CMAP meetings.  At 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, July 8, 2009, the CMAP Board will meet.  Click here for Board meeting materials.  Prior to the Board, CMAP's Programming Coordinating Committee will meet at 8:00 a.m.  Click here for committee materials. 

CMAP funding.  At its July 8 meeting, the CMAP Board will consider a revised Fiscal Year 2010 budget that will significantly impact Agency operations. Due to the lack of state funding, the proposed revision will slash the CMAP operating budget, including personnel costs, and put all non-essential contractual services on hold. These cuts will negatively impact CMAP's ability to meet our region's planning and project delivery needs. The Chicago Sun-Times a brief story on Monday about CMAP's budget crisis. 

Radio interview.  Last Sunday, I was a guest on the Mike Nowak radio show that airs on WCPT 820-AM.  You can read Mike's comments about CMAP and GO TO 2040 and listen to a podcast of the segment. 

Time Out magazine.  The local edition of Time Out has a nice story based about how a couple of residents used our GO TO 2040 web tools to create their own future scenarios.

Comcast Political Update.  CMAP's Erin Aleman has taped a segment of Comcast's "Political Update," where she talked with host Lisa Aprati about GO TO 2040's Invent the Future public-input phase.

NSP proposal.  CMAP will hold a public hearing to gain input on the Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds regional application on Monday, July 6, 2009, 4:00 to 7:00 p.m., at 233 South Wacker Drive (Sears Tower), Suite 800, Chicago, IL 60606. In accordance with a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Notice of Funding Availability, CMAP is taking the lead on a regional application for Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2 funds with a consortium of local government partners known as the Chicago Metropolitan Neighborhood Stabilization Consortium (CMNSPC).  HUD's competitive grant process is part of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.  Copies of the application materials are now available at http://www.cmap.illinois.gov/nsp.

Invent the Future workshops.Click here for the latest schedule of upcoming GO TO 2040 "Invent the Future" workshops, which include Sugar Grove (July 15); Avalon Park, Chicago (July 15); Lisle (July 16); and Riverside (July 16). Registration is requested, but not required. You can register online, via email, or by calling Joey-Lin Silberhorn at 312-386-8814.  Be sure to tell your family and friends -- and send them a link to our new workshop video. 

GO TO 2040 blog. Be sure to see three new recaps of Invent the Future workshops by CMAP's Sean Glowacz from Crystal Lake, Naperville and Wheaton. These are a great way to see the choices people are making in these group settings.

Environmental stimulus.  WBEZ ran a segment about how the City of Chicago will improve environmental efficiency with funds from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.

Farmland event reminder.  Don't forget to register for the University of Illinois Extensions' Conference on Agricultural Land Use Planning on August 6, 2009, at Oak Ridge Golf Club, 658 E. U.S. Hwy. 6, in LaSalle. Advance reservation is required (with payment of $48.50) by July 30.

Brownfields workshop reminder.  CMAP and Illinois ResourceNet will host a Brownfield Grant Writing Workshop on July 24, 2009, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. See the event flyer and click here to register.  Contact Paul Reise (preise@cmap.illinois.gov) or Shaye Hall (shall817@uic.edu).

Water resources conference. The 2009 Universities Council on Water Resources / National Institutes for Water Resources (UCOWR/NIWR) annual conference takes place July 7-9 at the Courtyard Chicago Downtown/River North Marriott hotel.  The conference theme is "Urban Water Management: Issues and Opportunities."  CMAP's Tim Loftus will be moderating two sessions, giving one presentation on behalf of his coauthor, Amy Talbot, and coauthoring another presentation given by Sandy Perpignani.  Margaret Schneemann will also be giving a presentation.  Registration is still available for one day or the full conference.  The conference program is here: http://www.ucowr.siu.edu/ 

	Check out the GO TO 2040 blog.
	Become our friend on Twitter.
	Become a fan of GO TO 2040 on Facebook.
	Check out our photos of the region at the GO TO 2040 Flickr page, and add your own to our Explore Northeastern Illinois Flickr pool.
	Click here to be added to this CMAP weekly update distribution.

CMAP funding.  The General Assembly met this week and will meet again next week to hopefully resolve the state's budget crisis prior to next Wednesday, July 1, which marks the start of the state's fiscal year. July 1 also marks the start of our fiscal year. Unless we receive a commitment from the state for our funding, we will have to take some necessary actions to address our budget implications. We continue to urge our partners to contact members of the General Assembly, the Governor's office, and IDOT to convey the importance of our funding.

Neighborhood Stabilization Program.  CMAP is taking the lead on a regional application for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds with a consortium of local government partners known as the Chicago Metropolitan Neighborhood Stabilization 2 Consortium (CMNSPC):  Aurora, Berwyn, Cicero, Cook County, DuPage County, Elgin, Joliet, Kendall County, Lake County, and Will County as part of a competitive grant process through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.  While CMAP will be the lead agency when applying for NSP 2 funds, program implementation will happen at the local level including but not limited to recipients from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program as part of HERA (as stated above).  CMAP will be posting the draft regional application for Neighborhood Stabilization Program Funds on CMAP's website at http://www.cmap.illinois.gov/nsp/ on Wednesday, July 1, 2009, for a ten-day public comment period.  A public hearing will be hosted on Monday, July 6 from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the CMAP offices. 

Virtual Burnham Initiative.  This week saw the launch of Lake Forest College's Virtual Burnham Initiative.  Dr. Davis Schneiderman and his students have taken flat images from the 1909 Plan of Chicago and transformed them into 3-D models accessible via the Web.

Regional Snapshot:  Industry Clusters.  CMAP's latest snapshot report looks at the region's leading economic drivers, and where those industries may be headed.

Invent the Future workshops.Click here for the latest schedule of upcoming GO TO 2040 "Invent the Future" workshops, which include Sugar Grove (July 15, 2009), Lisle (July 16), Riverside (July 16), and Chicago (July 17).  Registration is requested, but not required.  You can register online, email, or call Joey-Lin Silberhorn at 312-386-8814.  Be sure to tell your family and friends -- and send them a link to our new workshop video.  See summaries of the workshops in Beecher (June 23) and Carol Stream (June 18), and watch next week for summaries from Naperville (June 24) and Wheaton (June 23).

Alderman Rey Colon of Chicago's 35^th ward not only promoted but attended our recent workshop at Logan Square, as you'll see in our workshop video.  Thanks also to State Representative Mike Tryon for letting his constituents know about our Crystal Lake workshop.  The Northwest Herald wrote about GO TO 2040 and the Crystal Lake workshop. The City of Naperville, Naperville Sun, Naperville Homeowners Confederation, and the Village of Lisle websites promoted the Naperville workshop that took place Wednesday night. Daily Herald columnist Marni Pyke listed several workshops in their readership area (Wheaton, Naperville, Crystal Lake, Sugar Grove, and Elgin).  We appreciate everyone who is helping to spread the word.

Burnham in Evanston.  The Evanston Review has a fascinating story about Daniel Burnham's connections to Evanston, which served as his retreat from the city during his years here. 

ABC-7 story.  We've had a bit of fun recently in keeping people guessing about whether Daniel H. Burnham V is actually working at CMAP, as opposed to that being someone's nom de plume.  But the secret's out after this week's story by Channel 7's Frank Mathie.  As his CMAP co-workers know, Daniel is indeed the great-great-grandson of the man whose 1909 Plan of Chicago is being celebrated this year.  He is interning with us this summer from Indiana University.  I'd like to thank Daniel for his fine efforts here and for being a good sport about the attention that his presence has attracted.

