CMAP meetings.  The Board met this week and welcomed new member Mayor Rick Reinbold, mayor of the Village of Richton Park. He is replacing Zenovia Evans on the board, representing the south Cook suburbs. He was also appointed and will serve as the suburban Cook County member on the Wastewater Committee. The focus of this month’s meeting was on federal surface transportation reauthorization. Staff presented CMAP’s reauthorization policy goals, a summary of the current status of the bill and other organizations’ position on the current bill and reauthorization. Following a discussion, the Board endorsed the reauthorization policy goals as outlined, and directed the staff to move forward with developing a strategy to accomplish these goals by building national coalitions with other major metropolitan areas and cities, while working with our regional partners, our congressional delegation. and national organizations.

Staff also presented an update on the status of programming and obligation of transportation projects funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and those non-transportation related programs that we are assisting in programming and coordinating throughout the region. Additionally, the Board reviewed the annual report and received the finalized FY 2010 Comprehensive Budget.

Both coordinating committees met prior to the Board. The Programming Coordinating Committee discussed the Northeastern Illinois Regional Greenways and Trails Plan update and requested that staff make minor changes to the document before recommending its approval to the Board at its October meeting. The committee also discussed the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ) and the FY 2007-2012 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) Amendments and Regional Transportation Plan/TIP Conformity Analysis. All materials can be found here. The Planning Coordinating Committee focused on the results of the public engagement activities, the Invent the Future phase of GO TO 2040, that occurred this summer. Staff also gave the committee an overview of the next step in the process, the development of the preferred scenario. These materials and more information can be found here.

One phase ends.  Yesterday marked the official end of this summer's Invent the Future phase of public input. CMAP is indebted to its partners and especially to the thousands of residents who took the time to have their say at 57 workshops, on the web at www.goto2040.org, via multimedia kiosks, and at community fairs and festivals across the region. Visit the GO TO 2040 Idea Zone page to learn the many ways for people to stay involved in planning a brighter future.

Another begins.  Now we are on a fast track to finalize the Preferred Regional Scenario that will be presented to the CMAP Board for approval in January. Don't forget to see and comment on our sample scenarios, as the preferred one will likely be an amalgam of those three (based on input from the public and on our extensive strategy research). Refer to our GO TO 2040 planning process document for a timeline that we've stuck to since September 2007 and that is leading toward October 2010, when the plan will be finalized and its all-important implementation will begin.

Regional Snapshots.  The two latest reports in CMAP's Regional Snapshot series have been published. Read about Air Quality and the Jobs-Housing Balance.

Annual report.  Our FY09 annual report is now on the web.

Recovery blog.  See this week's blog entry on developments in Neighborhood Stabilization Program funding, including NSP technical assistance grant award winners and information on the NSP2 application submitted by the CMAP-led Chicago Metropolitan Neighborhood Stabilization Consortium. Illinois’s recovery website also has new great interactive maps to track stimulus spending. Governor Quinn also backed Illinois’ Smart Grid Collaboration, which was detailed on our blog on September 1. And yesterday the Council of Economic Advisors released its initial quarterly report on the economic impact of ARRA in its first sixth months -- be watching our recovery blog for more details.

Stimulus in the news.  The Chicago Tribune reports that Illinois will be receiving $2.8 million in stimulus funds for two forest health protection projects in Cook and Kane counties. Work on the northern section of the Blue Line is completed, reports the Chicago Sun-Times, so get ready for stimulus-funded improvements to move south. Most weekends, buses will replace subway service between Clark/Lake and UIC-Halsted stations. NPR reports that our region will be one of the frontrunners for competitive grants totaling $8 billion for the development of high-speed rail.

2-1-1 Community Forums.  In collaboration with the United Way of Illinois and Illinois Alliance of Information and Referral Systems (AIRS), CMAP is conducting a series of community forums to give interested parties an opportunity to ask questions and find out more about 2-1-1 operations. 2-1-1 phone systems are available in 47 other states and serve as an easy to remember phone number that connects individuals with resources in their community. They also serve as a critical tool in times of disaster. Illinois is one of the last links in the nationwide 2-1-1 network still to be developed. Recently, the Governor signed the 2-1-1 Service Act, which in combination with the 2-1-1 planning process will enable the implementation of a 2-1-1 system in Illinois in the near future. There will be three community forums in the CMAP region: September 29 in Elgin, September 30 at CMAP, and October 1 in Tinley Park. Each forum is from 10:00 a.m. to noon. Click here to RSVP, or contact CMAP's Russell J. Pietrowiak at rpietrowiak@cmap.illinois.gov.

Orange, Red, Yellow line extensions.  The CTA will hold scoping meetings related to extending the Orange (September 21, at Hancock College Preparatory High School), Red (September 22 at Historic Pullman Visitor Center and September 24 at Woodson Regional Chicago Public Library), and Yellow (September 23 at Oakton Community Center) lines. Each meeting is from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Future City contest.  The annual National Engineers Week Future City Competition each year invites middle school students nationwide to create cities of tomorrow. The competition encourages interest in math, science and engineering through hands-on applications. Registration deadline for Chicago-area schools is October 15, 2009. Contact regional coordinator Don Wittmer at (312-930-9119 or dwittmer@hntb.com). See www.futurecity.org or www.futurecitychicago.org for detailed information on the competition.

Burnham film.  CMAP is a partner in the Chicago Public Library’s "One Book, One Chicago" program. They're hosting a series of screenings of the new Burnham documentary, "Make No Little Plans: Daniel Burnham and the American City." Click here for the trailer. See it next Wednesday, September 15, at 6:00 p.m. at the Harold Washington Library Center, Cindy Pritzker Auditorium, 400 S. State Street.

APA conference reminder.  Tuesday is the last day to pre-register for the Upper Midwest Planning Conference, September 24-26, 2009 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago.

In the GO TO 2040 blog.  We recapped recent Invent the Future workshops from the Shedd Aquarium, Cicero, and the Will County Center for Economic Development.