Randy Blankenhorn

CMAP meetings.  The CMAP Board will meet at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 12.  Click here for the Board agenda and materials. Prior to the Board meeting, the Planning Coordinating Committee will meet at 8:00 a.m.  Click here for the Planning materials.  At 11:00 a.m. or immediately after the Board meeting, the Executive Committee will meet.  Click here for the Executive Committee agenda.  All three meetings are in the CMAP offices, Suite 800 of Sears Tower, 233 S. Wacker Drive in Chicago.

Illinois Works Coalition.  This week the governor appointed former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert and SIU president Glenn Poshard to co-chair the campaign to fund a capital program for the State of Illinois.  The Illinois Works Coalition is a bi-partisan effort to pass a proposed $25 billion capital improvement program infrastructure in schools, roads, bridges, airports and transit systems.  Since 2006, the CMAP Board has been on-record in support of such a program.

Safe Routes to School.  IDOT has posted its list of awards for the statewide Safe Routes to School Program.  Northeastern Illinois appears to have received about 50 percent of the program awards.  See http://www.dot.il.gov/press/Final2007funding.xls and read the press release for details.

Linking Watersheds Conference.  Save the date of Tuesday, April 22, 2008 for a full-day, interactive conference on issues relevant to the watersheds in northeastern Illinois, northwestern Indiana, and southeastern Wisconsin. Building on the collaborative network of Chicago Wilderness and the ecosystem partnerships, this program will bring together managers, scientists, educators and others to share information, discuss challenges, and promote models to advance cooperative and collaborative watershed projects in our region.  Sponsors include Tallgrass Restoration, LLC, Christopher B. Burke Engineering, Ltd., and Cowhey Gudmundson Leder, Ltd.  The location is Northern Illinois University's Hoffman Estates campus.  See http://foxriverecosystem.org/conference.htm for details, or contact Becky Hoag at 630-482-9157 or foxriverinfo@comcast.net.

Cook-DuPage Corridor public input.  From March 10-18, 2008, the RTA will hold a series of five public meetings to share information and obtain public input on a new transportation proposal in the western suburbs that would greatly expand commute options.  After two years of developing the Cook-DuPage Corridor concept plans, a committee of elected county and municipal officials recently approved a scenario of eight transportation improvements to advance for more detailed analysis. The recommended improvements are designed to help increase mobility in the heavily congested Cook-DuPage Corridor. The committee also laid out a set of actions and policies to define the next steps.  See http://www.cook-dupagecorridor.com for details, including an interactive map of the proposed corridor.   Please note that people do not have to attend the public meetings to comment;  see http://www.cook-dupagecorridor.com/getting_involved.html for a comment form. Public comments will be accepted through March 31, 2008.

Chicago Matters: Growing Forward.  Now in its 18^th year, Chicago’s award-winning multimedia public affairs series, Chicago Matters: Growing Forward was launched this week to examine how the choices we make today impact our environment and the future of our region.  All of the topics that will be covered in the series are important and integral to the work of CMAP.  Please see http://www.chicagomatters.org for the programming list and more information.