Casey Foundation.  This week at a Donors Forum luncheon, keynote speaker Ralph Smith had some very kind words for CMAP.  Mr. Smith is executive vice president of the Annie E. Casey Foundation in Baltimore.  He referred to the "groundbreaking" work being done by CMAP, including the GO TO 2040 plan.  It's good to know that our agency's efforts are noticed even beyond this region.  We heard about Mr. Smith's remarks from Dan Strick of SouthSTAR Services, a Chicago Heights nonprofit that provides training and other vital services to individuals with developmental disabilities.  

Sears Tower news. Amidst buzz about the pending name change to the Willis Tower on July 16, Sears Tower owners have announced that they are also planning to develop a five-star eco-friendly hotel adjacent to the Tower.  A Tribune article also notes that the owners have also made some strides toward a possible LEED certification that could result in Sears Tower's becoming the tallest LEED certified building in the world. 

Foreign exchange.  CMAP's Matt Stratton has been invited to be a guest lecturer at Fukui Prefectural University in Eiheiji, Japan, over the weekend of July 4 and 5.  He will be giving a series of lectures for a seminar in applied planning and economics.  CMAP, GO TO 2040, and CMAP travel modeling will be among the topics he will cover.  The university is covering Matt's expenses, so this is a special honor.

Checking the Gauge.  Next Tuesday, June 30, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., the Illinois Humanities Council will host "Checking the Gauge," a free event that is part of the IHC's All-Consuming: Conversations on Oil and Water series. Our region faces a series of critical decisions about managing oil and water resources that have the potential to change our communities for better or for worse. What critical choices will we have to make? Speakers from CMAP, IHC, the Burnham Plan Centennial, and the Neighborhood Writing Alliance will examine how perceptions and values have shaped environmental policies and planning; how choices were made in Chicago's early efforts to control its water needs; and how we can leave a legacy for future generations.  The program will include audience polling and interaction via GO TO 2040 "Invent the Future" tools.  I'll be among speakers who include Carl Smith of Northwestern University, Donald Worster of the University of Kansas, and moderator Jennifer Hirsch of the Field Museum.  The location is Ruggles Hall at the Newberry Library, 60 W. Walton St., Chicago.  Reservations are required and can be made online, by email, or by phone (312-422.5580.

Do you Tweet? We have 290 followers at our Twitter account as well as 113 fans at our Facebook page. You can make the most of these free social networking tools to stay in touch daily with CMAP and GO TO 2040.

Millennium Park.  Thanks to all the CMAP staff who came out to Millennium Park last Friday to mix and mingle with the public and to talk up the newly launched GO TO 2040 kiosk. Day Kirby of MetroQuest snapped some photos, which are on the CMAP Flickr page.

Greenways and trails comment period.  We have extended the comment period for the Update of the Northeastern Illinois Regional Greenways and Trails Plan until 5:00 p.m. on July 24, 2009. Please submit your comments to Lori Heringa (312-386-8621 or lheringa@cmap.illinois.gov).

Environmental conference.  Save the date of September 30, 2009, when the University of Illinois Extension will hold the 2009 Environmental Leadership Conference at the Hyatt Lodge in Oak Brook.

Blog entries.  This week CMAP's Sean Glowacz recapped the Invent the Future Workshops in Carol Stream and Beecher.  Ylda Capriccioso describes our On the Road activities at festivals.  And Daniel Burnham V wrote an entry musing on the city as a cooperative system. 

CMAP brownfields workshop.  The USEPA defines brownfields as "real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant." A brownfield may be anything from a shuttered factory to a former gas station to an empty lot. It may or may not in fact be contaminated. Brownfields are often considered liabilities when in fact, they pose real environmental, social, and economic opportunities for the homecommunity. Testing and remediating a brownfield can yield an array of benefits to a community, including a cleaner environment, better public health, new jobs and an increased tax base. The Brownfield Grant Writing Workshop is a joint technical assistance presentation by Illinois ResourceNet and CMAP. It will provide details about the USEPA grants and pro­grams, eligibility to apply, program require­ments, how to address each element of the grant applications, and other technical assistance resources. Our experts will present on the grant programs and how to apply for them, followed by a hands on panel discussion of best practices and case studies on successful projects in Illinois. It will be Friday July, 24 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Click here for the event flyer, and for online registration click here. Contact Paul Reise (preise@cmap.illinois.gov) or Shaye Hall (shall817@uic.edu) with any questions. 

	Check out the GO TO 2040 blog.
	Become our friend on Twitter.
	Become a fan of GO TO 2040 on Facebook.
	Check out our photos of the region at the GO TO 2040 Flickr page, and add your own to our Explore Northeastern Illinois Flickr pool.
	Click here to be added to this CMAP weekly update distribution.

CMAP funding.  The next fiscal year is right around the corner, and our funding situation is still unresolved. We are not alone in this situation, and this week the Governor's office held a press conference to announce pending cuts to social services if the General Assembly doesn't take further action on next year's budget. As a result, Governor Quinn has called a special session for next Tuesday. We continue to urge our partners to contact members of the General Assembly, the Governor's office, and IDOT to convey the importance of our funding. For more information, please click here.

CMAP's community assistance.  Please check out our newly redesigned and hopefully easier to navigate community assistance web page. It has a wealth of information, including a providers directory, funding opportunities, tools, training, and assistance programs.

Environmental resource directory.  Help CMAP, the Delta Institute, and Chicago Wilderness identify a list of environmental resources (organizations and individual experts) that may be able to provide transportation planners with early feedback on proposed construction projects and their impact on natural resources. The goal of the environmental resource list is to encourage environmental and transportation collaboration to reduce environmental impacts and avoid project delays. Please enter your data into this survey and pass this link along to others.

Burnham Centennial.  As you've no doubt heard, this week the Burnham Centennial kicked into high gear with its pavilion launch at Millennium Park, followed by tonight's public concert at the park's Pritzker Pavilion. In the Chase Promenade South all summer, people can drop by one of our GO TO 2040 kiosks to weigh in on some of the region's biggest challenges. Click here for an ABC-7 story about the Burnham pavilions.  From 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., June 22-28, 2009, the Chicago Architecture Foundation presents "Burnham Week: Building the City" at Millennium Park's Chase Promenade North. Kids and parents can take part in hands-on building and architectural activities.

ARRA update.  We've posted information about road and transit stimulus projects from the municipalities (including Chicago), the RTA service boards (CTA, Metra, and Pace), and IDOT.  Also, the U.S. Conference of Mayors put out a report that says metros are not getting a fair share of stimulus funds. Also, USDOT and the Federal Railroad Administration issued criteria and guidelines regarding proposals for high-speed rail funding.

Federal transportation proposal.  House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chairman James Oberstar and ranking minority member John Mica have issued a report, "The Surface Transportation Authorization Act of 2009: A Blueprint for Investment and Reform." The $500 billion proposal would include $337.4 billion for highways, with just under $100 billion for public transit. Other provisions are $50 billion for congestion relief in major metropolitan regions, $25 billion for nationally significant freight projects, and $50 billion over six years to "develop 11 authorized high-speed rail corridors linking major metropolitan regions." More than 75 USDOT programs would be eliminated, with the remaining ones consolidated in four categories: critical asset investment, highway safety improvement, surface transportation, and congestion mitigation and air quality improvement (CMAQ). However, the proposal does not provide any details on a sustainable funding source for transportation. A draft bill is expected next week. But earlier this week, Secretary Ray LaHood stated that the Administration prefers a short-term extension of SAFETEA-LU to keep the Highway Trust Fund from going broke in August.

