"We hope that the KKCOM Bike and Pedestrian App will help current users of KKCOM's growing transportation system travel with greater ease, while also encouraging others to take advantage of the many forms of transportation available within Kane and Kendall County," says Tom Rickert, KKCOM Executive Director and Kane County's Deputy Director of Transportation.

Kane County is launching a new Farm to School Program at the Juvenile Justice Center in St. Charles and is seeking two qualified contract staff to support the project. 

The USDA grant-funded program will pay for two part-time positions through July 2020. The contract positions include a Farm to School Program Coordinator and Garden Coordinator.

Both positions will report to the Kane County Development and Community Services Department, and coordinate with other county partners including the University of Illinois Master Gardeners and Illinois Farm to School Network. The two-year grant program will build on efforts to institutionalize hands-on food growing and learning opportunities for youth under the care of the JJC. The program will also explore opportunities and develop strategies for the JJC to procure fresh and healthy food items from area growers.

Get the lowdown on what you should be recycling at home and at work. Jennifer will cover what can and cannot go in your curbside recycling cart, the 2018 sea change in the recycling industry, and the statewide work being done on reducing contamination in recycling streams. She will also share top recycling tips that answer the most commonly asked questions. 

Learn about where you can recycle other items at drop-off locations throughout Kane County: Styrofoam, electronics, books, hazardous waste, batteries, paint, and more. Get the 2019 schedule of Recycling Events, and all of the things you can take to them, including the free confidential document shredding dates. 

This session will include a slide presentation, time for questions and answers and some fun giveaways, including the Kane County Recycles Green Guide. 

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 included a new powerful economic development tax  incentive - Opportunity Zones - designed to encourage long-term private capital investment in America's low-income communities. 

With over 8,700 Opportunity Zones - spanning the entire continental, including many Chicagoland communities - now eligible to tap into over $6 trillion dollars of unrealized capital gains to support redevelopment projects and new businesses, there's enormous excitement amongst investors and local policymakers. Equally, there's enormous concern among local policymakers and community groups who are afraid that this tax incentive will crowdsource unmanaged gentrification and displacement or accelerate climate change. 

The LOCUS National Opportunity Zone Ranking Report, first of its kind, ranks each of the designated Opportunity Zones based on its Smart Growth Potential (SGP) as well as its Social Equity + Vulnerability Index score (SE_SVI). 

This study creates a "Smart Growth Potential" filter for investors to identify which Opportunity Zones should be prioritized for investment from a triple-bottom-line perspective that can deliver positive economic, environmental, and social returns. Additionally, this study is intended to provide local policymakers and community groups with a policy framework to manage and ensure equitable, inclusive development in Opportunity Zones.