First Off...

Board meeting canceled. The CMAP Board will not meet in August. Its next scheduled meeting is at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, September 12.

Burnham Award for GO TO 2040. At the Metropolitan Planning Council's annual luncheon on Wednesday, CMAP Board Chairman Mayor Gerald Bennett of Palos Hills and I felt honored to accept, on behalf of so many partners, the Burnham Award for Excellence in Planning for the GO TO 2040 comprehensive regional plan. Congratulations to Frank Clark, former ComEd chairman and CEO, who received MPC's Jean Allard Regional Trailblazer Award for his commitment to regional collaboration. A video featuring the plan was shown at MPC's event, which highlighted the importance of cooperation between southeast Wisconsin, northeastern Illinois, and northwest Indiana, which Paula Worthington of the University of Chicago's Harris School of Public Policy wrote about for MPC's Connector blog.

Applications DUE WEDNESDAY for LTA 2012 call for projects. August 1, 2012, is the deadline of our second call for projects through the GO TO 2040 Local Technical Assistance (LTA) program. Municipalities, counties, multijurisdictional groups, or nongovernmental organizations (in partnership with local government) are encouraged to apply for CMAP staff assistance. For more information, please contact Pete Saunders (psaunders@cmap.illinois.gov or 312-386-8654). Applicants that would prefer to receive grant funds should consider applying for funding through CMAP's Community Planning program -- see http://rtachicago.com/community-planning/community-planning.html for more details.

Policy Updates. Innovations in technology-driven supply chain management and terminal and carrier operations, as well as "green" innovations, will play major roles in strengthening the potential of regional freight firms to position the cluster for sustained growth, as described in a Policy Update about our recently-released freight "drill-down" report. We also wrote about the July 2012 edition of the Illinois Innovation Index, which looked at the largest on-line job boards in the Chicago region to provide current metrics about regional labor supply and demand. And just now we posted an updated analysis of the FY13 State of Illinois budget.
 

Other News and Announcements

LTA in the news. The Herald-Spectator wrote about the Village of Niles effort to develop an Environmental Action Plan with help from our LTA program. The article quotes CMAP's Kristin Ihnchak. The Times Weekly also wrote about Plainfield's development of a transportation plan, which is funded by a Community Planning Program grant through our LTA program.

Updated case study map. The interactive GO TO 2040 Case Studies Library has been updated with new color categorization to align with our Working Committees. To suggest an exemplary project, contact Lindsay Banks (312-386-8826) or submit it on-line.

Local food chapter outline. The Successful Communities On-line Toolkit featured CMAP’s local food chapter outline, a resource for municipal planners to incorporate local food in their comprehensive plans. The chapter was developed as part of the Cook County Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW) initiative, which promotes healthy eating and active lifestyles.

Tri-State Alliance. The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce commissioned the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) "territorial review" of the Tri-State Chicago Metropolitan Region, including geographical areas of Wisconsin and Indiana. Now the Tri-State Alliance for Regional Development is being launched "to create and execute an implementation plan" for the OECD review’s recommendations.

Ike mythbusting. Chicago Tonight's "Ask Geoffrey Baer" this week addressed common misconceptions -- with fascinating photos from transportation historian Andy Plummer's www.cookexpressways.com -- about how the Eisenhower Expressway was built. That part of the video segment begins at the 2:30 mark. In case you missed it, last month the Sun-Times wrote about I-290's origins, too.

Trib on transportation. The Chicago Tribune's Jon Hilkevitch covered the new safety standards for public transit, including commuter, light, and heavy rail and transit buses established by the MAP-21 federal transportation bill. Jon recently wrote about technology to better interconnect traffic signals, describing Chicago Department of Transportation signal interconnect projects, many of which are funded with Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) funds programmed by CMAP.

Top transit suburbs. Where does your community rank among the region's top transit-oriented suburbs? See a new report by DePaul University's Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development, plus a related story in Chicago Magazine.

Grant-writing class. From September 13-14, 2012, Grant Writing USA will host a class on how to find and write grants at the Cook County Sheriff's Police Training Academy (2000 N. 5th Avenue, Building R, Room 304, River Grove) from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Register on-line.
 

CMAP Blogs

Green Signals. CMAP's transportation operations blog told readers about the Chicago Southland Fiber Network (CSFN) project.

Soles and Spokes. CMAP’s bicycle and pedestrian planning blog featured a new report from the Federal Railroad Administration, which provides design and implementation guidance on strategies and methods to prevent pedestrian incidents, injuries, and fatalities at or near passenger rail stations.

Reminders

EI2 rebates. Energy Impact Illinois (EI2) now has rebates to offer for a limited time. Single family homeowners can apply for up to $1,750 in rebates for qualifying energy efficiency measures. Call 855-9-IMPACT, website energyimpactillinois.org, or contact Emily Plagman at eplagman@cmap.illinois.gov.

2013 APA Conference Call for Local Sessions. As part of the American Planning Association's (APA) National Planning Conference to be held in Chicago from April 13-17, 2013, the Local Sessions Committee has the opportunity to present eight sessions highlighting planning and development in the Chicago region. The Call for Presentations deadline is August 3 at 5:00 p.m. (CT).

Metra strategic plan. Metra is developing a new strategic plan and is seeking input. Individuals can complete a short on-line survey through August 10.

Soles and Spokes workshop. On August 24, CMAP will host “Designing for Bicycle Safety,” a one-day overview of bikeway design and the new AASHTO Guide for the Development of Bicycle Facilities.

FLIP applications. Applications are available for our Future Leaders in Planning (FLIP) program. Through the program, high school sophomores, juniors, or seniors from throughout the region meet one Saturday per month to learn about the issues that shape our region’s economy and quality of life. For more information, contact Ricardo Lopez (rlopez@cmap.illinois.gov or 312-386-8766).

Events

ULI Chicago TAP Community Reception
August 1, 2012
6:00 to 7:00 p.m.
Parkwood Elementary School
2150 Laurel Avenue
Hanover Park, IL 60133 (Map)
More information

Alsip planning meeting
August 1, 2012
7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Alsip Village Hall: 4500 W. 123rd Street
Hosted by the Village of Alsip and CMAP
More information

Round Lake Heights planning meeting
August 7, 2012
6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Round Lake Middle School: 2000 Lotus Drive, Round Lake Heights
Hosted by the Village of Round Lake Heights and CMAP
More information

Designing for Bicycle Safety Soles and Spokes workshop
August 24, 2012
CMAP: 233 S. Wacker Drive, Suite 800, Chicago
Hosted by CMAP
More information