The  Subregional Councils of Mayors (COMs) are defined by specific geographic boundaries– six in suburban Cook County and one for each of the five collar counties. The Kane/KendallCouncil of Mayors also includes Kendall County. The Will Council includes the urbanized portions of Grundy County.  The individual councils range in membership from 12 to 47 municipalities. The organization and structure of the individual councils varies greatly from area to area, and in many parts of the region Council of Mayors boundaries often coincide with municipal Conference or Council of Government (COG) boundaries.  Three of the COMs are housed within and staffed by the county Division of Transportation.

Each Council of Mayors receives an annual allocation of local Surface Transportation Program (STP) funds and is responsible for programming those funds according to their own STP Methodology. Council projects must meet all federal eligibility requirements, including being located on a federal-aid eligible route, and must be sponsored and implemented by a local community within the council.  

Each Council of Mayors has a least one staff person designated as a Planning Liaison (PL).  PLs are the primary link between CMAP and the suburban mayors and are directly responsible for the programming of locally sponsored, federally funded projects in the CMAP Transportation Improvement Program.  PLs are the primary contact for local agencies and coordinate the implementation of federally funded projects, including STP, CMAQ, BRRP, Safe Routes to Schools and Enhancement (ITEP) projects, with municipalities and IDOT.

The subregional councils establish their own meeting schedules, by-laws, structure and policies; however certain caveats are placed on the councils as the managers of federal transportation funds. The councils must include all local governments eligible for STP funding, regardless of membership within any coinciding Conference or COG.  The councils meet regularly for cooperative discussion and decision-making on issues needing a subregional consensus before being brought to the COM Executive Committee for a regional debate.  These meetings provide a useful forum for regional transportation and planning agencies (such as Pace, Metra, CMAP) to report to the local governments and to get local input.  

In addition to the Councils of Mayors, whose purpose is focused on Transportation funding and local project implementation, the Chicago region also has nine regional municipal associations, referred to as Councils of Governments (COGs) that exist to promote subregional coordination and collaboration between municipalities on a broader range of issues.  Together with the City of Chicago, the COGs are members of the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus (MMC), which is a forum for Mayors to collaborate on broad regional issues.

Subregional Council Leadership

North Shore Council of Mayors / Northwest Municipal Conference (NWMC)

President Bill McLeod, Hoffman Estates, President, NWMC
Mayor George Van Dusen, Skokie, Co-Chairman, North Shore Council
President Sandy Frum, Northbrook, Co-Chairman, North Shore Council
Mark Fowler, Executive Director, NWMC
Chris Staron, Planning Liaison

Northwest Council of Mayors / Northwest Municipal Conference (NWMC)

President Bill McLeod, Hoffman Estates, President, NWMC
Mayor Arlene Mulder, Arlington Heights, Co-Chairman, Northwest Council
President Al Larson, Schaumburg, Co-Chairman, Northwest Council
Mark Fowler, Executive Director, NWMC
Michael Walczak, Planning Liaison

North Central Council of Mayors / West Central Municipal Conference (WCMC)

Mayor Sam Pulia, Westchester, President, WCMC
Mayor Jeffrey Sherwin, Northlake, Chairman, North Central Council
Pat Higgins, Village Administrator, Western Springs, Chairman, Transportation Committee
Richard Pellegrino, Executive Director, WCMC
Len CannataPlanning Liaison

Central Council of Mayors / West Central Municipal Conference (WCMC)

Mayor Sam Pulia, Westchester, President, WCMC
Pat Higgins, Village Administrator, Western Springs, Chairman, Transportation Committee
Richard Pellegrino, Executive Director, WCMC
Tammy Wierciak, Planning Liaison

Southwest Council of Mayors / Southwest Conference of Mayors (SCM)

Mayor Gerald Bennett, Palos Hills, President, SCM
President Dave Brady, Bedford Park, Transportation Committee, Chairman, SCM
Vicky Smith, Executive Director, SCM
Allison Bos, Planning Liaison

South Council of Mayors / South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association (SSMMA)

Mayor Eugene Williams, Lynwood, President, SSMMA
Ed Paesel, Executive Director, SSMMA
Thomas Vander Woude, Planning Liaison

DuPage Council of Mayors / DuPage Mayors and Managers Conference (DMMC)

Village President Rodney Craig, Village of Hanover Park, President, DMMC
Kathleen Rush, Village Administrator, Woodridge, Transportation Technical Committee Director
Mark Baloga, Executive Director, DMMC
Mike Albin, Planning Liaison

Kane/Kendall Council of Mayors (KKCOM)

Mayor Jeffery Schielke, Batavia, Chairman
Steve Coffinbarger,  Executive Director
Tom Rickert, Council Director
Mike Sullivan, Council Deputy Director, Planning Liaison
Jennifer Becker, Planning Liaison

Lake Council of Mayors

Mayor Leon Rockingham, North Chicago, Chairman
Bruce Christensen, Planning Liaison

McHenry County Council of Mayors

President Rick Mack, Ringwood, Chairman
Chalen Daigle, Planning Liaison

Will Council of Mayors / Will County Governmental League (WCGL)

Mayor Joe Cook, Channahon, President, WCGL
Mayor James Holland, Village of Frankfort, Transportation Committee Director
Steven Quigley, Executive Director, WCGL
Hugh O'Hara, Transportation Director
Michael Klemens, Planning Liaison

Councils of Government (COGs)

The following organizations operate separately from the subregional Councils of Mayors, and do not receive an allocation of federal Surface Transportation Program funding. 

Lake County Municipal League (LCML)

Mayor Mark Knigge, President, LCML
Chris Gentes, Executive Director

McHenry Council of Governments (MCCG)

President Rick Mack, Ringwood, President, MCCG
Anna Bicanic Moeller, Executive Director

Metro West Council of Governments

Mayor Tom Weisner, Aurora, President
Mary Randle, Executive Director

Metropolitan Mayors Caucus

The Metropolitan Mayors Caucus is a regional organization whose members represent the nine COGs.

Metropolitan Mayors Caucus

President Karen Darch, Barrington, President
David Bennett, Executive Director