Randy Blankenhorn

Legislative Update.  Both chambers are scheduled for the veto session starting on Tuesday. As a reminder, because SB 1201 was approved by the Governor with an amendatory veto, for the bill to become law the General Assembly must either override the veto or accept the amendment. The process must start in the Senate, so we will be working with our legislative sponsors next week to take action, and hopefully our bill will become law . . . finally.

Regional comprehensive plan briefings. Since July, we've visited 26 groups to brief them on our strategy for developing the regional plan. The list includes councils of government, counties, the City of Chicago, universities, and partners like Metropolis 2020, the Metropolitan Planning Council, the Openlands Project, Chicago Wilderness, the Center for Neighborhood Technology, and the Congress for New Urbanism. There's always more outreach to do, so let Bob Dean (312-386-8834) know of any particular group that you think we should brief. I've been gratified by the support these partners have expressed for our planning process, and now we need to build on that as we begin next month to take our draft vision to the broader region.

Burnham update.  Several of us attended the latest Burnham Centennial partners' meeting on Monday at the DePaul Loop Campus. University president Rev. Dennis Holtschneider gave a welcome, mentioning DePaul's own VISION twenty12 plan (http://vision2012.depaul.edu/) and describing the inspiration he has found in Burnham's plan. Other speakers included Gerald Adelman of the Openlands Project and Melinda Pruett-Jones of Chicago Wilderness, both of whom talked about their organizations' projects that could play a role in the centennial celebrations. Centennial executive director Emily Harris unveiled the group's new logo (http://www.burnhamplan100.org/) and slogan: "Bold Plans. Big Dreams." Upcoming Burnham brownbag lunches on open-space conservation and youth engagement will be held, respectively, on October 31 and November 13 at AIA Chicago, 35 E. Wacker, Suite 250, Chicago. A day-long seminar on "Daniel Hudson Burnham and His Vision for Chicago" will be held on October 27 at the University of Chicago Gleacher Center, 450 N. Cityfront Plaza Dr., Chicago (registration is $100, and call 773-702-1722 or visit https://grahamschool.uchicago.edu for details).

Regional Water Supply Planning Group. The RWSPG held their monthly meeting this week. Its agenda included the proposed work plan that emphasizes an exploration of water-use conservation and efficiency measures that have been adopted elsewhere throughout the country. Three guest presenters held discussions of Illinois water laws and policies, with ideas for implementing water supply planning in both the current and possible legal environments. See http://www.chicagoareaplanning.org/watersupply/ for the latest details.

WLS-TV taping delayed. As mentioned last week, CMAP executive director Randy Blankenhorn was scheduled today for a taping of Channel 7's Newsviews, but it's postponed until next Thursday. (The governor requested the slot to tout the current casino proposal.) So instead of this Sunday, the segment with UIC's Joe DiJohn and Randy should air instead on Sunday, October 7, between 9:00 and 9:30 a.m.

Climate symposium. From noon to 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 18 at CMAP, the League of Women Voters will host a lunch-time panel presentation to kick off their four-day "Our Climate Matters" symposium. The event here at CMAP is called "Beyond Regulation: Engaging Corporate America in Addressing Climate Change." Regarding the overall symposium, see http://www.ourclimatematters.org for registration and program details. As part of the symposium, on Saturday, October 20 in Glenview, CMAP's Kerry Leigh will give a talk about our upcoming Climate Change Summit, which is scheduled for Tuesday, December 11.

Next Innovation + Integration Summit. Speaking of climate change, our next summit will be on "Creating a Regional Agenda to Address Climate Change." It is scheduled for December 11, 2007, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the University of Illinois at Chicago. See http://www.chicagoareaplanning.org/summit/ for more information and we will have more details in the near future. Contact Kerry Leigh (312-386-8704 or summit@cmap.illinois.gov).

Washington DC trip. Next week, I will make a quick but very full visit to DC, where he is scheduled to meet with over ten members of our congressional delegation. Over the summer, he met with the staff of our delegation in their district offices, so this will provide the chance to meet and introduce CMAP to many members of the delegation and the DC staff.

CMAP photo contest. There's still time to enter CMAP's amateur photo contest. See the CMAP web (http://www.chicagoareaplanning.org/photocontest) and contact Amy Talbot (312-386-8646 or atalbot@cmap.illinois.gov).