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TO: Mayor John Laesch
FROM: Alison Lindburg, Director of Sustainability
DATE: October 13, 2025
SUBJECT:
Requesting authorization of acceptance of a grant award of $200,000.00 from the Illinois Finance Authority to the City of Aurora to support stretch code adoption and implementation.
PURPOSE:
To obtain approval for the City to receive $200,000.00 in Climate Pollution Reduction Grants: Stretch Code Adoption Grant funding to adopt and implement the Illinois Stretch Code.
BACKGROUND:
The City applied for and was awarded $200,000.00 from the Illinois Finance Authority to support the adoption and implementation of the Illinois Stretch Code. Grant agreement language was finalized with the Legal department October 3, 2025.
The City of Aurora is considering adoption and implementation of the Illinois Stretch Code to lower energy costs for Aurora citizens, ensure that new buildings are healthy, comfortable, and resilient, and effectively meet goals outlined in the Aurora 2019 Sustainability Plan.
The grant funding will enable the City to adopt and implement the stretch code more effectively through increasing internal and external capacity, enhancing resources, expanding knowledge, and improving our ability to collect and communicate data to measure the long-term impacts of this initiative. The funding also allows staff to identify and create solutions for potential impacts of stretch code adoption and implementation.
DISCUSSION:
Staff capacity has been the most significant barrier to stretch code adoption, and this funding would allow the city to overcome capacity constraints and demonstrate the benefits of stretch code adoption. Concerns about potential increased costs are also present - This funding also would allow staff to identify and create solutions for potential additional costs and other impacts of stretch code adoption, such as technical assistance, training, financing resources, incentives alignment, and streamlined permitting.
The Illinois Stretch Energy Code establishes more ambitious energy efficiency standards than the standard base code and enables adopting municipalities to achieve substantial energy savings and carbon pollution reductions.
As the second-largest city in Illinois, Aurora has a proven track record in developing, adopting, and maintaining comprehensive ordinances that reflect industry best practices, address community needs, and proactively mitigate potential risks. Adopting a stretch energy code would be in line would this track record.
The grant agreement identifies that some outside contractors may be hired for training purposes. If outside contractors are used for training purposes, the City of Aurora procurement policy will be followed. Up to $5,000 will be handled by the Department of Sustainability. Purchases and work orders over $5,000 will involve the City of Aurora procurement office. If the amount surpasses $50,000, then a new Resolution will be presented before the City Council for approval.
As mentioned in the resolution we are requesting that the Mayor, City Clerk, and Department of Sustainability have the ability to execute these documents if they are required to carry the purposes of this resolution into execution, without any additional City Council action.
The final grant agreement has been reviewed by Legal, and no issues were identified.
The account numbers for this grant award are the following:
Revenue: 101.1830.331.15.11 Operational/Categorical-Indirect/ Environmental Programs
Expenses: 101.1830.465.10.01 to 101.1830.465.99.99
(The expense accounts will depend on what the grants funds will be spent on but fall within this range.)
IMPACT STATEMENT:
The funding will impact the departments of Development Services, Sustainability, and Economic Development by covering staff time to increase internal capacity, enhancing resources, expanding knowledge, and improving data collection efforts. The funding also allows staff to identify solutions to potential impacts of stretch code adoption, such as technical assistance, training, financing resources, incentives alignment, and streamlined permitting. Accepting this funding should have no negative impact on the public.
Potential community benefits of stretch code adoption include:
-Safer, more resilient buildings: homes and businesses that are more efficient, resilient, and less expensive to operate over time, with improved indoor air quality, tighter envelopes, better duct sealing and ventilation.
-Additional flexibility and assistance for builders, designers, and developers: multiple compliance pathways like high-performance envelopes, heat pumps, Passive House certification, solar readiness (not a one-size-fits-all solution), and identification of resources that minimize increased costs and support implementation.
-Construction that aligns with local values: energy savings, comfort, and emergency-readiness.
The impact of not receiving this grant will mean that a stretch code may still be adopted, however resources, training, incentives, and technical assistance that could help staff, developers, and builders may not be available or administered.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Recommend to approve a Resolution authorizing the City to accept a grant award of $200,000 from the Illinois Finance Authority. Staff also requests authorization for the City's Mayor, City Clerk, Director of Sustainability, or their designees to execute any contracts as well as any other documents associated with this grant.
cc: Finance Committee
CITY OF AURORA, ILLINOIS
RESOLUTION NO. _________
DATE OF PASSAGE ________________
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A Resolution authorizing the City to accept a grant award from the Illinois Finance Authority of $200,000.00 to support stretch code adoption and implementation
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WHEREAS, the City of Aurora has a population of more than 25,000 persons and is, therefore, a home rule unit under subsection (a) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution of 1970; and
WHEREAS, subject to said Section, a home rule unit may exercise any power and perform any function pertaining to its government and affairs for the protection of the public health, safety, morals, and welfare; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Aurora Code Section Chapter 2, Division 2, Section 2-336, the City has authority to enter into agreements and accept grant funding; and
WHEREAS, improved energy efficiency in buildings would help the City of Aurora meet the goals of the Aurora 2019 Sustainability Plan; and
WHEREAS, the $200,000 in funding from the Illinois Finance Authority would support the adoption and implementation of a stretch code;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Aurora, Illinois, as follows: the City authorizes the acceptance of the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants: Stretch Code Adoption Grant in the amount of $200,000 from the Illinois Finance Authority, and
BE IT RESOLVED, that the Mayor and the Clerk respectively, shall be and hereby are directed to execute all the aforementioned documents on behalf of the City and any other documents required to carry the purposes of this resolution into execution, and
BE IT RESOLVED, that the Department of Sustainability and any other necessary Department, are hereby enabled to take all actions necessary and proper to fulfill the grant deliverables for the purposes of this ordinance.