W E D N E S D A Y
February 1, 2023 Vol. 43, No. 27
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of Oak Park and River Forest
OPRF grad named NFL All-Rookie Page 15
Oak Park heading to electrification to cut emissions Part of village’s climate-change mitigation efforts By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter
The Village of Oak Park is moving toward electrification for both existing buildings and future developments to reduce the village’s greenhouse gas emissions. Transitioning away from natural gas usage is part of the village’s climate change mitigation effort and will help to satisfy the village board’s sustainability goals. Plans for these changes were laid out for the village board during a Jan. 23 meeting. Commercial and residential buildings provide the greatest opportunity for the village to decrease its carbon footprint as they are the largest contributors of greenhouse gas emissions in the Oak Park community. A village study found that commercial and residential buildings made up 70% of greenhouse gas emissions in 2019, while transportation, mostly gas-powered automobiles, accounted for just 29%. The village has committed to decreasing communitywide greenhouse gas emissions by 60% by 2030 and to
Fresh Air
Oak Park Festival Theatre artistic director Peter Andersen brings youth and a new slant on staging Shakespeare al fresco SEE STORY, PAGE 10 SARA JANZ
See ELECTRIFICATION on page 12
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