Environmental Justice
The Department of Environment and Sustainability Environmental Justice Policy Framework has been completed. It is available here in both English and Spanish. If you have questions, please email us at EJ@cookcountyil.gov.
El Departamento de Medio Ambiente y Sostenibilidad ha finalizado su Marco de Políticas de Justicia Ambiental. Está disponible aquí en inglés y español. Si tiene alguna pregunta, envíenos un correo electrónico a EJ@cookcountyil.gov.
Cook County’s Department of Environment and Sustainability (DES) has established an environmental justice policy framework, which can help inform and guide programming and policy decision-making across the Offices Under the President. Environmental justice is a key component of DES’ mission as well as one of the objectives of the Cook County Policy Roadmap and its Sustainable Communities pillar, which focuses on advancing environmental justice by means such as investing equitably across the County to address historic disinvestment and inequitable pollution overburden.
Responding to the compounding effects of environmental inequities and preparation for additional challenges resulting from climate change are crucial aspects of the County’s strategic plan. Cook County is working internally to build interdepartmental coordination regarding environmental concerns in overburdened communities.
For assistance with this policy in Polish, Cantonese, Mandarin, Tagalog, Arabic or any other language, please contact us at ej@cookcountyil.gov.
Cook County Draft Environmental Justice Policy
Cook County released a draft of its environmental justice policy in January 2025 and collected public input through February 28, 2025. The policy was co-developed by an internal environmental justice working group and an Environmental Justice Community Advisory Committee. In the development of this policy, the County committed to seeking the input and knowledge of communities that have been historically overburdened by pollution and have experienced historic disinvestment.
To read about the public input process, please click here for the report in English or in Spanish.
You can view a recording of the County's presentation of the Draft Environmental Justice Policy here:
Cook County Environmental Justice Survey
On October 9, 2024, DES released its Environmental Justice Survey Report (available in Spanish here) summarizing the results of an online environmental justice survey that was launched in June 2024. The results from this survey will inform the development of the County’s environmental justice policy.
The survey encouraged those who live and work in Cook County to share their concerns about environmental impacts on their communities. The County sought the feedback to help inform their work to establish an environmental justice policy which will be used to guide programming and policy decision-making across the Offices Under the President.
Any questions? Please email: ej@cookcountyil.gov