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Clean, Renewable Biodiesel Benefits Illinois Communities

Close to the heart of Chicago, you’ll find a community committed to clean air and environmental stewardship. The Village of Oak Park runs its fleet on B20, a blend of 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent petroleum diesel. B20 generates fewer tailpipe emissions and reduces lifecycle carbon emissions. 

Oak Park is a long-standing member of the B20 Club, a partnership between the Illinois Soybean Association checkoff program and the American Lung Association that recognizes Illinois-based fleets with strong commitments to operating on biodiesel blends of B20 or higher. The B20 Club promotes environmentally friendly biodiesel fuel, while also providing members with networking opportunities, educational materials, training and resource exchanges with other fleets fueled by B20 or higher blends. Members include county and municipal fleets, trucking companies, mass transit providers and utilities—all dedicated to cleaner air and more sustainable operations.

“Oak Park has always been at the forefront as a green community. We place a high priority on environmental stewardship,” said Ken Crowley, superintendent of fleet services for the Village of Oak Park. “We do everything we can to keep the air we breathe as clean as we can, and biodiesel is a very simple way of doing that.”

More than 10 years ago Oak Park suffered a devastating loss when a fire destroyed the building housing a large portion of their fleet vehicles. When the municipality rebuilt the fleet they understood the importance of utilizing environmentally conscious fuels like biodiesel, making it an easier decision to power their fleet with B20. Today, the fleet continues to use B20 year-round in all their municipal vehicles that run on diesel, from fire engines and ambulances to snowplows and street sweepers. 

While some have concerns about the performance of B20, Crowley is quick to dispel misconceptions regarding the fuel. The Oak Park fleet prioritizes education in the community and with area fleet professionals about the proven performance and environmental benefits of biodiesel.

“Education is our best asset,” Crowley said. “We need to keep informing the public and our colleagues about what biodiesel is and how it benefits the environment and our communities.” 

Oak Park regularly hosts tours at their public works facility to introduce the community to their commitment to the environment and use of alternative fuels, like biodiesel. They highlight how B20 is just as reliable as ultra-low-sulfur diesel—including in the winter months—and how it’s contributing to lower emissions, which directly benefits community members through cleaner air.

“B20 helps reduce our emissions by reducing the particulate matter put out by our engines. Our carbon footprint is also lower because our CO ₂  emissions are decreased,” Crowley said. “I would encourage anybody who uses diesel to switch over to B20. It’s a drop-in alternative that helps all of us have a cleaner environment.”

For more stories on how clean-burning, renewable biodiesel benefits communities, the environment and the Chicago area, visit  b20club.org .



Pace Suburban Bus recently launched its Pulse Milwaukee Line, the first line in a rapid transit network that will ultimately span busy corridors across Chicagoland. 

Carrying passengers between Jefferson Park Transit Center in Chicago and Golf Mill Shopping Center in Niles, the instantly-recognizable purple buses also stop at eight raised stations that enable faster boarding. The stations are equipped with real-time Bus Tracker signs, heated shelters, and even snow-melting pavement below the platform. The buses feature Wi-Fi and USB charging outlets and can communicate with traffic signals along Milwaukee Avenue to decrease travel times. The technology, speed, and frequency behind Pulse represent truly cutting-edge bus service.

A robust public transit system is a vital part of a clean, modern city. A single full bus takes dozens of vehicles off of roads, reducing pollution and improving air quality—and Pace already provides thousands of trips per day along Milwaukee Avenue. The more comfortable, frequent, and reliable service Pulse offers riders will only increase ridership and further clean our city’s air.

Thanks to  Rebuild Illinois , the State of Illinois’s new capital program, Pace will be able to construct a new garage and compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station in Wheeling. CNG buses operating out of this garage will eventually provide service on Pulse lines in Chicago’s north and northwestern suburbs. These buses produce up to 30 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than diesel fuel and 95 percent fewer tailpipe emissions. This means that in the near future, Pulse will contribute even more to a cleaner, healthier region.

The CNG fleet in Wheeling will join over 100 CNG buses operating out of Pace’s South Division garage, representing an increasingly large portion of Pace’s system. Buses at Pace’s North Division garage use clean-diesel technology to reduce emissions, and the agency continues to look at ways to further reduce emissions. Through cutting-edge technology, robust levels of transit service, and responsible development patterns, Pace is confident in Chicagoland’s ability to improve health outcomes, respond to the climate crisis, and maintain its status as the economic engine of the Midwest—not to mention get its residents to where they need to go.



Recently, the Village of Oak Park installed five electric vehicle charging stations at its village hall on Madison Street. There are three stations with six ports for charging municipal vehicles and two charging stations with four ports for charging by EV owners. The village also has ordered five new 2019 Nissan LEAFs. Oak Park, with more than 50,000 residents, is a member of CACC and the B20 Club, and is a long-time user of low-emissions biodiesel fuel for the village’s diesel fleet vehicles. Oak Park’s green fleet is one of many sustainability efforts underway in the village. 

For 25 years, Chicago Area Clean Cities has been helping the six-county Chicago area — home to nearly 9 million people — to have cleaner air. Without you, our coalition would not be able to deliver on its mission of Clean Vehicles, Clean Fuels, Clean Air, Clean Technologies, and Clean Cities!

Our members and sponsors are vital to enabling our coalition to have maximum impact in improving the environment. Please consider joining CACC today as a sponsor or as a member and take advantage of the many benefits. To learn more, please download our Sponsor and Member Guide .

If you are already a member, renew for 2020 at this link: BecomeAMember . To take advantage of our high-impact, low-cost annual sponsorships, visit BecomeA Sponsor . If you have questions about sponsorships, please contact Joe Koenig . If you have questions about memberships, contact Bethany Kraseman .