The Illinois General Assembly convened in Springfield this week for the first part of a six-day veto session. A number of issues were expected to be back on the table, such as gaming, pension reform, state debt payments, medical marijuana, and civil unions. However, legislators determined that many of these issues may need to be put off until the “lame duck” session scheduled January 2-8,... Read More

In August 2011, Congress passed the Budget Control Act (BCA) as part of a compromise to increase the nation’s debt ceiling.  The BCA raised the debt ceiling and identified two main approaches to reduce the deficit through spending reductions.  The first imposes caps on discretionary spending for the ten-year period FY 2012 through FY 2021.  The second created the Joint... Read More

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released a report on local funding sources for the New Starts program, which provides federal support for transit expansion projects.  GAO found that local and state sources account for the majority of funding for New Starts projects (48.1 percent and 6.9 percent, respectively), with federal aid accounting for 45 percent of the... Read More

On November 7, 2012, the American Water Works Association (AWWA) issued a report considering the recent U.S. elections' ramifications for the water sector. AWWA notes that the federal government continues to wrestle with the problem of maintaining the nation’s water infrastructure. Similar to transportation, diminishing federal resources have contributed to the shifting of water... Read More

In October 2012, the Forest Preserve District of Cook County (FPDCC) released its updated Land Acquisition Plan , which was developed with the input of a number of organizations, including CMAP. Earlier this summer, the FPDCC issued new bonds to provide approximately $25 million for land acquisition that will be guided by the new plan. According to the plan, the “funds will be used to make... Read More