Table of Contents

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

First Off... 

CMAP meetings. At 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, June 9, 2010, the CMAP Board will meet. Click here for Board meeting materials. At 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, June 10, the MPO Policy Committee will meet. Click here for those materials.

McHenry County plan.  The magazine McHenry County Living has a feature describing the county's new long-range plan.  Having grown up there, I was happy to be interviewed by reporter Marla Pendergrast about a part of the region where much of my family lives.  The County should be applauded for their new plan, which is just the type of forward-looking process that GO TO 2040 seeks to encourage throughout the region. 

Bronzeville campaign.  This week the Bronzeville Community Development Partnership (BCDP) announced a new phase in its cultural tourism campaign, entitled "Creating the New Promise."  A participant in CMAP's Full Circle community mapping and planning project, BDCP identifies sites with historic significance and other locations that can be marketed to attract businesses.

Events

DuPage open house.  Watch for details next week about the GO TO 2040 draft plan and its public comment period that lasts from June 11 to August 6, 2010.  The first of our 10 public open houses this summer will be June 15, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., at the DuPage County Government Center Auditorium, 421 N. County Farm Rd., Wheaton, IL, 60187.  Visit www.goto2040.org/haveyoursay for the other dates and locations.

Green webinar. CMAP is hosting a webinar, "What Does Green Mean?  Recognizing the Real Deal in Products, Processes, and Purchasing" on Tuesday, July 6, 2010, at 10:00 a.m. Participants will learn how to tell when products are truly green versus those just claiming to be (greenwashing), as well as about an innovative green firm and a regional web resource to help find the products you're looking for.  A link to register will be available shortly. For more information, contact Lori Heringa (312-386-8621 or lheringa@cmap.illinois.gov).

Verde event.  Greenheart, a nonprofit fair trade store and the Center for Cultural Interchange are hosting Living La Vida Verde on Saturday, June 19, 2010, starting at 10:00 a.m.  The free event begins with a Beach Cleanup on Chicago’s Oak Street Beach, followed by several eco-urban workshops including Cooking with Local Cuisine, Green Smoothies for Health, Indoor Composting, and more.  For more information, contact Amy Talbot (atalbot@cmap.illinois.gov or 312-386-8646).
 

News and Other Announcements

Chicago Now.  There's a mention of our GO TO 2040 strategy paper on waterway management in this item at Chicago Now about the week's news regarding the Chicago River. 

Freight bottlenecks.  The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has announced a new tool to help transportation planners, operators, shippers, and others monitor significant freight bottlenecks, as shown in this map by the American Transportation Research Institute.  An important GO TO 2040 recommendation is that the federal government needs a coordinated vision for freight, of which metropolitan Chicago is the nation's crucial hub.

CMAP Blogs

Soles and Spokes.  This week, CMAP’s bike-ped blog described the efforts of the City of Wheaton to become more bike-friendly by developing a bike plan. The city will hold a public meeting to get resident input on the draft bike plan next week. We also alerted readers to CDOT and the Chicago Police Department’s efforts to increase pedestrian safety, as well as awareness of and adherence to the law, through a crosswalk enforcement initiative. Finally, we announced a new White House report, Solving the Problem of Childhood Obesity within a Generation, which is part of the First Lady’s Let’s Move! campaign.

GO TO 2040 blog. We featured a photo of the former Joliet Army Ammunition Plant as it’s being taken over by the plants of the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie in Will County.

Reminders

Great Places contest.  Through July 26, you can enter the "What Makes Your Place Great? Your Secret Corner of Chicagoland" contest.  Send a photo or video and short description (250 words) of your favorite "undiscovered" space in the region to placemakingchicago@metroplanning.org.  Four winners will get special prizes from the Brookfield Zoo, Chicago History Museum, Shedd Aquarium, or Chicago Architecture Foundation.  See www.placemakingchicago.com for more, or contact the Metropolitan Planning Council's Karin Sommer (312-863-6044 or ksommer@metroplanning.org).

Municipal survey.  We are still accepting responses to the CMAP 2010 Municipal Plans, Programs, and Operations Surveys.  See a map of 133 responding communities to date, representing 74 percent of the region's total population.  Questionnaires may be submitted via mail, fax, email, or on the web.  To begin, please visit www.cmap.illinois.gov/cmapmunisurvey.aspx.  For assistance, please contact Sandy Perpignani (312-386-8648 or sperpignani@cmap.illinois.gov).