Upcoming Invent the Future workshops.  Click here for our schedule of GO TO 2040 "Invent the Future" workshops. Next week's workshops are:

You can register on the web or by contacting Joey-Lin Silberhorn (312-386-8814 or jsilberhorn@cmap.illinois.gov). Click here for a Google map with directions for workshops scheduled to date.

Previous workshops.  CMAP's Erin Aleman has posted workshop summaries for Oak Park, Vernon Hills, Logan Square, Barrington, and Glenview. They include links to the MetroQuest scenarios created at each of the sessions.

Farmland event.  University of Illinois Extensions is sponsoring the Illinois Conference on Agricultural Land Use Planning, to be held August 6, 2009, at Oak Ridge Golf Club, 658 E. U.S. Hwy. 6, in LaSalle. According to the conference program, much of Illinois' most productive farmland borders developing areas and has converted at a rate 30-percent faster than other farmland. Is this a problem or concern for the state or in your community? How do we plan for transitions in land use and still maintain a viable food supply? Can agriculture be sustainable and homeowners be happy? Jon Scholl, president of the American Farmland Trust (AFT) in Washington, D.C. and Dr. Tom Daniels, professor of city and regional planning at the University of Pennsylvania will head a list of nationally recognized experts. Advance reservation is required (with payment of $48.50) by July 30.

Greenways and trails comment period.  Through 5:00 p.m. on June 26, CMAP is seeking public comments on the draft 2009 Update of the Northeastern Illinois Regional Greenways and Trails Plan. Please submit your comments to Lori Heringa (312-386-8621 or lheringa@cmap.illinois.gov).

FLIP applications.  Also, don't forget to encourage high school students to apply for our Future Leaders in Planning (FLIP) youth program by June 26. See http://www.cmap.illinois.gov/flip.aspx.

GO TO 2040 On the Road.  Over the next week, CMAP staff will set up shop at Villa Park's Summerfest (June 20) and Downers Grove's Heritage Festival (June 26). Drop by our booths to try the GO TO 2040 kiosk software and give us feedback about your priorities for the region. Click here for a schedule of other places where we'll be in coming weeks.

Blog entries.  In the GO TO 2040 blog, CMAP's Diana Torres recaps the Bold Ideas contest at UNO Veteran's Memorial High School. Our own Daniel H. Burnham V opines about the 1909 Plan of Chicago centennial and the Art Institute of Chicago's Without Bounds or Limits exhibit.

	Check out the GO TO 2040 blog.
	Become our friend on Twitter.
	Become a fan of GO TO 2040 on Facebook.
	Check out our photos of the region at the GO TO 2040 Flickr page, and add your own to our Explore Northeastern Illinois Flickr pool.
	Click here to be added to this CMAP weekly update distribution.

CMAP meetings.  This week a joint meeting was held with the CMAP Board and the MPO Policy Committee. The combined session let us hear from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) officials who were at CMAP this week for the quadrennial certification review to determine whether our planning process complies with the requirements of federal law and regulations. The joint meeting also allowed the federal officials to hear directly from the region's policy makers. The FHWA and FTA will issue their certification report in September. Also included on the Board and Policy Committee agenda was the election of the CMAP Board officers, approval by both the Board and the MPO of the major transportation capital project evaluation measures for the GO TO 2040 plan and the Fiscal Year 2010 Unified Work Program, an ARRA update on both transportation and non-transportation elements from the CMAP staff as well as the transportation implementers, and finally, a brief overview of the final presentation of the recommendations for GO TO 2040 presented by our FLIP students.

Developments of Regional Importance (DRI). Also at this week's meeting, the CMAP Board unanimously approved the proposed process to review DRIs for a two year trial basis. Staff will prepare the administrative procedures and necessary application materials to accompany the DRI process and make these available to the public by no later than August 1, 2009, with the pilot program officially running from September 1, 2009, to August 31, 2011. We would like to thank everyone who was involved in developing this process and hope that you will stay involved throughout the two-year trial period.

CMAP funding.  At this week's joint meeting of the CMAP Board and the MPO Policy Committee, our funding situation was a major topic of discussion. Unfortunately, at this time we still do not have enough information in terms of what direction the state is heading with regard to how the Comprehensive Regional Planning Fund will be funded. The Board moved to approve the Fiscal Year 2010 Budget & Work Plan as proposed. In the event that we need to adjust our budget, we will do so accordingly and present a revised budget either at a special meeting or at next month's meeting. We continue to urge our partners to contact members of the General Assembly, the Governor's office and IDOT to convey the importance of our funding. For more information, please click here.

Invent the Future workshops. Click here for our growing schedule of GO TO 2040 "Invent the Future" workshops.  We had two this past week, and you can click here to read about what participants had to say at our Vernon Hills workshop. Our next workshop will be co-hosted with the Village of Carol Stream and the Carol Stream Public Library on Thursday, June 18, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Carol Stream Public Library, 616 Hiawatha Drive.  Register online, email, or call 312-386-8814. If you need special accommodations or more information, please contact Joey-Lin Silberhorn at 312-386-8814 or jsilberhorn@cmap.illinois.gov.

Reinvest, Preserve, Innovate scenarios.  While we're asking residents across the region to create their own future scenarios, the CMAP staff has developed three specific examples that merit close inspection.  Visit our "Scenarios Examined" web pages to see what they're all about, rate your favorite aspects, and comment on how you think they would perform.  Based on this and other public input all summer, we will develop a preferred regional scenario for the CMAP Board's approval in December.  That scenario will be the basis for key investment and policy choices contained in the GO TO 2040 plan, a draft of which will be available one year from now.

Draft greenways and trails plan.  CMAP would like your input on the draft 2009 Update of the Northeastern Illinois Regional Greenways and Trails Plan. Originally completed in 1992 and updated in 1997, the plan envisions a network of continuous greenway and trail corridors, linked across jurisdictions, providing scenic beauty, natural habitat, and recreational and transportation opportunities for our communities.  The plan can be found at http://www.cmap.illinois.gov/greenwaysandtrails.aspx.  Please submit your comments to Lori Heringa (312-386-8621 or lheringa@cmap.illinois.gov) by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, June 26.

FLIP application deadline:  June 26.  CMAP is still looking for civic-minded high school students for the second year of our Future Leaders in Planning (FLIP) program. Participants will learn about northeastern Illinois by participating in hands-on activities and field trips on issues that concern us all, including housing, transportation, the environment and government. FLIP youth also interact with key decision makers in the region.  Applications and letters of reference are due Friday, June 26, 2009. Please share this information with potentially interested students, parents, and school officials.  See http://www.cmap.illinois.gov/flip.aspx for application materials and more.
 
Next American City.  Brendan Crain, founder of the Where blog, writes favorably (and quotes CMAP's Greg Sanders) about metropolitan Chicago's on-line planning activities, including CMAP, the Metropolitan Planning Council, and the Burnham Centennial.

Invent the Future in the news.  Our first few workshops in the new phase of GO TO 2040 have garnered coverage in the Chicago Tribune and Chi-Town Daily News, both of which described "Invent the Future" in general.  And the Oak Park-River Forest Journal covered our June 4 workshop in Oak Park, as did the Pioneer Press for our June 9 workshop in Vernon Hills. 

GO TO 2040 On the Road.  Tonight CMAP will staff a booth at the Chicago Bandits game in Elgin. The game starts at 7:05 p.m., and we'll be telling all the fans of professional fastpitch softball about how they can Invent the Future. Also this weekend, we'll be at the 27th Annual Matteson Festival at the Matteson Memorial Park. Keep an eye on our On the Road schedule for more opportunities to see us out and about the region this summer.
 
