The Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act provides a suballocation of Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) funding to the CMAP urbanized area from funds apportioned to the State of Illinois for a broad range of eligible transportation projects. Due in part to the broad project eligibilities, historic practices, and differing subregional emphases on the individual priorities of ON TO 2050, the MPO Policy Committee has delegated STP programming authority to the regional Councils of Mayors and City of Chicago. 

The distribution of funding and programming procedures are outlined in an agreement between the Council of Mayors and City of Chicago that was updated and endorsed by the MPO Policy Committee and CMAP Board on October 11, 2017. This agreement established a shared fund for accomplishing large regional projects, and made changes to the local council and City of Chicago distribution of funding and programming methodologies to place more emphasis on Performance-Based Programming decisions and accomplishment of the goals of ON TO 2050.

An STP Project Selection Committee is also called for in the agreement. The committee meets as needed to establish and manage the STP Shared Fund methodology and program.  On September 25, 2018, the committee approved STP Active Program Management Policies. To ensure that all communities within the region have reasonable access to federal funds without an undue burden caused by lack of resources for required local matching funds, on November 28, 2018, the committee approved a Policy for the use of TDCH for STP funded projects.

The shared fund was established for the purpose of supporting larger-scale regional projects that address regional performance measures and the goals of ON TO 2050. The programming authority distributed to the shared fund is derived from a set-aside of the region’s annual allotment of STP-L funds. Project selection is a region-wide competitive process overseen by the STP Project Selection Committee.

Project eligibility is focused on projects of significant cost and multijurisdictional projects in eight categories that address federal performance measures and priorities of ON TO 2050: bicycle and pedestrian barrier elimination, bus speed improvements, bridge rehabilitation or reconstruction, highway/rail grade crossing improvements, road reconstruction, road expansion, corridor or small area safety, transit station improvements (including bicycle and pedestrian access to stations), and truck route improvements. Evaluation criteria are intended to emphasize the desire to bring projects to completion, address needs with cost-effective improvements, and implement planning factors that are an integral part of ON TO 2050, while also considering local preferences at the subregional level.

A call for projects to be implemented with the STP Shared Fund in federal fiscal years 2022-2026 closed on March 5, 2021.

The current FFY 2020-2024 program of projects was approved by the CMAP Board and MPO Policy Committee on October 10, 2019.  The most recent status of both the active and contingency programs are below.

STP - Shared Fund Status Reports - August 2021

• Active Program
• Contingency Program

Regional Accounting Summaries

In order for all councils and the Shared Fund to be able to make the best active reprogramming choices, an accounting of available, programmed, and obligated funds is maintained for the region.  This accounting also includes actual and projected redistribution of unobligated funds and the use of those funds by councils and shared fund projects. This accounting is updated continuously and will be published at least quarterly and at key active program management action points, such as when obligation deadline extensions are considered each spring.

• August 2021
• June 2021
• March 2021
• January 2021

Application summaries, evaluation results, public comment and other program development information for the FFY 2020 - 2024 program is available in the program development history section below.

STP-Shared Fund Resources

Active Program Management Policies

Project Manager Designation Form (Word | PDF)

STP-Shared Fund Contingency Program Confirmation Form (Word | PDF)

STP-Shared Fund Schedule Change Request Form (Word)

Quarterly Status Update Form for projects processed through IDOT and FHWA (Excel)

Quarterly Status Update Form for projects processed through FTA (Excel)

Quarterly Status Update Form Instructions (PDF) Revised 10/13/2020

Each local Council of Mayors and the City of Chicago administer an STP local program according to locally established methodologies. Local agencies that wish to participate in the STP local program must do so through their designated subregional council, according to the methodology of that council. Every local methodology includes regional planning factors and must be administered according to the region’s Active Program Management policies. Links to the methodologies are provided below, along with links to each council's current program of projects.

City of Chicago (contact: Grant Davis)

Approved Active and Contingency programs

CDOT STP Project Selection Guidelines and Scoring Criteria

Central Council (contact: Michael Fricano)

Approved Active and Contingency programs

WCMC Transportation web page | Central Council STP Guidebook

DuPage Council (contact: Daniel Knickelbein)

Approved programs: Active | Contingency

DMMC STP web page | DMMC STP Handbook

Kane/Kendall Council (contact: Troy Simpson)

Approved programs: Active | Contingency

KKCOM STP Program web page | KKCOM STP Methodology | Programming Policies and Procedures

Lake Council (contact: Mike Klemens)

Approved Active and Contingency programs

Lake Council web page | STP Guidebook

McHenry Council (contact: Planning Liaison)

Approved Active and Contingency programs

STP Program web page | STP Project Selection & Programming Procedures

North Central Council (contact: Len Cannata)

Approved Active and Contingency programs

More information: WCMC Transportation web page | STP Methodology

North Shore Council (contact: Eric Czarnota)

Approved Active and Contingency programs

Council web page | STP Project Selection Methodology

Northwest Council (contact: Kendra Johnson)

