MPC urges City of Chicago to proceed with CivicNet - Metropolitan Planning Council

Skip to main content

MPC urges City of Chicago to proceed with CivicNet

Recent press highlights need to move forward with the telecommunications and economic development goals of CivicNet

CivicNet, first recommended to the City of Chicago in 1999 by the Metropolitan Planning Council, Northwestern University, and the Mayor's Council of Technology Advisors, has been stalled in a series of procurement procedures over the past three years.  In all, a Request for Information, Request for Qualifications and Request for Proposals have been released — all to positive responses from applicants seeking to provide expanded broadband services to the City of Chicago and related agencies.

Once thought of as primarily a means to attract high performance broadband infrastructure to all parts of the City, pooling the purchasing power of City agencies can also reduce overall expenses.  In particular, City staff have floated the idea of only moving forward with improving government services, and not addressing the "open network" that would encourage providers to seek opportunities to carry private traffic — particularly in areas that are underserved for telecommunications.

MPC Board member and Technology Working Group Chair Craig Watson spoke out in the press to encourage the City to move forward. On Dec. 12, 2003, Crain's Chicago Business printed a letter to the editor co-signed by Watson and MPC President MarySue Barrett.  The letter asserts "not a nickel of government spending would be used to support this "open network."  To the contrary, the volume generated by the open, private side of the network provides the incremental revenue that makes possible the reduced overall costs for government telecom services.  This is a win-win."

On Jan. 15, 2004, in an interview by Dave Lundy in the Chicago Sun -Times, Watson was asked, "how important is CivicNet to the economic vitality of the City?"  He answered: "on a 1 to 10 scale, I'd give it an 8+.  I mean it's not an issue for Boeing. But CivicNet is a huge issue for small businesses and technology companies that have to decide whether to stay in Chicago. If a company has to worry about whether they can send their designs across town, they're not going to stay."

MPC continues to work with City officials to restart this project. The Council is also seeking new ways of moving forward with CivicNet's key objectives, to ensure that the City:  1) uses taxpayer dollars efficiently; 2) along with related agencies have adequate services to conduct their business, which is increasingly dependent on broadband communications; and 3) seeks ways to encourage providers to provide needed infrastructure in underserved areas that are ripe for economic development and job creation.

MPC on Twitter

Follow us on Twitter »


Stay in the loop!

MPC's Regionalist newsletter keeps you up to date with our work and our upcoming events.?

Subscribe to Regionalist


Most popular news

Browse by date »

This page can be found online at http://archive.metroplanning.org/news/3176

Metropolitan Planning Council 140 S. Dearborn St.
Suite 1400
Chicago, Ill. 60603
312 922 5616 info@metroplanning.org

Sign up for newsletter and alerts »

Shaping a better, bolder, more equitable future for everyone

For more than 85 years, the Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC) has partnered with communities, businesses, and governments to unleash the greatness of the Chicago region. We believe that every neighborhood has promise, every community should be heard, and every person can thrive. To tackle the toughest urban planning and development challenges, we create collaborations that change perceptions, conversations—and the status quo. Read more about our work »

Donate »