Grants are meant to help municipalities that would have difficulty affording the projects on their own
Commonwealth Edison and the environmental advocacy group Openlands have awarded grants for 22 projects aimed at conserving and improving public green spaces.
Officials say the grants total $155,000, and will be distributed this week for projects in nine northern Illinois counties. The grants are meant to help municipalities that would have difficulty affording the projects on their own.
The projects focus on conservation, preservation, protecting endangered species and improving local parks and recreation resources.
Funded projects include a prairie restoration in Rolling Meadows, a bike path in LaGrange Park, restoration of a historic in-ground bird bath in Kenilworth Park District and construction of a rain garden in Niles.
Openlands is administering the grant program.
Here is Kona, our Golden Retriever Mix inside the cool house enjoying the rays from the hot Summer sun.
Our Dutch Shepherd Shaw relaxing by the pool.
Liz Castillo
Junior is wearing a skull shirt that matches his sneakers, he is also protecting from the sun with a Harley Davidson hat. He is all ready to go to the park-
Amanda Byczynski
Three-year-old Allie loves to play with her Frisbee in the summer!
Hubert Repetowski
Meet our new long haired dachshund "Junior"
Janis Muhammad
A lovely day to check out the weather. My dog, mouse, loves to look out of our front door when the weather is nice!
Jill Acke
Lola enjoying the sunshine. English Mastiff
Amanda Byczynski
Allie loves to go swimming in her backyard with her human family!
Tom Moore
My dog Pilot.
Kuma waiting for hockey to start.
My husky Korben.
Edward Romero
Scarlet blowing kisses. She's happy that we're going for a car ride!
Vicki Miranda
My foster boy Buddha.
Corrine Rossi
Ralphie and Vito getting some rays on the deck.
Lauren Vanderploeg
Tucker taking a nap after a long swim!
Jennifer Vaisnoras
Lounging by the BBQ
Laura
Patriotic Brandy enjoying the summer sun in Palatine, IL
Haley Mayrens
Olive
Allison G. Addison, IL Dog name=Mayday
Haley Mayrens
Patriotic Puppy
Rory Cardenas
My mini schnauzer Bruno waiting with his big brother Mugzie for football to start!
Kelly Brutto
Our 4 year old English Springer Spaniel Wrigley HATES going to get her haircut - but she just looks so pretty when she gets home!
Amanda Bays
Icy the Snow Dog. Icy is a purebred Chinook - a sled dog. On her off season, she enjoys sunbathing in the beautiful July sun!
Alexis Morris
My 3 year old Chihuahua Ceci, loves to play in the water, he loves to retrieve all his toys out of the water, only to drop them 20 feet away from you. He waits anxiously for someone to throw the ball. Since he is very light we rub him down with doggie suntan lotion before his day in the sun. You can never get him to come in :)
Michael Mendoza
Jaden ready to chillax. Picture of our dog getting ready to go enjoy some sun
Jim consolazio
I really need a thunder buddy. Alaskan malamute/German Shepard hiding in the bathtub on a stormy night.
Neil Magtoto
Cooling off. Dyno sitting on a vent after being outside in the hot summer weather!
Sandy chandler
Wrigley out for an afternoon drive.
Introducing Dr. Stanley Wang
Sandy
Gix
Kathy Griffith
A Chessie and his Monkey
Paulina Szelemej
This is our 1.5 year old chocolate lab named Buddy who loves going for walks/runs.
Neil Magtoto
Curiosity--Dyno looking into a bucket full of fish.
Sandy
Kramer
marge lyse
Bruno: "Excuse me...Can I sit in your lap please?"
Bette Dupuis
Boating fun. Zamboni enjoying the summer weather.
Sandy chandler
Zebo enjoying a day at the pool:)
Neil Magtoto
Dyno playing tug with a St. Bernard
Lauren Vana
Dixie Dog at the Dog Beach--My dog at Montrose Dog Beach. Playing fetch and hitting the waves. :)
Francesca
Sully has a little mini me.
Neil Magtoto
Dyn, the Australian shepherd, waiting for a treat!
Naomi Hirsh
Montrose dog beach - doing what she loves, fetching and swimming!
Nena Enriquez
Beiber doodle-doo. We call him Spiker-doodle-doo, matched with his new Justin Beiber wig ;-)
Bobbi Pegg
Riley cuddling with his blue puppy when napping.
Kelli Diedrich
Marshall the Bulldog. We bought our bulldog a kiddie pool... he was just a tad too big for it :)
Kevin Henning
Bella is from Lansing, IL and she just can't wait for the puck to drop! "GO HAWKS" she barks!
Erin
Chloe and Molly BFF enjoying a lazy Sunday afternoon floating in the pool.
Scott
Dexter (mini schnauzer) Piper (yorkie) lounging around and are always ready for a photo op.
