Chicago, Cook County Departments of Public Health Celebrate Lead Abatement Program Partnership with HUD

Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH), Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) gathered with local leaders and area residents Saturday, July 27, at Mason Elementary School, 4217 W. 18th St., Chicago, IL, to celebrate the success of their lead abatement programs. Both health departments provide lead removal services and home upgrades to eligible renters and homeowners at no cost. Featured left to right: Dr. LaMar Hasbrouck, CCDPH chief operating officer; Jason Applegate, CCDPH manager of Lead Poisoning Prevention; Michelle Medeiros, HUD deputy director, Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes ; Sharita Webb, CDPH director of public health operations; and Jennifer Vidis, CDPH deputy commissioner. Photo by Cook County Department of Public Health
Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH), Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) gathered with local leaders and area residents Saturday, July 27, at Mason Elementary School, 4217 W. 18th St., Chicago, IL, to celebrate the success of their lead abatement programs. Both health departments provide lead removal services and home upgrades to eligible renters and homeowners at no cost. Featured left to right: Dr. LaMar Hasbrouck, CCDPH chief operating officer; Jason Applegate, CCDPH manager of Lead Poisoning Prevention; Michelle Medeiros, HUD deputy director, Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes ; Sharita Webb, CDPH director of public health operations; and Jennifer Vidis, CDPH deputy commissioner. Photo by Cook County Department of Public Health

Chicago, Cook County Departments of Public Health Celebrate Lead Abatement Program Partnership with HUD

CHICAGO - Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH), Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) gathered with local leaders and area residents Saturday, July 27, to celebrate the success of their lead abatement programs.

“We thought it was important to take time out and reflect on the successes of Chicago and Cook County’s lead abatement programs and the impact these programs are having on the health of families,” said Michelle Medeiros, deputy director, Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes, at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

CCDPH, CDPH and HUD hosted a community fair at Mason Elementary School, 4217 W. 18th St. in Chicago Saturday morning to showcase their lead abatement services to area residents and then conducted a tour of three nearby homes — in North Lawndale, Little Village and Berwyn, Ill. — that received lead abatement services. Following are highlights of the impacts the city and county’s lead abatement programs have made on families and their communities:

North Lawndale home benefits from Chicago Department of Public Health’s lead abatement services and home upgrades

With $1.2 million in HUD funding, Chicago Department of Public Health completed lead abatements on 78 homes in Chicago from January 2023 to the present time. The department is slated to abate some 336 homes between December 2022 and November 2026.

"Healthy homes are a vital part of healthy communities," said CDPH Commissioner Olusimbo "Simbo" Ige, MD, MPH. "Through our partnership with HUD, the Chicago Department of Public Health and Cook County Department of Health are committed to ensuring safe and healthy homes for our children. Lead hazards in paint, such as peeling paint and paint chips, pose serious health risks, including brain and nervous system damage, delayed growth, and learning and behavioral problems. With HUD's assistance, we are making strides in lead abatement, helping families 'get the lead out' and promoting the growth and development of healthy families.” One of the homes that benefitted from the city’s lead abatement program was a three-flat on the 2700 block of South Tripp Avenue in North Lawndale. A total of $14,365 in lead abatement and Healthy Homes grant funds was used to replace damaged windows on the front of the building with new, vented glass block windows, enclose all door casings and door jambs with aluminum on the rear porch and front exterior of the building, and stabilize lead paint in the entry hall, bedrooms, closets and pantry. The building was tested for radon, and new smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, as well as a fire extinguisher, were installed. The grants have made a difference not only with this home but are creating a ripple effect through a neighborhood bearing the weight of the prejudices that obstruct the path to healthy homes. In fact, CDPH has begun working with another resident on the block who has been denied service by several contractors unwilling to come to the neighborhood.

Lead poisoning prevention is crucial, especially with young children in the home. However, it can begin even before a child is born. Pregnant women can call Chicago's 311 to request a home inspection. An inspector will visit the home to assess and ensure it is free from lead hazards, making it safe for the baby. For homeowners, the impact of these improvements extends beyond their walls. "Our program provides health equity, fiscal equity, and a sense of pride in their homes," said CDPH Director of Public Health Operations Sharita Webb. "You can't put a dollar amount on the pride people have in their homes."

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Berwyn family says Cook County Department of Public Health’s lead program provided peace of mind

With the help of HUD grant funding totaling $700,000, Cook County Department of Public Health provided lead abatement services to 48 suburban Cook County households in 2023.

“Thanks to HUD’s investment, 127 children in suburban Cook County are now lead-safe,” said Dr. LaMar Hasbrouck, CCDPH’s chief operating officer.

After Berwyn residents Lisa Aguilar and James Pesch’s son, now 4, was diagnosed with lead poisoning

last June, the couple applied for the Cook County Department of Public Health’s Lead Hazard Reduction Program and was approved for an $18,000 HUD grant in August.

In January, the health department assigned a nurse to the family’s son, replaced the front and back doors and screens and all 13 windows in the family’s home, painted the walls and ceilings in one of their rooms and replaced the exterior door of their garage. Aguilar and Pesch said they have “peace of mind” now that their son’s blood lead levels are within normal range.

“We are very happy. We don’t have the problem of worrying about our son’s health anymore,” said Pesch.

With 93 percent of its housing stock built before 1978, Berwyn has the second highest number of child referrals for elevated blood lead levels in CCDPH’s jurisdictions, Hasbrouck said.

Cook County’s Lead Hazard Reduction program provides home upgrades and lead abatement services to income-eligible residents who own or rent suburban Cook County single-family homes and residential buildings that were built before 1978 and who live with a child under age six. Learn more about the program at https://bit.ly/3SjKGPM. Cook County Department of Public Health is the nationally accredited, state-certified local health department serving 2.3 million residents and 127 Cook County suburbs.

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