Approved Active and Contingency programs

Council web page | Northwest Council STP Handbook>

South Council (contact: Leslie Phemister)

Approved programs: Active | Contingency

STP web page | STP Project Selection & Programming Process

Southwest Council (contact: Brittany Matyas)

Approved programs: Active and Contingency

SCM Transportation Committee web page | STP Policies and Procedures

Will Council (contact: Andrew Kiefaber)

Approved Active and Contingency programs

STP-L Resources web page |WCGL STP Methodology Guidebook

On December 27, 2020, Title IV of the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSAA) was enacted. As detailed in IDOT Circular Letter 2021-13, this Act included a local government component that resulted in the allocation of $42,647,247 to be programmed and managed by CMAP. The federal requirements for the use of these funds is similar to the requirements for STP funds, therefore CMAP has distributed programming authority to the region’s councils of mayors, CDOT, and the STP Project Selection Committee utilizing the same performance-based distribution formula that is used for STP funding.

CMAP has also developed the guidance linked below for selecting individual projects to be funded with CRRSAA and for actively managing these projects. In order to maximize the impact of these funds on the region’s recovery from the Coronavirus pandemic and ensure that funds are obligated prior to sunsetting, project selection will balance consideration of the amount of funds available, project readiness, and implementing projects that have a meaningful innovation, equity and safety impact on the region’s ongoing recovery efforts.  The region will seek to advance projects from existing STP programs into the current federal fiscal year. Existing methodologies for determining project eligibility and programming limits will be followed with reliance on the region's strong active program management policies and procedures to ensure timely obligation of these limited funds.

Guidance for the Programming and Active Program Management of CRRSAA funds

FFY 2022-2026 Local STP and Local CRRSAA Programming Marks
The programming marks for councils and CDOT were updated on August 18, 2021.

IDOT Letting Schedule
The current IDOT letting schedule (updated 8/9/21) includes the federal authorization dates for projects.  

Federal Aid Designation
CMAP has prepared a workbook to assist municipalities and council of mayors in having a route redesignated to obtain federal aid eligibility status. This workbook and other federal-aid route information is available by clicking here.

APM Clarification and Guidance
February 22, 2021: Active Program Management clarification and guidance for considering cost increases on STP-Local projects let or authorized between October 1, 2017 and September 30, 2020.  (PDF)

FFY 2020 - 2024 STP Shared Fund Applications

Listing of Applications for CMAQ, TAP-L and STP-Shared Fund

Project Evaluation Scores

The STP - Shared Fund scoring was available for applicant review through Wednesday, June 19, 2019.  Following the receipt of applicant comments, scores were adjusted to determine all projects’ final ranking, which was used to develop the staff recommended active and contingency programs above. 

All submitted applications were reviewed in all appropriate project categories, regardless of eligibility determination for a preliminary score. Upon completion of the preliminary scoring, projects that did not meet eligibility criteria were removed, along with all lower-scoring instances of each project that was scored in multiple categories. The need and improvement scores, which are calculated relative to all applications within each project type, were adjusted based on the final set of highest scoring eligible projects to determine the STP - Shared Fund Scoring.  Details of the scoring and evaluation process are available in the Scoring Documentation.

STP - Shared Fund Final Scoring (July 11, 2019)

Scoring Documentation

STP - Shared Fund Scoring (June 10, 2019)

STP - Shared Fund Preliminary Scoring (June 10, 2019)
(includes ineligible projects and multi-category evaluations)

Public Comment

Comments received on the FFY 2020-2024 STP - Shared Fund Recommended Program:

Comments regarding the Homewood Metra Station (A-F) (PDF | 2.6MB)

Comments regarding the Homewood Metra Station (G-K) (PDF | 1.9MB)

Comments regarding the Homewood Metra Station (L-Z) (PDF | 3.7MB)

All other comments (PDF | 18.7MB)

Recommended Program of Projects

FFY 2020-2024 STP - Shared Fund Recommended Programs (PDF)

FFY 2020-2024 STP - Shared Fund Recommended Programs (Excel)

The recommended program of seventeen projects totaling over $196 million, was developed by applying the technical methodology adopted by the STP Project Selection Committee to evaluate and score projects based on their readiness, regional transportation impact, and support of regional planning factors. Funds were programmed for the highest scoring projects by the phase and fiscal year requested within the fiscal constraints of each program year. If a request could not be fully accommodated, funds were either programmed in a later year or the project was not recommended for funding. The STP Project Selection Committee also requested comments on this programming process, including consideration for developing a revised recommendation that would offer partial funding to projects that were not recommended in the draft program because they could not be fully funded. This approach would increase funding for higher ranked projects as long as their sponsors agree to provide additional local funding, and would reduce funding available for lower ranked projects.

Approved Programs

At the conclusion of public comment and committee review, these programs were approved by the CMAP Board and MPO Policy Committee on October 10, 2019.

FFY 2020-2024 CMAQ and FFY 2020-2022 TAP-L Programs

FFY 2020-2024 STP-Shared Fund Program