Story ideas on MPC issues
A+ Illinois Builds Momentum for Education Reform Rally, New Legislation
A+ Illinois, a campaign for
comprehensive school-funding and property tax reform co-led by the Metropolitan
Planning Council, is helping to generate what’s anticipated to be an impressive
turnout for a school-funding reform rally in
Springfield
on Wednesday, May 18.
At the event, organized by Better
Funding for Better Schools, school-funding reform supporters by the bus- and
car-loads – including individuals and members of Service Employees International
Union (SEIU), Chicago Urban League, and other members of A+ Illinois – will
descend upon the State Capitol, donning school-bus yellow T-shirts and carrying
the message that comprehensive reform is needed this session. They’ll meet up
with participants of Chicago Public Schools’ “Fund Our Schools” bus tour, which
will culminate in Springfield on May 18 after a three-day itinerary that kicked
off in downtown Chicago on May 16 and featured stops in Rockford, Geneseo, the
Quad Cities, Galesburg, Quincy, and Collinsville.
The rally falls just days after
the Senate Higher Education Committee passed House Bill 755, senate amendment 2,
legislation to reduce property taxes and provide more money for schools by
raising personal and corporate income taxes. The consensus bill strikes a
compromise between previous bills proposed by Sens. Rick Winkel (R-Urbana) and
James Meeks (I-Chicago).
“House Bill 755 is a positive step and shows bipartisan
Senate leadership toward making school funding and property tax reform a
reality,” said Bindu Batchu, A+ Illinois campaign manager. “The bill meets
important A+ Illinois’ principles, including raising the education foundation
level to adequacy and reducing the over-reliance on the property tax to fund our
schools. However, HB755 must be strengthened by targeting the tax relief to
communities most in need and confronting Illinois’ structural deficit, which
legislators must address because the state’s fiscal well-being determines
crucial supports for children and families.”
MPC contact: Bindu
Batchu, A+ Illinois campaign manager
312.863.6014 or bbatchu@metroplanning.org
Contact: Mike Vaughn, Deputy Communications Director, Chicago
Public Schools
773.553.1624 or mvaughn@cps.k12.il.us
Business Leaders Say Expanded Regional Transit Service Makes Dollars and
Sense
Media reports have covered the
plight of transit-dependent workers and owners of small businesses located near
commuter lines who will be devastated come “doomsday” if the Illinois General
Assembly fails to find funding for the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA). A story
that’s gotten less ink is how sustained operating and capital shortfalls at all
three service providers – Metra, Pace and CTA – will deal a crushing blow to the
entire region’s economic well-being.
Business leaders such as John A. Buck, chairman and CEO
of The John Buck Company; John Gates, co-chairman of CenterPoint Properties;
Edward H. King, director of government and community relations of Walgreens Co.;
and J. Stanley Pepper, managing director of Green Products, are calling on state
leaders to earmark adequate funding not only to maintain, but also to increase transit
service to all parts of the region, particularly job-rich areas.
“Public transit is a major selling
point that attracts business to this region,” said Buck, who also chairs MPC’s
Board of Governors. “Before they make the decision to build new offices or
headquarters here, business owners need to be assured that public transit will
be available to get people from anywhere in the region to their chosen
sites.”
Buck added that, while more than
two-thirds of downtown workers use transit to commute to work, the region has
many job centers, all of which depend on reliable, adequate public transit
service.
“The public transit crisis
is not just a CTA crisis,” said Buck. “It’s a regional crisis.”
“Public transit provides regional
benefits: it improves air quality, reduces highway congestion, and improves the
flow of freight shipments,” said Ed King of Walgreens, which is one of the
region’s top shippers. “The Texas Transportation Institute recently ranked the
Chicago
metropolitan region the nation’s second-most congested but noted that our
transit system shaves 22 hours
a year
off the average traveler’s road time, quantifying transit’s value.”
MPC contact: MarySue Barrett,
President
312.863.6001 or msbarrett@metroplanning.org
Contact: John A.
