Chicago Picks Firm To Install New “Smart” LED Street Lights

Chicago has chosen a Massachusetts-based company to spearhead a project to replace the city’s outdated street lights with new LED “smart” lights. Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office said it will ask the City Council to approve a contract with Ameresco Inc. to replace 270,000 street lights over the next four years. The mayor was scheduled to discuss the contract at a Tuesday afternoon press conference. Chicago Department of Transportation Commissioner Rebekah Scheinfeld said the project would start on the South Side and West Side, in neighborhoods with “heightened public safety concerns,” as well as about a dozen major streets throughout the city.