Illinois Town First in Midwest to Ban Gas in New Buildings
Oak Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, has become the first Midwestern town to ban fossil fuels, like natural gas, in new homes and commercial buildings.
Oak Park’s electrification ordinance goes into effect January 2024 and states, “On June 20, 2023, the Village Board of Oak Park, Illinois voted in favor of an all-electric new construction ordinance as part of their building code. This makes Oak Park the first municipality in Illinois – and the Midwest – to pass an electrification ordinance. Electrification was one of the steps identified as necessary to achieve community-wide net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, as set forth by the Village in Climate Ready Oak Park. This follows the adoption of a benchmarking ordinance approved in February 2023.”
Exceptions are in place for commercial kitchens and emergency generators.