Hickory Creek.  The Southtown Star has a story about community efforts -- coordinated by CMAP with federal stimulus funds -- to restore and protect Hickory Creek.  The story quotes our Jesse Elam, and Frankfort assistant village administrator Howard Sloan has some very kind words about our role.  I think this is a fine example of villages working together for the greater good.

Burnham pavilions.  On June 19, the Burnham pavilions will have their public opening, which includes a free concert at Millennium Park, which starts at 6:30 p.m.  Drop by and see our GO TO 2040 kiosk while you're there.  By the way, former Tribune writer Pat Reardon is now blogging for the Burnham Centennial.

"Last four miles."  Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin blogged about Friends of the Parks' efforts to open roughly 13 percent of the lakefront that is presently not publicly accessible.

More blog rolling.  We've made a big effort to get local websites, bloggers, and social-networking types to let their readers know about how to "Invent the Future."  It's getting hard to keep up with all the mentions, in fact. Gapers Block and the Windy Citizen blog are two that gave us a nice mention, as did the DuPage Library System.  In the same vein, congratulations to the Urbanophile blog on being named one of the best local news sources in a report on the "New News" issued by our friends at The Chicago Community Trust. 

ILARC save-the-date.  The Illinois Association of Regional Councils' annual meeting will be September 9-10, 2009, at the Doubletree Hotel in Bloomington.  Contact 217-528-5331 or iacbm@msn.com

Legat.  I'd also like to thank Legat Architects for promoting GO TO 2040 and Invent the Future on their website.  Legat is among the firms who participated in our Community Design activities in partnership with municipalities across the region. 

CMAP on Facebook.  Hopefully you're already a fan of CMAP and GO TO 2040, but now you can show it on Facebook. Just go to our Facebook page and click to become a fan of GO TO 2040.

More kiosks.  Starting next week, thanks to the Regional Transportation Authority, our kiosk software will also be available on their existing kiosks across the region.  The locations are Union Station (210 South Canal St. in Chicago), Millennium Station (Michigan Ave. between South Water and Randolph St. in Chicago), the RTA Customer Service Center (165 N. Jefferson St. in Chicago), the CTA Customer Service Center (567 West Lake Street in Chicago), Pace headquarters (550 West Algonquin Road in Arlington Heights), North Bridge Mall (520 N. Michigan Ave. in Chicago), Midway Airport (5700 S Cicero Ave. in Chicago), and the Metropolitan Planning Council (140 South Dearborn St., Suite 1400, in Chicago).  Those are all in addition to the locations of our kiosks, which are currently at Blue Island Public Library (2433 York St., Blue Island, IL), Naperville City Hall (400 S. Eagle St., Naperville, IL), and Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF) (224 S. Michigan Ave., #116, Chicago, IL). 

Event reminders.  Don't forget the following events that we described in preceding weeks:

• "Rethinking Growth: The Economic Benefits of Conservation-Based Development and Highway Corridor Redevelopment," Monday, June 22, 2009, 8:15 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Prairie Crossing near Grayslake, IL.  Click here for registration and other details.
• "Sustainable Streets for Chicagoland," Wednesday, June 17, 2009, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at CMAP. RSVP to Divya Sundar (dsundar@cnt.org or 773-269-4004).  Click here for details.
• "Regional Health Care Safety Net Summit," Tuesday, June 23, 2009, at the University of Illinois at Chicago Student Center West.  Contact Janna Stansell (jstansell@hmprg.org) or visit http://www.hmprg.org.

Blog entries.  In the GO TO 2040 blog, CMAP's Erin Aleman describes our recent Invent the Future workshop at Oak Park.  CMAP's Diana Torres summarizes our Bold Ideas contest at Bolingbrook High School.  And our own Daniel H. Burnham V posted his first entry, about the Chicago Architecture Club's Union Station 2020 design competition.  There is no truth to the rumor that Daniel is related to Colonel Tribune, but he does have some impressive forebears.

	Check out the GO TO 2040 blog.
	Become our friend on Twitter.
	Become a fan of GO TO 2040 on Facebook.
	Check out our photos of the region at the GO TO 2040 Flickr page, and add your own to our Explore Northeastern Illinois Flickr pool.
	Click here to be added to this CMAP weekly update distribution.

CMAP budget.  As you know, the State of Illinois budget impasse continues to jeopardize CMAP's funding. We're working hard to ensure that the Comprehensive Regional Planning Fund is maintained, but the overall state budget outlook is obviously discouraging. While the latest news coverage points out that leaders in Springfield are presently discussing program cuts in addition to possible tax increases, I don't hear anyone saying it would make sense to back away from our state's and region's commitment to long-range planning, especially when a capital bill is still very likely to be signed by the Governor.  We'll continue to keep you posted. 

Chicago Tonight.  Last night, CMAP Board chairman Gerald Bennett was interviewed by Christian Farr of WTTW's Chicago Tonight.  Click here to see the video.  Mayor Bennett's main topic was the GO TO 2040 "Invent the Future" public-input phase, and he described the many engaging ways that residents can have their say this summer and help shape the comprehensive regional plan. 

Invent the Future.  By now, I hope you've visited our redesigned website for GO TO 2040.  Read about the new public-input phase in our news release from earlier this week.  With fun web tools developed by CMAP and MetroQuest (sponsored in part by The Chicago Community Trust), you can create your own future scenarios -- and even mail them to friends and post them at sites like Facebook -- to tell us how you want metropolitan Chicago to plan for the additional 2.8 million residents expected by 2040.  Or attend one of 50 "Invent the Future" GO TO 2040 scenario workshops that CMAP is holding with partners across the seven counties.  To find one near you, see our Google map with directions to workshops scheduled to date -- and more are being added by the day.

Invent the Future workshops. Click here for our growing schedule of GO TO 2040 "Invent the Future" workshops, the first of which was held yesterday at Frank Lloyd Wright's Unity Temple in Oak Park.  Our next workshops will be Tuesday, June 9, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. co-hosted by the Lake County Planning Department at the College of Lake County, Southlake Campus 1120 S. Milwaukee Ave., in Vernon Hills.  We will also be having a workshop in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago at the Armitage Baptist Church co-hosted by Alderman Rey Colon, 35^th Ward, on Wednesday June 10, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Register online, email, or call 312-386-8814. If you need special accommodations or more information, please contact Joey-Lin Silberhorn at 312-386-8814 or jsilberhorn@cmap.illinois.gov.

GO TO 2040 kiosks.  The latest sites for our kiosks are the Blue Island Public Library (2433 York St., Blue Island, IL), Naperville City Hall (400 S. Eagle St., Naperville, IL), and Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF) (224 S. Michigan Ave., #116, Chicago, IL).  June 11 is the public opening of the CAF's exciting Chicago Model City exhibit, located at that same address -- now known as the Santa Fe Building and formerly the Railway Exchange Building -- which just happens to be where Daniel Burnham and Edward Bennett crafted the 1909 Plan of Chicago. Our summer kiosk schedule is filling up, so contact us soon to propose any high-traffic indoor sites.  Contact Joey-Lin Silberhorn at 312-386-8814 or jsilberhorn@cmap.illinois.gov.).

Yorkville goes to 2040.  CMAP's recent community-design activities in partnership with the City of Yorkville and the Congress for the New Urbanism Illinois are in the news.

CMAP on Facebook.  Hopefully you're already a fan of CMAP and GO TO 2040, but now you can show it on Facebook. Just go to our Facebook page and click to become a fan of GO TO 2040. 

GO TO 2040 web media kit. This week we launched a handy online press kit for bloggers, online writers, and any other social networkers. There you'll find convenient resources to help you share information about GO TO 2040 and "Invent the Future" activities on an on-going basis. For example, it's easy to embed our "Invent the Future" teaser video.

