County lawmakers are pictured during a meeting of the Cook County Board of Commissioners March 16, 2023. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The Cook County Board of Commissioners on Thursday approved a program to help low-income residents pay for solar energy upgrades and a program to help formerly incarcerated residents rebuild their lives after release. 

The county will also begin to explore lowering educational barriers for some government jobs and approved changes to its ordinance ensuring minority- and women-owned business enterprises (MWBE) are awarded county contracts in an equitable manner.