Char Stukel
Grandma was supposed to be watching me while mom and dad went on vacation. He was wishing they would come home.
ray
My dog Dig chillin on a rock. He's a happy dude.
Larry L. Ferris
Chilling on a bike ride. Emma in her new Mutt Mover backpack.
Larry L. Ferris
Gotta wear shades. Emma in HER chair :)
Stephanie roberts
Pooped from a little catch-- Kona Kai Roberts
Kate Pietraszak
This is a picture of Zorro after his pampering at PetSmart. Total ladies man.
This is Riley. We adopted her from Chicago Animal Control 10 days ago. We are very happy to have her join our family! Wendy Kaplan Smith Northbrook
Kathy Edwards
Bentley's first taste of icecream. No shame in having to wear a pink bib! Mom has since got him a blue bib for our next icecream trip!
Carlos Vasquez
Pearl sleeping on her bean bag.
Lisa Cull
superstar
Lucy Szudarski
My daughter put her bow on our dog bella
Rosa C
Love it when all the patios in Chicago are open for dinner. Most are dog friendly like this one here that let us bring Charger with my fiance and best friend.
Lindsey Wallwin
Lexus and Maddux competing for one cushion...because sitting elsewhere would just be too easy
Chloe and Molly enjoy a lazy Sunday afternoon floating in the pool.
Rosa C
Summer Flowers--love being outside.
Carla Rodgers
Sarge and Sasha sharing the water fountain.
Maureen Lynn
Dog days of summer.
Magdalyn Werner
Shandys Shades.
Carla Rodgers
Lucky Chilling!
Greg Griffith
Sophie May's first ride in the convertible.
Anna Pasillas-Santoy
Ozzy and Petunia playing fetch
Cristina Morales
Summer Hot Dog-- Shiba My 6-year-old Shiba Inu, sporting her love for Chicago summers.
Kristin
This is Ra's. We were on our way to the lake! He was excited to get into the water, if you couldn't tell by the photo!
Dog days of summer-- Her name is Nina (Chicago).
Jenna Shear
Joey enjoying the deck.
Mayra Y
Sophie chilling in the yard.
Joe Buhay
Bubba soaking in the rays.
Fred Share
Keeping cool. 13-year-old Winston and 2-year-old Jasper attacking the water from the sprinkler.
Kaitlin Brooks
Soaking up the rays. Buddy (left), Daisy (middle) and Wrigley (right) lounging by the pool on a hot summer's day
Hey, what happened to summer? Nello is just saying.
Michele Furlane
Furlane Family--Mia enjoying the fresh air.
Taylor Trembley
Suns out tongues out nature walks!
Taylor Trembley
Best friends. Cuddling puppies!
Taylor Trembley
Best friends Honey and Charlie.
Taylor Trembley
Little and big Charlie and tragen!
Angel, the funniest dog ever.
My name is Nicole Anderson, I'm a 19-year-old from the northwest side of Chicago. This is Angel, the vet seems to think that she's a black lab mixed with an Italian Grey Hound, however, I think she's part human. For as long as I can remember, I always wished for a dog on my birthdays. In 2002, my mom took me to the animal shelter to "just look at the dogs". There were a lot of cute dogs there, but when I saw Angel, then named "Teensy", it was love at first sight. I just knew in my heart, she was the dog for me. My mom was very reluctant on getting Angel because she was a shocking nineteen pounds, and severely abused physically and mentally by her previous owner. I begged my mom to get Angel because she had two days before they were going to euthanize her. As a young girl, I was blessed with pure ignorance and unconditional love, I saw past that when I saw Angel. My mom agreed to adopt Angel, I was pleased, however, my dad was absolutely livid. Many years have passed and she's gained weight, she's a happy dog who now is a whopping fifty five pounds, the vet actually told us to limit her treats. But look at her face, how could you not love her weird dog eyebrows and the pink birthmark on her big nose?! Angel has been my little Angel, and always finds a way to make me laugh every single day with the quirky things that she dogs. She likes left shoes (how she can differentiate, I have no idea), she has stolen a jar of peanut butter when I was making a PB&J and hid it under the couch, she stole a 6" piece of French bread from the counter and buried it in the back yard, she lays her head on the pillow, she won't go to the bathroom if you're looking at her, she thinks she's a lapdog but then thinks she's a wild wolf when it comes to other dogs, she lifts her back leg up to you can pet her belly, and so on. She's going to be thirteen in September and I wouldn't trade her for anything in the world.
Taylor Trembley
Troublesome three--German Shepard, chihuahua, Pomeranian.
Taylor Trembley
Troublesome three.
Taylor Trembley
Suns out, tongues out nature walk.
Nancy
Freddy feeling a little tropical.
Natalia
Dillinger is ready to hit the town.
Meagan
Coop relaxing. Four-month-old vizsla pup enjoying summer with his new family
mike ahlert
My Ivy, summer days.
