The City of Chicago Heights is located 30 miles south of Chicago between Flossmoor, Homewood, South Chicago Heights, and Olympia Fields giving the City its nickname, "Crossroads of the Nation." The City's rich history and diverse population have made it a center for economic and ethnic diversity, reflected in the variety of neighborhoods.  Chicago Heights offers residents and newcomers opportunities for a bright future through real estate, education, parks and recreation, strong institutional services, and convenient access to major highways.

 

Building on these assets, CMAP's Local Technical Assistance (LTA) program is now helping the City create a comprehensive plan that will provide a roadmap for reaching the community's long-term physical, socioeconomic, and cultural goals. The Chicago Heights Comprehensive Plan will contain policies and action steps to help elected and appointed officials plan for the sustainable growth of the community. The plan will address a range of topics including but not limited to land use and development, economic growth, open space programming, infrastructure improvements, and image and identity.

 

The planning process will include three phases with public input as a key component of each phase. The first phase will involve a thorough analysis of the existing conditions within the community using information gathered through one-on-one stakeholder interviews, steering committee meetings, focus group workshops, public meetings, review of previous studies, and available demographic and economic data.   Phase two will focus on creating a vision for the future of Chicago Heights by identifying goals and objectives based on findings from the phase one analysis and a public visioning workshop.  The final phase will combine efforts from previous phases to create the Comprehensive Plan document containing policies, programs, and action steps to be undertaken in order to achieve the community's future vision for Chicago Heights. 

Several opportunities for the public to participate were part of the planning process. A public kick-off meeting was held on July 24, 2013, to learn about the key issues and concerns residents and stakeholders would like the Chicago Heights Comprehensive Plan to address. A public visioning workshop was held on November 13, 2013, at the Chicago Heights Park District in order to develop a vision statement for the Chicago heights Comprehensive Plan. A public open house to review the final draft plan and provide feedback before it is recommended for adoption by the City Board was held on Wednesday, February 18, 2015.