ties and solutions to increase the supply of affordable housing in Cook County with a eliminate health insurance benefits for
focus on the suburbs. It will include individuals from Cook County government, as well board members could take effect.
as those with expertise in housing policy, advocacy, financing, development and those
with lived experience in affordable housing. The final list of members will be announced The new 4-cent gas tax that the Will
in mid-March and meet on a bi-monthly basis thereafter. County Board passed last year is now
in effect. As reported by the Herald News,
the new gas tax will generate about
Public museum capital grants program $12 million a year in additional revenue
for the county to use on roadway
accepting applications projects. That total is in addition to the
$6 million a year the county will receive
from the state. The state government
Public museums in Illinois can receive funding assistance to improve doubled its gas tax from 19 to 38 cents
museum facilities and develop new exhibits through the Illinois Public to help pay for the $45 billion capital
Museum Capital Grants Program. The Illinois Department of Natural spending bill.
Resources (IDNR), which administers the program, is accepting
applications from qualifying public museums. The deadline to apply is The Kankakee County Board approved
April 30, 2020. decommissioning plans for two new
A total of $25 million in funding from the state’s Rebuild Illinois solar farms. SolAmerica Energy’s Yonke
capital program has been made available for public museum capital Solar Farm is proposed for construction
grants for Fiscal Year 2020. Grant awards for qualifying projects can at U.S. Route 45-52 and River Road and
range from $25,000 to a maximum of $750,000. its decommissioning bond is $223,474.
Public Museum Capital Grants are available to non-profit public The Spring Creek Solar Solar Project is
museums that meet certain criteria, including they must be operated by or located upon to be built just north of 930 State Rt. 1 in
land or owned by a unit of local government or certified as a public museum. St. Anne, and it’s decommissioning bond
is $151,009. Both were approved by the
For detailed information on the application process and eligibility visit the IDNR website state of Illinois and received tax credits
at www.dnr.illinois.gov/grants/Pages/Museum-Capital-Grants.aspx. from the state.