Megan Rohed
Twinkie the 1-year-old rescue dog. Twinkie enjoying the beautiful summer weather
Whitney Page
Jimmy (black lab mix) and Molly (beagle mix) LOVE swimming on hot summer days! Prairie Wolf is their favorite place to play because they get to meet lots of new dogs, run wild in the tall grass and roll in all the mud puddles. We usually have to bribe them with treats to get them out of the water.
Eileen Morrissy
Abby Morrissy-- 1 1/2-year-old Labradoodle.
Kirstyn
Lady Killer.
Veronica Kozinski
My rescue dogs.
Whitney Rogers
Thumper, 9 months 125 lbs., Bordeaux, Thumpers' Mom, 155 lbs., last one is # Seven, 109 lbs...watching the kids swim.
Eileen Morrissy
Sully, my border collie puppy
Veronica Kozinski
Abby ready to watch a 3D movie.
Eleazar Vazquez
Xoco (pronounced Cho-ko) relaxing and enjoying the setting sun in Pilsen.
Veronica Kozinski
Sisterly love.
Danielle
One Day.
Danielle
Dont I smell good? The flowers were so beautiful I just had to walk through them.
Amy
Lovin Summer.
This is Gus - rescued from New Leash on Life. One-year-old pitbull pointer mix. Just relaxing on the hammock!
Jarbles and Gus, both rescues from New Leash on Life in Chicago are enjoying the patio furniture!
C Claffey
This is how my dog, Superdog, sits on a bench while my son Tommy plays!
Debbie
Lets go White Sox! Our puppy, Roo, showing his support for the home team!
Jennifer Rogers
Lucy and Dixie are proud to live in the USA, specifically Crystal Lake!
kelley
Chillin' bulldog style.
Jen Lowe
Angel
gerry clarke
Say cheese, Marley!
Jackie and Matt Whittington
Theresa Schreiber
Chloe's having fun in the pool with her brother, Brayden.
Marcie Garside
My Japanese Chin, Kirby, decided to join me poolside.
Marcie Garside
Chumley, the Chinese Shar-pei poolside
Becky Ruilova
This Pomeranian's a Hawks fan
Chunk the bulldog!
Chunk the bulldog!
Denise Bialobok
Sadie Bunny
David Ishaug
Cash Tub Cash in vintage tub.
NormA Guzman
Bailey wearing a summer hat
Norma Guzman
Chufla, the chihuahua
Laura Concialdi
jane festin
Captain Maycee in her boat
Kerry DiBrizzi
Rocky the bulldog enjoying a cold beverage!
Maggie
Hossa, my 1-year-old St. Bernard, is the biggest Blackhawks fan!
Kristen Gierman
Wrigley enjoys 4th of July downtown at Burnham Harbor.
Nicole Hagen
Seabiscuit boating in UP Michigan
Jennifer Houghton
Ginger's waiting for that squirrel to come down this tree.
Dana
Not ready for winter again
Melissa
Casey Weber Hungarian Vizsla
McDuff from New Lenox loves relaxing in the pool!!
McDuff from New Lenox loves relaxing in the pool!!
Aracely Alcala
Joey is 8 years old and he absolutely loves his trips out to the store. His face says it all.
Jamie Dravecky
Seabrook smiles
Karin Dewey
Beach babe Pella at the Montrose Dog Beach enjoying the surf, sun, sand and of course a tennis ball.
gerry clarke
Twins Finley and marley
Jennifer Vaughn
Jorie
Jennifer Vaughn
Abel and Ronald McDonald
Jennifer Vaughn
McKenzies Birthday
Jennifer Vaughn
Abel and McKenzie
Moira
Kaner pitbull puppy
Jennifer Vaughn
Abel
Blanca Anderson
Rascal and Erick
Sharon Rosenthal
Foley comes to all my kids baseball games, but on this day it was just too hot and he was too tired to be a fan.
Michelle Thrawl
Taking in a baseball game
Jackie b
Fonzie chillin'
Lori Gayhart
Lucy and a tennis ball.
Mindy Kudla
Bailey and her puggle pup. These two are inseparable.
Kendra Heidenthal
Diesel, my Husky, German Shepard and Rottweiler
Jennifer Zarack
Our new puppy, Maggie, enjoying the summer sun.
Jennifer zarack
Hanging out after playing outside
Joanna S
The summer heat has teddy napping 90 percent of the day
RJ Ward
Rocco and Sophie conquer the hot day with a couple of cool pups in Bucktown!
Jenny Kranz
Nala and Simba Working together to intimidate the bunnies in the backyard
Jessel Soriano
Little Sumo getting some sun.
Kathy Quin
Dog learning on iPad
Brian Bostrom
Cody loves dog days
Jill Cirricione
Dog days of summer Gnarley and Scully
Jill Cirricione
Dog days of summer Gnarley and Scully
Jill Cirricione
Gnarley and Scully