Buck, Chairman & CEO, The John Buck Company; and Chair, MPC Board of
Governors
312.441.4138 or jabuck@tjbc.com
Contact: Ed King, Director,
Government & Community Relations, Walgreens Co.; and Co-Chair, MPC
Transportation Committee
847.315.4931 or ed.king@walgreens.com
MPC, Openlands, Campaign for Sensible Growth Pilot Watershed Planning
Efforts
While
communities rightfully welcome the boost that planned development brings,
unplanned
growth can have damaging
effects, such as flooding, water shortages and traffic congestion.
To
create a model for a regional approach to sensible land use planning, MPC,
Openlands Project and the Campaign for Sensible Growth have sparked two
innovative partnerships with municipalities and county agencies in McHenry and
in Kankakee/Will counties. The work is underwritten by the Joyce Foundation and
initiated by the organizations’ recent
Changing Course
report, which identified
a need for improved regional watershed management.
“Watersheds
do not follow political boundaries – flooding can happen anywhere if there is
not a strong regional approach to sensible growth,” said
Scott Goldstein
, MPC vice president of policy and
planning. “The local communities we are working with in McHenry, Will and
Kankakee
counties are doing trailblazing work, coordinating land use decisions to ensure
their communities prevent flooding and have clean, abundant water.”
“Through
the watershed planning process, the local partners will identify problems that
need to be addressed and will collaborate on specific solutions to protect and
improve their water resources,” said Joyce O’Keefe, assistant director,
Openlands Project.
On June 22, project organizers in McHenry County will
host a public meeting aimed at achieving broad community consensus around the
project’s goals. A public meeting in the Kankakee/Will county area is in the
works for July or August. Visit the Campaign for Sensible Growth’s Web site, www.growingsensibly.org
, for more details on these
and other initiatives.
MPC contact: Scott Goldstein, Vice President of
Policy and Planning 312.863.6003 or sgoldstein@metroplanning.org
Contact:
Joyce O’Keefe, Assistant Director, Openlands Project 312.863.6263 or jokeefe@openlands.org.
MPC Supports Mixed-Income Development in Arlington Heights
As part of MPC’s ongoing efforts
to support the implementation of Illinois’ first-ever comprehensive housing
plan, which aims to increase the supply of quality, affordable housing options
available in communities throughout Illinois, the Council recently spoke on
behalf of a mixed-income condominium development proposal in Arlington Heights
called Timber Court.
After three
late-night meetings and
despite voluble opposition to the project’s density, the Arlington Heights Plan
Commission approved the proposal. Then, on Monday, May 16, the Arlington Heights
Village Board approved Tandem Realty’s proposal for Timber Court
with
a
vote of six to three in favor.
“Arlington
Heights has been a leader on local workforce housing development,
by endorsing in 2002 the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus’ Housing Endorsement
Criteria, which supports the creation of quality housing options at all price points
near jobs and transit,”
said
Robin
Snyderman, MPC housing director. “The
Timber Court
development fulfills these criteria, and by approving the proposal,
Arlington Heights
is taking another positive step toward
alleviating a regional and statewide shortage of workforce housing.”
Snyderman added that MPC will continue to assist
Arlington Heights and other municipalities working to create more livable and
attractive communities. Through trainings, advocacy and technical assistance,
MPC supports local planners and elected officials in making decisions such as
these that will meet their overall housing goals and objectives. The Council
also recently hired Joanna Trotter to fill a new position designed to help
suburban leaders, developers, and homebuilders tackle challenges related to the
creation of workforce housing. Anyone aware of quality, mixed-income
developments in need of support is encouraged to contact Trotter at 312-863-6008
or jtrotter@metroplanning.org
.
MPC contact: Robin
Snyderman, Housing Director
312.863.6007 or
rsnyderman@metroplanning.org
Contact: Laura
Walters, Housing Commissioner, Arlington Heights 847.507.4860