GO TO 2040: Get involved! On the main GO TO 2040 page, we've added a button with "one-click shopping" for getting involved in our comprehensive regional planning campaign. Residents, their neighbors, and organizations can help convene a "Community Conversation." Or invite GO TO 2040 into their schools, where we can help by sponsoring teacher curriculum workshops and co-sponsoring a "Bold Ideas" contest. Groups can also co-sponsor participation in festivals and special events. So just click here to get involved in imagining a "picture perfect" region, and please encourage your friends and colleagues to do the same.

Indicators Workshops. This week wrapped up our final Indicators Workshop, concluding yesterday on our home turf. Successfully completing ten workshops in five weeks across the region is an indication of many more good things to come in CMAP's GO TO 2040 process. Thanks to everyone who contributed to this effort, and I hope we continue the momentum. We've posted a fact sheet that describes the methodology and rationale of the Regional Indicators Project. For more information or to participate, contact Drew Williams Clark (312-386-8770 or awilliamsclark@cmap.illinois.gov).

CAN-TV interviews. In case you missed them when they aired recently, you can now see web video of CAN-TV interviews with myself and CMAP's Diana Torres. My segment was part of the channel's "Community Forum" program, and Diana's was in Spanish for the show "Perspectivas Latinas." We both talked about our agency and opportunities for residents to get involved with GO TO 2040.

Foreclosures story. CMAP's Lee Deuben was quoted in a Tribune story this week about the challenges facing municipalities as they deal with the increasing number of home foreclosures.

Regional Vision display. As of this week, visitors to CMAP can see an illuminated display in our lobby featuring the recently approved Regional Vision for 2040. It replaces the original Regional Snapshot display that had been there for the past year.

NY Times on Chicago 2016. Reporting from Beijing, George Vescey of the New York Times wrote a highly complimentary column about the Chicago 2016 Olympics bid.

TRACC project at Argonne. The TransForum newsletter (opens 1MB PDF) of Argonne National Laboratory recently featured the lab's Transportation Research and Analysis Computing Center (TRACC), which provides advanced computing capability and high-tech models of various transportation-related systems, vehicles, and components. The story mentions TRANSIMS, a partnership of TRACC, CMAP, and Northern Illinois University to develop traffic modeling tools for long-range metropolitan planning, including evacuation simulations. For the past year, a group of NIU interns working at CMAP has contributed to this project.

Symposium on Developing an Activity-Based Travel Demand Model. On Wednesday, August 27, 2008, CMAP will host a one-day symposium with leading U.S. authorities in the development of "activity-based travel models" for regional planning. Panelists and respondents include university researchers, consultants and planning practitioners who will address a variety of questions regarding the potential for advanced travel modeling practice in Chicago. Following on the recent completion of our Travel Tracker Survey, this symposium will greatly assist CMAP in preparing its ongoing model development work program. The symposium runs from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and is open to the public. CMAP is at 233 South Wacker Drive, Sears Tower, Suite 800, Chicago. RSVP to Patricia Tinnelle (ptinnelle@cmap.illinois.gov or 312-386-8814). If you have questions regarding CMAP's model development work program, please contact Kermit Wies (kwies@cmap.illinois.gov).

Trucking presentation. The next Freight Committee meeting will be held at 10:00 a.m. on September 25 in the CMAP offices. Bob Costello, the chief economist and vice president of the American Trucking Associations will present to the group.

Fourth quarter staff report. Click here to download the fourth and final FY08 quarterly CMAP staff progress report (opens 630KB PDF). See http://www.cmap.illinois.gov/about/FY08_workplan.aspx for previous reports and the agency's overall work plan.