Burnham book.  The Ely Chapter of Lambda Alpha International, the Honorary Society for the Advancement of Land Economics, has published a new book, The Plan of Chicago @ 100: 15 Views of Burnham's Legacy for a New Century.  Click here to pre-order it.

DePaul Burnham festival.  DePaul University's "Century in Motion" festival begins on Friday, June 19, 2009, with a 5:00 p.m. reception at DePaul Center, lower concourse (1 East Jackson) preceding the performance of "Plans," a piece commissioned by the Grant Park Orchestral Association to celebrate the Burnham Centennial. For more information or to RSVP, email Burnham@depaul.edu.  Also, on Saturday, June 20, chartered mini-bus excursions guided by DePaul professors will include visits to the famed Chicago lakefront, the trains at Union Station, and a brief look at two vibrant neighborhoods. Visit http://las.depaul.edu/Burnham to purchase tour tickets and for more about  DePaul festival events, which continue into July.

Chicagoland's best public places contest.  From June 3 to July 27, 2009, enter the "What Makes Your Place Great?" contest by sending MPC a photo or video of your favorite public space in the region.  Together with a 250-word-or-less description, use your photo or video to describe why this place is so special to you and how it adds to your community.  Four winners will receive a fabulous prize package that includes Chicago Architecture Foundation walking tour tickets, passes to the Art Institute of Chicago, Co-op hot sauces from NeighborSpace, membership in the Active Transportation Alliance, and gift certificates to Branch 27, Browntrout, Feast, or Seven Ten Lanes.  Read the guidelines for entry and voting at www.placemakingchicago.com.

Certification reminder.  The FHWA and FTA Planning Certification Review for the Chicago Transportation Management Area will include a public meeting on Tuesday, June 9, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Metropolitan Planning Council,140 S. Dearborn St., Suite 1400, Chicago, IL 60603.

HSR symposium.  From 8:00 a.m. to noon on June 15, 2009, the Hispanic American Construction Industry Association will hold a symposium on high-speed rail at the University Club, 76 East Monroe Street, Chicago, IL 60603.  Keynote speaker is Senator Richard Durbin.  Registration is $45, which includes breakfast.  Register on-line or download the form.  Contact Neida Cintron (312-666-5910 or ncintron@haciaworks.org). 

Housing event reminder.  Registration ends on June 10 for Solutions for Working Families: 2009 Learning Conference on State and Local Housing Policy in Chicago, June 28-30, 2009.  Sponsored by the Center for Housing Policy and the National Housing Conference, it's a forum for state and local leaders to share information on foreclosure prevention, rental housing preservation, green building, workforce housing, and other housing policies.

Blog entry.  In the GO TO 2040 blog, CMAP's Erin Aleman writes about her experience at a tour of the Museum of Science and Industry's Smart Home exhibit.  

	Check out the GO TO 2040 blog.
	Become our friend on Twitter.
	Become a fan of GO TO 2040 on Facebook.
	Check out our photos of the region at the GO TO 2040 Flickr page, and add your own to our Explore Northeastern Illinois Flickr pool.
	Click here to be added to this CMAP weekly update distribution.

CMAP funding:  We need your help.  It's still vitally important to keep the Comprehensive Regional Planning Fund on the radar for Governor Quinn, leaders of the General Assembly, and locally elected officials here and in Springfield.  Please see and use our "call to action" fact sheet, or a new one-page version, a revised sample letter, and list of contacts. 

GO TO 2040 "Invent the Future" kickoff.  Thanks to our many partners who attended the GO TO 2040 "Invent the Future" kickoff event this past Wednesday at the Chicago Botanic Garden.  It was a great opportunity for us to hear from you, and hopefully for you to hear from us about the opportunities for residents to weigh in this summer about how they want the future region to look.  Our partners can play a crucial role by helping to host an Invent the Future community workshop, by driving people to our website, by hosting a kiosk (see below), and other fun ways to have your say.

Starting right now, the web tools that we developed with MetroQuest (and support from The Chicago Community Trust) are available at the redesigned www.goto2040.org.  I encourage you to give them a try, and invent your own scenario of the future.  In today's spirit of "narrow-casting," we have several versions that let users dip their toes in or dive deeply into our scenario materials.

Invent the Future workshops. The first of our 50 workshops will be held on Thursday, June 4, 2009, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Frank Lloyd Wright's Unity Temple, 875 Lake Street, in Oak Park. CMAP's co-hosts include Landmarks Illinois, the Pleasant Home Foundation, and the Village of Oak Park.  Refreshments will be served. Register online, email, or call 312-386-8814. The second will be co-hosted by the Lake County Planning Department on Tuesday, June 9, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the College of Lake County, Southlake Campus 1120 S. Milwaukee Ave., in Vernon Hills.  If you need special accommodations or more information, please contact Joey-Lin Silberhorn at 312-386-8814 or jsilberhorn@cmap.illinois.gov.   

Kiosks and community-design displays.  This morning we flipped the switch on the first of our GO TO 2040 kiosks, which will be in dozens of high-traffic locations across the region.  It's in the Sears Tower lobby on Franklin Street, along with three nice displays with images from the community design workshops that CMAP convened with the Congress for New Urbanism.  Here are images from the first three (Barrington, Sugar Grove, and Winfield) of those communities, all of which worked with urban designers whose firms made them available pro bono to develop visualizations of how their neighborhoods might look in 2040.  Click here for photos of the first kiosk and display.  (Please note that, if your organization would like to host a kiosk, they have a very small footprint that doesn't require anything close to the space that Sears Tower made available.  Contact Joey-Lin Silberhorn at 312-386-8814 or jsilberhorn@cmap.illinois.gov.)

Bold Ideas. On Monday from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m., CMAP and UNO Veteran's Memorial High School (4248 W. 47th Street, Chicago 60632) will present awards to recognize student entries in the school'sBold Ideas photo essay contest.  page and the UNO school's Bold Ideas page on the site:

Bold Ideas contests are part of our effort to engage youth in thinking about the region's future.  Please contact Diana Torres (312-386-8774 or dtorres@cmap.illinois.gov). Students competing in the contest this week at Bolingbrook High School got a well-deserved mention in the Sun Newspapers.  I'd like to thank CMAP Board member Roger Claar and The Chicago Community Trust for their contributions of prizes for the kids, and BHS assistant principal Pat Claar for helping to make that event happen. 

The News Hour.  Last night the PBS national telecast of Jim Lehrer's News Hour ran a version of Elizabeth Brackett's recent story (with clip of her interview with me) about how stimulus funding is helping to put people to work in metropolitan Chicago.  Click here to view the Lehrer segment.

Rethinking growth workshop.  "Rethinking Growth: The Economic Benefits of Conservation-Based Development and Highway Corridor Redevelopment" is a June 22 workshop to be held by Randall Arendt, a leading authority on conservation design.  It focuses on practical steps for local governments to take to achieve high-quality conservation subdivisions and to redevelop vacant or underutilized commercial highway strip developments. How the conservation design process can be integrated into the local regulatory framework through the comprehensive plan, zoning ordinances, and subdivision regulations will be discussed. The workshop is geared toward elected and appointed officials, planning commissioners, city and village managers and administrators, civic leaders, public sector transportation and urban planners, and landscape architects. It is funded by the Chicago Wilderness Sustainable Watershed Action Team and sponsored by Lake County Department of Planning, Building, and Development and CMAP. The workshop is at Prairie Crossing near Grayslake, IL from 8:15 am to 4:00 pm on June 22. Instructions for registration can be found here.

