Table of Contents

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

First Off...

CMAP Board recap. The Board met on Wednesday. Highlights of the agenda included a draft of the Fiscal Year 2011 Comprehensive Budget, including the agency’s proposed work plan, and a recap of the GO TO 2040 process thus far. The draft of the GO TO 2040 plan will be discussed at the Board’s next meeting and will be available for public comment on June 11. Comments will be accepted through August 6, 2010.

The Planning Coordinating Committee heard about CMAP's new website, a preview of which will be available when the draft GO TO 2040 plan is posted for comment next month. We're excited about developing new web tools and content to help us inspire and interact with the public and implementers of the plan. The preview you'll see in June is just the beginning, as we build momentum toward GO TO 2040's anticipated adoption in October.

DuPage. Thanks to the DuPage County Board for inviting me to speak with them on Tuesday about GO TO 2040. We appreciate the very active participation of county staff, who are an important part of our committee structure. This was a great opportunity to tell the County Board about our planning process and about the roles in implementing the comprehensive regional plan. The Naperville Sun covered the presentation.

Municipal survey deadline extended. We are very grateful to the 105 municipalities that have responded so far to our 2010 Municipal Plans, Programs, and Operations Survey. Your efforts are appreciated, and the info you provide will contribute significantly to the Regional Indicators website CMAP will launch this fall in partnership with the Chicago Community Trust. Click here to view a map showing municipalities that have already returned their surveys. The deadline has been extended through May 31, 2010, to accommodate the busy schedules of our municipal partners. Questionnaires may be submitted via mail, fax, email, or on the web. To begin, please visit www.cmap.illinois.gov/cmapmunisurvey.aspx.
 

Events

Water 2050 webinar. The Lake Michigan Watershed Academy is offering a free webinar on May 26 from 10:00 a.m. to noon, featuring CMAP's Tim Loftus, who will describe the Water 2050 regional water supply/demand plan for northeastern Illinois. Registration is required.

CSS webinar. On May 18, ContextSensitiveSolutions.org (CSS) will host a webinar, "Using CSS to Help Transportation Investments Foster Livability." Registration is open, and the webinar will be held from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. Central time.

Youth conference. The Young Planners Network (YPN) fourth annual conference will take place on the University of Illinois at Chicago campus from June 10 to 13. This is a great opportunity for high school youth interested in planning. Registration fees range from $25 for one day to $275 for three days, including student housing for youth and meals. Conference activities include mobile workshops (tours) on Friday, interactive classroom workshops on Saturday, a film festival, and an open mic night.

Other News and Announcements

Energy efficiency funds. The Metropolitan Mayors Caucus recently issued a request for applications (RFA) for Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant funds for all non-entitlement municipalities and counties in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties. The RFA is open to municipalities with populations under 35,000 and counties with populations under 200,000. Click here for a list of eligible communities. The funds can be used for energy efficiency building retrofits, energy audits, building code development and enforcement, and traffic signals and streetlights. Applications are due by June 11. For more information, contact Kate Agasie (312-201-4508 or kagasie@mayorscaucus.org).

Regional collaboration. Business Week published an article about benefits and impediments related to regional collaboration here and elsewhere in the U.S. CMAP's Lee Deuben is quoted in the article.

CHA family housing. For the first time in ten years, the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) is accepting applications to join its Family Housing Wait List. To be eligible, participants must register online between June 14 and July 9. CHA will host several information sessions to spread the word about this opportunity.

Green teens. A FLIP alumna, Lynda Lopez, wrote an interesting article for the Chicago Tribune's teen publication, The Mash, about local high school teens and their work to "go green." Another FLIP alumna, Marilyn Janisch, is quoted.

New jobs program. On April 26, Governor Pat Quinn unveiled a new program, Put Illinois to Work (PIW), to create more than 15,000 jobs. Participants will be paid $10 per hour in subsidized employment positions for six months, through which they will gain job skills. Businesses can sign up now to become PIW employers; there is no cost to participate. Individuals can sign up now to become worker-trainees.

Energy Star rebates. Consumers who took advantage of the Illinois Energy Star Rebate Program can qualify for additional rebates by recycling their old, inefficient appliances. Individuals must apply by June 4 for the $75 recycling rebate, and forms are available at the program webpage.

Farm to Schools Survey. Would you like to see more locally grown food in local schools and other institutions? Take this Illinois Farm to School Survey to provide ideas and opinions on how to get local food served to children while providing ready markets for Illinois farmers.

Congratulations, CW. Chicago Wilderness was awarded the Chicago Horticultural Society's and Chicago Botanic Garden's 2010 Hutchinson Medal in recognition of CW's educational and conservation initiatives in northeastern Illinois and beyond.

DOT wants your votes. The U.S. Department of Transportation published its Strategic Plan for 2010-2015 online and is requesting public input. This is a good example of Open Government initiatives, and the webpage encourages you to review and comment on the plan, as well as vote on other reviewers' ideas.

CMAP Blogs

GO TO 2040. On Monday, we featured a stunning photo of the Frank Lloyd Wright designed lobby of the Rookery, a building originally designed by Daniel Burnham and John Root. We also blogged about the final presentation from FLIP's Economic Development team. Diana Torres conducted another interview for our My 2040 series with Keith Cerk and Barbara Waller, senior and associate pastors from the First Baptist Church in Waukegan.

Recovery blog. The latest CMAP Economic Recovery Update came out this week, which featured a case study on two new green workforce development programs in the City of Chicago. We will be transitioning it to a monthly newsletter that will expand beyond the Recovery Act in content. The next newsletter will come out June 9, 2010, and more information and a survey on what subject matter readers would like to see included in the new newsletter will be posted on our Recovery blog in the coming weeks. We also blogged about Snapshot Reports that are now available for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program.

Soles and Spokes. CMAP's bike-ped blog linked to a video (with some great animation!) about the "cycle tracks," which the City of Portland (as well as some other cities around the country) are currently installing and testing out. We alerted readers to an upcoming three-day online conference on pedestrian access, as well as an APBP-sponsored webinar designed help participants find ways to engage and work with law enforcement to achieve greater and safer levels of walking and bicycling. Finally, the blog pointed to a new study indicating that recent immigrants are much more likely to ride bikes than native-born or long-resident immigrants.

Reminders

FLIP applications due in two weeks. Applications for Future Leaders in Planning (FLIP), a program offered free of charge for high school students interested in learning about and contributing to a better future for our region, are still being accepted for the next two weeks. The 2009-2010 FLIP session was extremely successful and high school students created guide books to help implement GO TO 2040 strategies. Take a minute to visit FLIP's updated web page to see final presentation videos. CMAP will be accepting 2010-2011 FLIP applications through Friday, May 28. Please pass the applications along to any potentially interested high schoolers (or their families and teachers).

A Day for Zach. Jack and Manjula Pfingston invite you to "A Day for Zach," a charity golf outing and luncheon on Monday, June 28, at Seven Bridges Golf Club in Woodridge. Proceeds will benefit the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Chicago (EFGC) and its week-long "Camp Blackhawk" for children and teens with epilepsy, in memory of Zach Pfingston who attended the camp and counted golf among his many sporting interests. See www.cmap.illinois.gov/zach/.