Federal passenger and freight rail policy has important implications for the livability and economic prosperity of northeastern Illinois, as highlighted by the GO TO 2040 comprehensive regional plan. Amtrak provides substantial and growing service in the metropolitan Chicago area, with 3.7 million trips last year, while the CREATE (Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation... Read More

In the last two days of its spring session, the Illinois General Assembly passed SB 20 , the “Economic Development Act of 2013.” The bill proposes changes to variety of existing programs and would pave the way for new developments. The following Policy Update reviews several components of the bill that would affect the seven-county metropolitan Chicago region.    South... Read More

On May 30, 2013, legislation was introduced in the Illinois House ( HB 3637 ) and the Senate ( SB 2589 ) to reform transportation funding in Illinois.  Sharing many characteristics to the proposal advanced by the Transportation for Illinois Coalition (TFIC) earlier in the month, the legislation would eliminate the state’s motor fuel tax and replace it with a new tax based on the... Read More

In recent months, a number of federal agencies have provided new grant opportunities for funding innovative manufacturing strategies and partnerships.  The importance of manufacturing to metropolitan Chicago’s economy was described in CMAP’s manufacturing cluster drill-down report , and the region should be well-positioned to compete for these kinds of investments. This Policy Update... Read More

The General Assembly is scheduled to conclude its spring session on May 31, 2013. The following Policy Update reviews action related to CMAP’s agenda and legislative framework from the week of May 27-31.  CMAP’s recap of the spring 2013 session will be available on the Policy Updates blog next week.   Session Wrap-Up The last hours of session will be devoted to... Read More