Sustainable Streets for Chicagoland.  The Chicago Department of Transportation and the Center for Neighborhood Technology invite you to learn about Chicago's innovative integrated design practices from Green Alleys to photocatalytic cements. Expert practitioners will explore how transportation projects can incorporate sustainable lighting, stormwater, and material development, with numerous opportunities for questions and discussions.  The event will be held at CMAP (Suite 800, Sears Tower, 233 S. Wacker Drive, Chicago) on Wednesday, June 17, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.  RSVP to Divya Sundar (dsundar@cnt.org or 773-269-4004).  Click here for details.

Health summit reminder.  Don't forget that the Regional Health Care Safety Net Summit will be held on Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at the University of Illinois at Chicago Student Center West.  CMAP supports this summit, hosted by the Health and Medicine Policy Research Group and the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration to strengthen the health care safety net for uninsured, Medicaid, and vulnerable residents in the region.  Please contact Janna Stansell (jstansell@hmprg.org) or visit http://www.hmprg.org.

Housing event reminder.  The Center for Housing Policy and the National Housing Conference are sponsoring Solutions for Working Families: 2009 Learning Conference on State and Local Housing Policy in Chicago, June 28-30, 2009. The conference is a forum for state and local leaders to share information on proven housing policies-foreclosure prevention, rental housing preservation, green building, workforce housing, and more. Registration is open until June 10.

Blog entry.  In the GO TO 2040 blog, Anne Holub writes about our Sears Tower kiosk.  Click here for info about other locations planned so far.  

	Check out the GO TO 2040 blog.
	Become our friend on Twitter.
	Check out our photos of the region at the GO TO 2040 Flickr page, and add your own to our Explore Northeastern Illinois Flickr pool.
	Click here to be added to this CMAP weekly update distribution.

CALL TO ACTION for CMAP funding. We are entering (hopefully) the final week of the legislative session. We continue to receive positive feedback that our funding will be included in the state's operating budget, but it is not over until it is over, and we need your help to make a final push. Please spread the word and reach out to the General Assembly leadership and your local legislators, urging them to reinstate the Comprehensive Regional Planning Fund (CRPF) by co-sponsoring and supporting Senate Bill 2455 and House Bill 4560. Passing these bills or ensuring that the language is included in another appropriations bill will reinstate the CRPF and appropriate the necessary funds to ensure dedicated funding for effective comprehensive planning throughout Illinois. Please see and use our "call to action" fact sheet, or a new one-page version, a revised sample letter, and list of contacts.

Capital bill.  This week saw both the House and Senate pass a capital bill, which now awaits Governor Quinn's signature.  The $26 billion package, while not as large as we might have hoped, would be a critical step in restoring chronically under-funded infrastructure, including roads, transit, schools, and water treatment.  HB312 is the capital spending bill, and HB255 deals with capital revenue, which would come from increased costs of drivers' licenses and license plates, and taxes on alcohol.  Read more in a Tribune story by Rich Wronski.

Invent the Future kickoff.  If you haven't yet, there's time to RSVP for one of our May 27 sessions at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe.  Attendees will be the first to experience our new interactive tools that will let residents create, share, and compare their future scenarios. In addition to workshops like this, the software will be available starting June 1 at http://www.goto2040.org and in kiosks at dozens of locations.  The identical sessions begin at 10:00 a.m. (until noon) and 1:00 p.m. (until 3:00 p.m), and trolley service is available.  Contact Joey-Lin Silberhorn (312-386-8814 or jsilberhorn@cmap.illinois.gov).

GO TO 2040 posters.  I hope all of our partners will grab a stack of the new, collectible posters we just had printed to help spread the word about GO TO 2040.  Please pick some up the next time you're here, or contact Joey and we'll get some to you. 

Web promotion.  If you don't mind one more piece of Invent the Future promotion, we've posted a set of small images to help GO TO 2040 partners point people to our new web tools.  Download yours today and place it on your blog, site, or even in your email signature. Just make sure you link it to http://www.goto2040.org.

Energy efficiency workshop.  On Wednesday, June 3, 2009, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., CMAP, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), and the Center for Neighborhood Technology will host a workshop at Joliet Junior College for recipients of Energy Efficiency and Conservation block grants. This event will describe funding opportunities related to the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants, the State Energy Programs, and the Weatherization Programs related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA, better known as "the Stimulus Bill"). It will help recipients of direct block grant funds (e.g., local governments) understand how to meet U.S. Department of Energy requirements. For example, grantees need to coordinate with the State Energy Office and leverage resources from other federal, state, and local governments, utilities, private sector, and non-profit organizations to maximize energy, economic, and environmental benefits of the funding. To RSVP for this free event, contact Jamie Krell (312-386-8658 or jkrell@cmap.illinois.gov).  Click here for details.

CDAP application guidelines. The Community Development Block Grant (in Illinois the program is called Community Development Assistance Program or CDAP) application guidelines were posted this week by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.  See http://www2.illinoisbiz.biz/econ/inf-projects/Infrastructure.htm.

UIC video.  We've posted video from my recent commencement address to the University of Illinois at Chicago's College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs.  Click here to read the text of my remarks (that link was broken previously).

Park Service opportunity.  The National Park Service helps partners plan successful locally-led outdoor recreation and natural resource conservation projects.  August 1, 2009, is the deadline for the next round of assistance from the Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance (RTCA) Program.  Applicants are strongly encouraged to discuss project ideas with RTCA staff before submitting an application.  Visit http://www.nps.gov/rtca for more information.

Transport Chicago reminder.  Early registration for Transport Chicago ends on May 24, 2009, after which the cost will increase by $10. See http://www.transportchicago.org for details of the event, which will be held on June 5.

Certification reminder.  The FHWA and FTA Planning Certification Review for the Chicago Transportation Management Area will include a public meeting on Tuesday, June 9, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Metropolitan Planning Council,140 S. Dearborn St. Suite 1400, Chicago, IL 60603.

Blog entries.  Diana Torres announces the winners from the Bold Ideas contest that took place on May 7 at Bloom Trail High School. Shana Alford compares conclusions from the "Smart Growth is Healthy Living" conference in Kane County to CMAP's published strategy reports.  

SPECIAL REMINDER: "Invent the Future" with GO TO 2040
Have your say in a new "Invent the Future" phase of CMAP's GO TO 2040 comprehensive regional planning campaign.  In workshops, on the web (www.goto2040.org), and at public kiosks throughout the summer -- all timed to coincide with the Burnham centennial -- residents and stakeholder groups can create and compare their own future scenarios.  Click here for more information and to get involved!

Stay connected with GO TO 2040
To get the latest on GO TO 2040, metropolitan Chicago's comprehensive planning campaign, and to Have Your Say, you can easily connect with us in many ways:

	Check out the GO TO 2040 blog.
	Become our friend on Twitter.
	Check out our photos of the region at the GO TO 2040 Flickr page, and add your own to our Explore Northeastern Illinois Flickr pool.
	Click here to be added to this CMAP weekly update distribution.

CALL TO ACTION for CMAP funding.  This week, Senator Harmon introduced Senate Bill 2455, and Representative Saviano introduced House Bill 4560, that will reinstate the Comprehensive Regional Planning Fund (CRPF) and appropriate the necessary funds to ensure dedicated funding for effective comprehensive planning throughout Illinois.  We are nearing the end of the legislative session and now is when we need your help more than ever to contact the General Assembly leadership and your local legislators and urge them to reinstate the CRPF by co-sponsoring and supporting Senate Bill 2455 and House Bill 4560.  Please see and use our "call to action" fact sheet, or a new one-page version, a revised sample letter, and list of contacts.  

