TABLE OF CONTENTS This chapter looks at the efforts of Chicago (and Illinois and Cook County) to face brownfields issues. Chicago is an excellent example because of the many brownfields properties and the proactive efforts of the city, and the positive efforts of the state to modernize remediation regulations.
In Sec. 4.1 , Mary Culler is very clear about the directions the Chicago redevelopment effort will take. The city is moving aggressively, and at the same time recognizes the uncertainties involved and the need for flexibility. Culler summarizes many aspects of the Chicago program, and the incentives to companies and private developers.
In Secs. 4.2 and 4.3 , William Trumbull provides a view of the beginnings of the programs, of the pilot programs, and of the state and county issues.
In Sec. 4.4 , Jessica Rio presents a case study of a successful pilot test that provided many lessons for the administrations.
Mary Culler
The history of Chicago is closely tied to our country s pattern of industrial development and evolution from its agricultural base to the current infor- mation and distribution economy. This linkage between Chicago and industry continues today. According to a recent economic assessment of the Midwest prepared by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, there is abundant evidence that over the last 10 years the region has been economically recovering from its painful adjustment period in the 1970s and 1980s, when it was labeled part of the Rust Belt. A resurgent strength in the...
