McHenry County green with pride

Kermit the Frog was wrong; being green isn't as tough as the singing amphibian would have you believe.

Officials in McHenry County government hope to prove that as they explore ways to add to their growing list of environmentally friendly initiatives to save energy, money and Mother Earth all at the same time.

"It's good for the environment and good for our constituents because we're taking good care of their money," said John Hadley, the county's director of facilities management. "Over the long haul, it's money well invested."

The county's green efforts include an aggressive recycling program in county facilities, working with the employee-run Solid Waste Action Team to cut down on waste and installing natural landscaping outside county buildings to keep down irrigation needs.

McHenry County also is the only county in Illinois to participate in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star program, a nationwide effort to reduce energy costs in homes and businesses. As part of that effort, the county this year is installing a new high-efficiency boiler at its courthouse that, while a little more costly up front, will save $460,000 a year in heating costs, Hadley said.

County officials also are looking to be more environmentally conscious when it comes to what they purchase. Sellers of items made with recycled materials, such as picnic tables recently installed outside the county administration building, and environmentally safe products will have the upper hand when it comes to winning county business.

"We're a big procurer of materials, from paper all the way down to the food we purchase for Valley Hi (nursing home)," Deputy County Administrator John Labaj said. "If we have two choices that cost about the same, then we're going to go with the one that's more environmentally friendly."

McHenry County is not alone in going green. Dozens of suburban communities are enacting or exploring pro-environmental policies, including Algonquin and Crystal Lake. Those towns, along with more than 40 other Chicago-area communities, are members of Clean Air Counts, an initiative by Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, City of Chicago and EPA to reduce harmful emissions.

Algonquin last year received an award from the organization for its clean air efforts.

"We call ourselves a conservation community and have pages of policies and programs to qualify for that," Village Manager Bill Ganek said. "We think it's the right thing to do."

McHenry County officials are working on their own formal policies for how they will address environmental issues in the future. The policy could be up before the county board before the end of the year.

"We're looking to be a leader on this, to get our policies in place, then bring them out to businesses, schools, municipalities and others to help them with the greening of their buildings," Hadley said.