CMAP meetings recap.  The Board met this past Wednesday and had a very full agenda.  They moved to table action on the process to review Developments of Regional Importance until their June meeting in order to allow all of the Board members enough time to review and discuss the recommended proposal as appropriate.  Under the State Legislative Update, the focus was on the CMAP funding situation and Board members recapped the previous week's trip to Springfield to discuss the situation with legislators and the Governor's office.  The Board voted to endorse a set of tax principles to help CMAP judge taxes, user fees, and other revenue generators at the State and local level and discussed briefing papers on the state income tax and the motor fuel tax that were presented to them.  

A draft Fiscal Year 2010 Budget and Work Plan was also presented for discussion, final approval will be requested at the June meeting.  Finally, in celebration of the Burnham Centennial, Dennis McClendon presented the highlights of his lecture on the Plan of Chicago.  The next CMAP Board meeting will be a joint meeting with the MPO Policy Committee on June 10, 2009 at 9:30 a.m.

Prior to the Board meeting, the Planning Coordinating Committee met.  The focus of their agenda was on major transportation capital measures.  Staff also updated the committee on the upcoming public engagement events for our GO TO 2040 "Invent the Future" phase, beginning at the end of this month.

2016 Olympics discussion.  Comcast's Political Update public affairs show recently focused on Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Olympics.  In his capacity as co-chair of the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus 2016 Olympic Regional Coordinating Committee, CMAP board chairman Gerald Bennett participated in the discussion, along with Alderman Toni Preckwinkle and Patricia Hill of the Chicago Olympic Human Rights Project.  Click here to watch it on YouTube. 

Stimulus story.  Yesterday, WTTW's Chicago Tonight had an in-depth story by Elizabeth Brackett, who looked at how stimulus funding is helping to put people back to work and improve the region's infrastructure.  I make a brief appearance, but the star of the segment is Richard Burtner, who is among 400 construction workers on an $88 million CTA stimulus project.  Click here for yesterday's show, and the specific story is called "Stimulus Funds."

Bold Ideas in the news.  Last week's GO TO 2040 "Bold Ideas" event at Waukegan High School was covered in the Lake County News-Sun. 

Quarterly staff report. The CMAP staff progress report for the previous quarter is now on our website.

Transport Chicago.  The 24^th Annual Transport Chicago Conference is being held on June 5, 2009.  The conference will include a Burnham Centennial Celebration during lunch and a keynote by Mr. Frank Busalacchi, Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and a member of the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission.  Also, CMAP's Todd Schmidt will be presenting during the afternoon session titled "My Way is the Highway."  The early registration deadline is May 25, 2009 for a cost of $50 for general attendees and $25 for students.  After that date, the price increases by $10.

Housing event.  The Center for Housing Policy and the National Housing Conference are sponsoring Solutions for Working Families: 2009 Learning Conference on State and Local Housing Policy in Chicago, June 28-30. The conference is a forum for state and local leaders to share information on proven housing policies-foreclosure prevention, rental housing preservation, green building, workforce housing, and more. Registration is open until June 10.

CTA open houses.  The Chicago Transit Authority invites the public to a presentation of the preliminary locally preferred alternative for CTA's proposed Red Line Extension, resulting from consideration of transit technologies and alignments in a study area bordered by 95th Street on the north, Ashland Avenue on the west, Stony Island Avenue on the east, and the Cal-Sag Channel/Little Calumet River and 134th Street on the south. Open houses are scheduled as follows, and both facilities are accessible to people with disabilities:

Wednesday, June 3, 2009
6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
(Presentation will begin at 6:15 p.m.)
Olive-Harvey College Cafeteria
10001 South Woodlawn
Chicago, IL

Thursday, June 4, 2009
6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
(Presentation will begin at 6:15 p.m.)
Woodson Regional Chicago Public Library
9525 South Halsted Street
Chicago, IL

Certification review.  FHWA and FTA are in the process of jointly conducting a Planning Certification Review for the Chicago Transportation Management Area, which will include on-site discussions with planning and air quality partners on June 9-11 at the CMAP offices.  One of the opportunities for public involvement will occur on Tuesday, June 9, when a public meeting will be held from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Metropolitan Planning Council's offices,140 S. Dearborn St. Suite 1400, Chicago, IL 60603.

Health Summit.  The Regional Health Care Safety Net Summit, hosted by Health and Medicine Policy Research Group and the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration, will be held on Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at the University of Illinois at Chicago Student Center West.  CMAP supports this summit to strengthen the health care safety net for uninsured, Medicaid, and vulnerable residents in the region.  For more information and to sign-on in support of this effort, please contact Janna Stansell, Policy Analyst, at jstansell@hmprg.org or visit http://www.hmprg.org.

Transit workshop reminder.  The Federal Transit Administration and the National Council for Public- Private Partnerships are pleased to announce the development of a second series of transit PPP workshops for 2009.  The Chicago regional workshop is May 19-20, 2009 at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers.  Please see the flyer for more information. 

Green Festival.  This year's Green Festival will be held at Navy Pier, 600 E. Grand Avenue, Chicago on Saturday, May 16 (10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.) and Sunday, May 17 (11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m).  Admission is $15 for two days, or $10 for seniors, students, and all who arrive by bicycle or public transit.  Admission is free for youth 18 and younger, Green America or Global Exchange members and volunteers, or those who bring three or more books to donate to BetterWorldBooks.  Click here for details.

Blog entries.  FLIP participant Lois Kanter gives a year-end review of the FLIP program.  And read about the new GO TO 2040 poster series.  Please contact Joey-Lin Silberhorn (312-386-8814 or jsilberhorn@cmap.illinois.gov) if your organization would like some posters to hang or hand out.   

Invent the Future with GO TO 2040.  CMAP is gearing up for its most-intense public involvement during the comprehensive regional planning process.  We're calling this phase "Invent the Future," because it is residents' chance to have their say about the critically important policy and investment tradeoffs that will guide growth for decades to come.  We need your help to spread the word.  Download a flyer that describes these activities, which will begin on May 27 with our first Invent the Future workshop at the Botanic Garden in Glencoe.  If you can't attend that one, there will be dozens of others throughout the summer.  Click here for a page with links to the workshops schedule, along with other details including festivals where we'll be engaging the public.  At the end of this month, watch for a host of new web features at http://www.goto2040.org, where users will be able to create their own future scenarios, mail them to friends, and compare them to our sample scenarios.

Springfield trip.  A CMAP delegation visited Springfield on Wednesday, in part to keep our funding issue on the minds of officials in the Governor's administration and the General Assembly.  Our group included CMAP Board chairman Gerald Bennett, and Board members Alan Bennett, Elliott Hartstein, Russell Hartigan, Raul Raymundo, and Rae Rupp Srch.  Pat Carey from Mayor Daley's office attended on behalf of Chicago.  We had about 20 meetings, including sessions with three of the four legislative leaders and the Governor's chief of staff.  Especially in this budget climate, we will have to stay in close touch with our many supporters in Springfield and here in the region to ensure a positive outcome. 

As you may have seen this past Monday, the Tribune's John McCarron wrote a column that pokes a bit of fun at some recent goings-on that he thinks are contrary to the spirit of Daniel Burnham.  One such example is our current funding problem, which John was kind enough to highlight.  I welcome whatever attention can be brought to this issue, and I remain confident that the Comprehensive Regional Planning Fund will be restored. 

