Cook County on a Mission

Making the most of major place-based institutions
Tap the buying power of universities, museums and other place -based anchors, turning them into customers of social enterprises run by the unemployed and underemployed. One example: working with the Illinois Medical District to develop mission-driven healthcare businesses.

Addressing food deserts
The plan is to help residents in areas that lack affordable–or any–supermarkets to build neighborhood grocery stores.

Revitalizing the Port of Chicago
The Commission wants to work with such government units as the Illinois International Port District to revitalize the Port, largely through a combination of impact investment and philanthropy.

Redeveloping blighted areas
By partnering with the Cook County Land Bank Authority, the goal is to help entrepreneurs redevelop abandoned, vacant or foreclosed properties, rebuilding neighborhoods while creating opportunities for businesses.
Cook County on a Mission
The Commission makes actionable policy recommendations to the Cook County Board and the County’s agencies and departments to create, scale, sustain and fund novel solutions to social problems.
“We’re marrying the social mission of a government program with the market-driven approach of business,” says Marc J. Lane, vice chair of the Commission and a Chicago-based lawyer and financial advisor. “It’s all about engaging businesses to pursue market-driven strategies that have a financial and social return.”
- Unemployment Rate 10%
- Lives at less than 20% of the federal poverty level 50%
- Adults over 25 without a high school diploma 6%
- Population Change 85%
Jesus “Chuy” Garcia
Chair of the Cook County Commission on Social Innovation
Jesus “Chuy” Garcia is a member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners and Chair of the Cook County Commission on Social Innovation.
Marc J. Lane
Vice chair of the Cook County Commission on Social Innovation
Marc J. Lane, Vice Chair of the Cook County Commission on Social Innovation, is a business and tax attorney and financial advisor whose clients are stakeholders in the evolving Social Impact Ecosystem. Marc is the author of The Mission-Driven Venture. Mlane@marcjlane.com.