First Off...

Sales tax rebates.  The Chicago Tribune's Kathy Bergen wrote an article about the effects of sales tax rebates on development in communities across our region.  It quotes CMAP's Matt Maloney and includes a chart from the GO TO 2040 plan's section on Reforming State and Local Tax Policy. 

Policy Updates.  Our latest post describes the need to invest wisely in water infrastructure.  We also wrote about the history of "modern" boulevards, which is a design strategy proposed by GO TO 2040 for the Central Lake County Corridor.  This is the first in a two-part series on visualizing modern boulevards. 
 

Other News and Announcements

Carpentersville LTA public meeting.  The Village of Carpentersville will kick off the work of developing a comprehensive plan for its Old Town Area with a public community meeting at Carpentersville Middle School (100 Cleveland Ave) on November 3 from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m.  CMAP is also looking for professional planners, architects, and others to participate in a planning charrette for the Village on Wednesday, November 16.  For more details or to RSVP by November 4, contact Erin Aleman (ealeman@cmap.illinois.gov or 312-386-8816).   Transportation and lunch will be provided for the November 16 event, for which space is limited.

CMAQ in the news.  Last week, the CMAP Board and MPO Policy committee voted on October 12, 2011, to approve the FY2012-16 Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement program (CMAQ).  The $411 million in federal transportation funds are being targeted to support the GO TO 2040 comprehensive regional plan's goals for reducing congestion and improving air quality.  Read more in the CMAP press release (along with lists of projects by county), as well as coverage from the Daily Herald, Northwest Herald, Algonquin Patch, Chicago Tribune, Red Eye, and My Suburban Life.  In other CMAP news coverage, the New Lenox Patch wrote about a grant the village is receiving through our Local Technical Assistance (LTA) program to revise its Route 30 corridor plan. 

CMAP on TV.  In case you missed it, you can also watch CMAP's Ricardo Lopez interview discussing CMAP, GO TO 2040, and the LTA program on the English-language edition of CAN-TV's Perspectivas Latinas.  We linked earlier to the Spanish version.

Budget comment periods.  The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) and Illinois Tollway have released their respective budget proposals for public comment. 

A4MC second round contest winners.  On October 17, Apps for Metro Chicago (A4MC) announced its second round of winners. The winning community app, IFindIt Chicago, helps the user connect low-income and homeless residents with important resources, such as food pantries, shelters, and medical clinics.  The competition's next round will focus on crime data-related apps. 
 

Innovation and competitiveness.  The second edition of the Illinois Innovation Index newsletter describes the 2011 Illinois Entrepreneurial Survey, which found "a sense of optimism" among local innovators.  The Chicago Tribune ran an item about the survey.  On a related note, Crain's Chicago Business had an excellent feature (including interactive graphics and a video) about how the business climate of Illinois outshines its neighbors'.  According to Crain's, despite the gloomy economy, businesses recognize our region's significant competitive and quality-of-life advantages.

Call for abstracts.  Abstracts will be accepted until October 31, 2011, for the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Midwestern District Conference and Transportation Research Board (TRB) 4th Urban Streets Symposium, to be held in Chicago on  June 24 to 27, 2012.  The program will include three days of presentations, technical tours, panel discussions, TRB committee meetings, small-group conversation circles covering a broad variety of topics, and the Annual Collegiate Traffic Bowl. 

CMAP Blogs

Green Signals.  CMAP’s transportation operations blog highlighted a draft report on system engineering for adaptive signal control technology (ASCT) systems.

Soles and Spokes. CMAP’s bike-ped planning blog featured the National Center for Safe Routes to School (NCSRTS) announcement of this year’s recipients of mini-grants, which are intended to encourage safe walking and bicycling to school. Among the 25 awardees was Sauganash Elementary School in Chicago for its “Move-It Monday” program. The City of Chicago also earned gold-level status in the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center (PBIC) Walk Friendly Communities (WFC) program. 

Reminders

Case study library.  CMAP has created 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).

GIS workshops.  CMAP offers a low-cost, introductory, hands-on ArcGIS 10 workshop.  The next two-day session will be November 30 to December 1, 2011.  Cost is $350 per person, which includes a manual.  Please contact Jan Drennan (jdrennan@cmap.illinois.gov or 312-386-8686) or David Clark (dcclark@cmap.illinois.gov or 312-386-8682).

Events

Norridge Planning Meeting
October 25, 2011
6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Estelle Sieb Community Center: 7774 W. Irving Park Road, Norridge
Hosted by the Village of Norridge and CMAP
More information

What's Happening with Retail? The Outlook for Sales Tax Income and Other Revenue in Suburban Communities
October 26, 2011
2:30 to 4:45 p.m.
DePaul's School of Public Service: 14 E. Jackson, Suite 1600, Chicago
Hosted by the Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
Register by October 24

Valley Industrial Association Fall Luncheon
GO TO 2040: The Urgency of Long-Range Planning
November 2, 2011
11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Hotel Arista: 2139 City Gate Lane, Naperville
More information

Congress of Cities and Expo
November 8 to 12, 2011
Phoenix, AZ
Hosted by the National League of Cities
More information