Table of Contents

• First Off . . .
• Other News and Announcements
• CMAP Blogs
• Reminders
• Events

First Off...

Board meeting.The CMAP Board will meet at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 11, 2011.  At 8:00 a.m. that morning, the Regional Coordinating Committee will meet. All materials can be found by clicking on the respective links.

Campton Hills kick off.  The Village of Campton Hills launched its comprehensive planning effort on the evening of May 2 with a roomful of more than 100 residents and a bit of help from CMAP.  As described in the Daily Herald and Kane County Chronicle (article and editorial), the participants used keypad polling to express their preferences of how the future should look for this relatively new village that was incorporated in 2007.  Village President Patsy Smith led the event, which was supported through our new Local Technical Assistance program funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). 
 

Other News and Announcements

Get Skilled.  On May 12, Morton College’s Career Planning and Placement Office, in collaboration with CMAP, will present Get Skilled.  This career day is designed to coordinate education, workforce development, and economic development, while strengthening the role of local service providers.  Held from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the college's Cicero campus, it will provide an introduction to the GO TO 2040 plan and the region's fast-growing industries.  For more information, contact Ricardo Lopez (rlopez@cmap.illinois.gov or 312-386-8766).

Fairmont planning. On May 19, the unincorporated Fairmont area of Will County will begin its comprehensive plan's development with a public meeting to solicit feedback from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. at the Fairmont Community Center (525 Barry Avenue, Lockport). Read more in Trib Local. With staff funded by our HUD grant, CMAP is providing technical assistance to the County in this effort, including help with public participation in the plan's development.

Women's Transportation Seminar. On May 25, I will speak about GO TO 2040 at the greater Chicago chapter of Women's Transportation Seminar luncheon. The location is Petterino's at 150 N. Dearborn, and the registration fee includes lunch. Networking begins at 11:30 a.m., lunch at noon, and my talk at 12:30 p.m.

GO TO 2040 roundtable.  If you missed the last Metropolitan Planning Council roundtable on GO TO 2040 (titled "We Have a Plan. Let's Do It!"), a summary is now available.  CMAP Board member President Michael Gorman of the Village of Riverside introduced and moderated the April panel.

Sustainability award.  The Village of Montgomery received a gold award from the Illinois Landscape Contractors Association for ecological plantings at its Civic Center.  Congratulations to Mayor Marilyn Michelini, a member of the CMAP Board.

Local students GO TO 2040.  Students in LaGrange Park Junior High School's STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) class recently held a "Wheel-In" Day to help promote walking and biking after learning about GO TO 2040.  Read more about the event in The Doings.  Read and see a video about how the students are promoting sustainable local food in our Moving Forward webspace.

Mapping the deserts. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released an interactive Food Desert Locator website that maps census tracts across the nation where grocery stores and nutritious food are not easily accessible.

Leave No Child Inside. Chicago Wilderness has declared that June is "Leave No Child Inside" Month, and CW is getting a head start with activities on May 21 in Barrington, Chicago, Homer Glen, and Oak Brook. See http://kidsoutside.info/ for many more events across the region to get kids out of the house, where they can enjoy nature and healthy activities.

H+T Index.  The Center for Neighborhood Technology announced a pending update this summer to its Housing + Transportation Affordability Index, which will incorporate 2005-2009 American Community Survey data and more.  The GO TO 2040 plan recommends use of H+T as the best gauge of housing affordability.

Census release.  The U.S. Census Bureau released the Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics for the first set of states.  These profiles include information on age and sex distributions, race, ethnicity, housing, and relationships.  An interactive map to explore the data is available on-line.  New profiles will be released each week.

CMAP Blogs

Green Signals.  CMAP’s transportation operations blog highlights a report on a new method for quantifying incident-induced travel delays using volume data collected by traffic sensors in the Puget Sound region.

Soles and Spokes.CMAP’s bike-ped planning blog highlighted a pilot project in the City of Chicago’s Streetscape and Sustainable Design Program, which utilizes various environmentally friendly design and construction strategies to create a “green street” on Cermak Road and Blue Island Avenue. We also reported on a new TRB study that explores and analyzes trends in cycling levels, safety, facility provision, and policies in eight cities in Canada and the U.S. over the past two decades, including Chicago.

Policy Updates. A recent Los Angeles initiative to accelerate the construction of transportation projects is now garnering bipartisan support and national attention as “America Fast Forward,” to be a potential model for how federal and local governments might leverage investments for expensive infrastructure work.
 

Reminders

Community Planning Program.On April 6, 2011, CMAP, in collaboration with the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), launched the 2012 Community Planning Program. This competitive grant program will provide funding for northeastern Illinois municipalities to participate in projects linking land use and transportation. This partnership between the two agencies will provide additional funding to an expanded base of eligible applicants and projects, as well as facilitate inter-agency coordination. The application deadline is 3:00 p.m. CST on June 9, 2011.

Apply for FLIP. The 2011-2012 FLIP (Future Leaders in Planning) application is now available. Please share materials with local high school students who would like to learn about planning and contribute to a better future for our region. Keep up with FLIP at its Facebook page.

Case study library. CMAP is building a searchable web database of completed local projects that reflect recommendations of the GO TO 2040 plan. If you know of an exemplary project that should be included, please contact Lindsay Banks (lbanks@cmap.illinois.gov or 312-386-8826).
 

Events

FLIP Final Presentation
May 7, 2011
2:00 to 4:00 p.m.
Fairmont Community Center, 525 Barry Ave, Lockport
RSVP

Planning Commissioner Training -- DuPage County
May 7 and 21, 2011
8:00 to 11:45 a.m.
Carol Stream Village Hall, 500 N. Gary Avenue, Carol Stream
Hosted by CMAP, DuPage Mayors and Managers Conference
Registration

Tri-State Alliance Summit
May 9, 2011
Radisson Hotel, 200 S. Bell School Road, Rockford
Registration

E-Government Workshop: Achieving IT Efficiencies Through Collaboration
May 12, 2011
8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Hilton Lisle/Naperville, 3003 Corporate West Drive, Lisle
Hosted by the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs
Discounted registration for CMAP Partners

Chicagoland Green Collar Jobs Summit
May 17, 2011
1:00 to 5:00 p.m.
Chicago-Kent College of Law: 565 W. Adams, Chicago
Registration

County Green
May 24, 2011
8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
College of Lake County:  19351 W. Washington Street, Grayslake
Registration

Bike the Drive
May 29, 2011
Lake Shore Drive
Hosted by MB Financial Bank
Save $5 on registration with coupon code CMAP5

Transport Chicago
June 3, 2011
211 East Chicago Ave, Chicago
Early registration through May 23