On June 14, 2012, the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University released its annual State of the Nation’s Housing for 2012. The study compiles a number of demographic, economic, and housing indicators to assess the current and upcoming conditions of the U.S. housing market. This year’s report projects a modest recovery in the nation’s housing market for 2012, based in large... Read More

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced the fourth round of the discretionary Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery  (TIGER) program grants.  These grants include $10.4 million to support the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency  (CREATE) freight rail program and $20 million for improvements to the Chicago Transit Authority... Read More

Building on a previous Policy Update , this second post in a two-part series surveys various strategies typically employed to address traffic congestion and analyzes their limitations.  It also offers broader thoughts on the nature of congestion and its role in metropolitan planning. While we may “know it when we see it,” congestion remains a difficult phenomenon to measure and... Read More

CMAP has followed a number of transportation bills considered by the General Assembly.  A previous Policy Update analyzed two bills in detail, HB 3875 and SB 3216 , and provided status updates on ten other bills.  Of the transportation bills that CMAP is monitoring, the following passed both the House and Senate by the end of session on May 31, 2012: HB 3875 would... Read More

Last month, the DuPage County Board released an independent assessment of 24 special districts, each of which is governed by board members who are appointed by the DuPage County Board Chair.  The report reviewed the operations, finances, procurement, and ethics policies of these government units to determine whether the districts and their policies are sustainable, transparent, and... Read More