CMAP funding reminder.  Even though we made some good progress in Springfield this week, we still need your help to reinstate the Comprehensive Regional Planning Fund (CRPF).  Please take a moment, if you haven't yet or to remind them again, to make your feelings known to the Governor, IDOT, and leaders of the General Assembly. To make that easier for you, we've posted a "call to action" fact sheet, sample letter, and list of contacts.

CMAP meetings.  At 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 13, 2009, the CMAP Board will meet.  Click here for Board meeting materials.  Prior to the Board, CMAP's Planning Coordinating Committee will meet at 8:00 a.m.  Click here for committee materials.  Immediately after the Board meeting, the Executive Committee will meet.

UIC speech.  Today I gave a commencement address for the University of Illinois at Chicago's College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs.  This was a chance for me to speak from the heart to graduating students as they embark on their careers.  I talked to them about the opportunities and responsibilities of serving the public.  These times require them to think and act boldly, and putting off the tough choices for another generation is not a viable option.  As I told them, this does not have to be their misfortune.  Instead, it can be their opportunity for greatness. Click here to read the text of my remarks.  I'm grateful to Dean Michael Pagano for letting me be part of his college's important occasion.

Bold Ideas contests.  On a related note, this week we're holding three GO TO 2040Bold Ideas contests, which ask high school students to express what they want for their community by the year 2040. Yesterday was our 2009 kickoff at Bloom Trail High School, and today we are co-hosting events with Waukegan High School and Highland Park High School.  The students compete for prizes that are made possible through a grant from The Chicago Community Trust.  As I said in a CMAP press release, it's both inspiring and sobering to hear these young residents' dreams and concerns for the future of our region.

Congressional Delegation Staff Briefing. We hosted a briefing this week on housing issues for our congressional delegation district staff.  CMAP staffer Lee Deuben, along with Robin Snyderman from MPC and Beth Dever from the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus gave a presentation focusing on housing issues facing our region and our regional initiatives to address them.  This briefing was the third in a series to keep the delegation staff informed on what CMAP is working on in various policy issues. 

Transit Public-Private Partnership Workshop.  The Federal Transit Administration and the National Council for Public- Private Partnerships are pleased to announce the development of a second series of transit PPP workshops for 2009.  The Chicago regional workshop is May 19-20, 2009 at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers.  Please see the flyer for more information.  

FLIP application period.  CMAP needs a few good -- make that "great" -- high school students to be part of its Future Leaders in Planning (FLIP) program, which is recruiting students for the second year.   FLIP is a leadership development opportunity offered free of charge to students who are interested in contributing to a better future for our region.  Participants will learn about northeastern Illinois by participating in hands-on activities and field trips on issues that concern us all, including housing, transportation, the environment and government.  FLIP youth will meet and interact with regional leaders who make key planning decisions in our communities and learn what it takes to make positive change on regional and local levels.  Students will also share their thoughts with other teens from Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties.  Applications and letters of reference are due Friday June 26th, 2009.  Know anyone who might be interested?  Go to http://www.cmap.illinois.gov/flip.aspx for application materials and more.

UNO honor.  Diana Torres of CMAP has been selected to participate in the Metropolitan Leadership Institute (MLI), sponsored by the United Neighborhood Organization (UNO). UNO created the institute in 2001 to help the Latino community "reap the benefits of new, young and committed leadership."  This is a great honor for Diana, who is busy as CMAP's liaison to the Latino community, among other responsibilities. She'll be inducted in a ceremony at the Chicago Yacht Club on May 13.

Blog entry.  In our GO TO 2040 blog, Lindsay Banks gives an update on bicycling resources and upcoming events in the region.

Bennett event. Maybe inevitably, the 1909 Plan of Chicago gets shortened to the "Burnham Plan."  But Daniel Burnham had a coauthor who likewise deserves recognition in this centennial year.  DePaul University's Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development is calling attention to Edward Bennett's important role, with an event on May 26, 2009 at 5:30 - 7:00 p.m. at the Cliff Dwellers Club, 200 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago IL 60604.  "Burnham's Recruiting Bennett for the Plan of Chicago, 1906-09: They and Their Backgrounds Compete, Converge and Then Collaborate on the Plan" will be presented by Edward H. (Ted) Bennett, III and Arthur H. Miller, archivist and librarian for special collections at Lake Forest College.  Admission is free, with a cash bar.  RSVP to Elizabeth Wilp (ewilp@depaul.edu).

CMAP funding reminder.  We continue to work with legislators, the Governor's office, and others in Springfield to reinstate the Comprehensive Regional Planning Fund (CRPF).  Please take a moment, if you haven't yet, to make your feelings known to the Governor, IDOT, and leaders of the General Assembly. To make that easier for you, we've posted a "call to action" fact sheet, sample letter, and list of contacts.  My email next week will recap the scheduled Springfield visit on Wednesday, May 6, by members of the CMAP Board.

Stimulus guide.  CMAP recently developed a quick guide for local governments to determine eligibility for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) projects.  The guide provides information on jurisdictions that will receive direct formula allocations, to date.  The spreadsheet also provides information on which agency should be contacted (state, federal, or county) if a direct allocation was not received or if the program is a competitive grant.  Please note that this document does not include transportation funds or an exhaustive list of all ARRA projects.  It includes only those that CMAP has been tracking in recent months.

Bold Ideas contests. We'll kick off a series of GO TO 2040 Bold Ideas contests next week with events at Bloom Trails High School on Thursday, May 7, and both Waukegan High School and Highland Park High School on Friday, May 8. Information on these events and all of the participating schools in the Bold Ideas program can be found at the GO TO 2040 Bold Ideas page.

FLIP story.  The Sun-Times News Group wrote about our Future Leaders in Planning concluding event last week.  As I was pleased to announce that night, we'll conduct the program again in the 2009-10 school year.  Please refer high school students to our application materials.

Big Shoulders photos.  Click here for images from last week's mapping event held by the Big Shoulders Fund and the Burnham Centennial (with an assist from CMAP's David Clark).  If you use Flickr, consider adding appropriate photos to our Explore Northeastern Illinois Flickr group.

HUD remarks.  In recent testimony to a House Appropriations subcommittee, U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan cited CMAP's GO TO 2040 process as a model of comprehensive regional planning.  Read about it on this HUD web page, not quite halfway down, and just before a nice mention of the Center for Neighborhood Technology.

Blog entries.  Our GO TO 2040 blog has the second installment of Stephen Ostrander's series about our scenario-based community design work with the Village of Streamwood.  And Shana Alford writes about news from the National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife regarding economic impacts of fishing and hunting.

MacArthur awards.  Speaking of CNT, I'd like to congratulate them and the Chicago Community Loan Fund on being honored this week with the MacArthur Foundation's Award for Creative and Effective Institutions. 

Chicago Clean Cities Coalition.  The ARRA allocated $300 million in stimulus funding to the Clean Cities program, which promotes the use and manufacture of energy-efficient transportation vehicles and alternative fuels. The Chicago Area Clean Cities Coalition is currently seeking partners to strengthen a regional application. Full details are available on our Regional Response to the ARRA page.

RTA Report Card.  The RTA invites public comment on its first-time Performance Measures "2007 Report Card" that was produced with input from the CTA, Metra, and Pace. The Report aggregates data from each transit agency to assess how they are collectively meeting their missions and thus the region's transit needs.  Comments can be e-mailed to reportcard@rtachicago.org before the Report Card will be discussed at the May 21 RTA board meeting.

CN reports.  As required by the federal Surface Transportation Board, Canadian National railway has begun filing monthly operational reports and quarterly environmental reports for the Elgin, Joliet, and Eastern railway that it acquired earlier this year.  See http://www.stbfinancedocket35087.com.