commentIllinois Legislates for Green Neighborhoods, Cities
Perhaps gearing up for the Chicago-hosted Greenbuild convention in November 2007, Illinois recently passed two innovative green building laws.
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The first bill enacts a “smart cities” grant program to fund urban preservation, redevelopment, and green technology at the municipal level; it also creates a “green cities” grant program for municipalities whose buildings conform with “nationally recognized and accepted green buildings guidelines, standards, or systems.” The green cities grants may be used for new construction, existing buildings, commercial interiors, core and shell development, homes, schools, or neighborhood development.
In a separate piece of legislation, the Green Neighborhood Grant Act provides funds of up to 1.5 percent of the total cost of up to three private developments that achieve certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED for Neighborhood Development rating system, which is currently in the pilot phase.
More information is available at www.ilga.gov/legislation; search for HB3394 and SB135.
This article was produced by BuildingGreen, Inc.- www.buildinggreen.com
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