With Nary a Drop in Sight, Water Conservation Education Is Essential
Mother Nature’s lackadaisical
attitude – and the ensuing drought – has grabbed headlines this summer, with the
region’s general sentiment summed up in this gem: “Mother Nature needs to get
off her cloud.” While community water shortages, sprinkling bans, and farmers’
fears have framed the story of the Great Drought of 2005, there’s opportunity in
this dry spell to raise awareness
of
what everyone can do to protect and preserve water quality and quantity.
Changing Course – a recent study of
the region’s water resources by MPC, the Campaign for Sensible Growth, and
Openlands Project – and two companion Ideas@work publications, Sensible Water Strategies and Watershed Planning for Sustainable Communities, outline
specific actions that residents, commercial and industrial businesses, and
municipal and county governments can take to safeguard our water supplies.
Recommendations include landscaping with native plants instead of turf grass;
reducing nonporous surfaces by limiting the size of parking lots and driveways;
and developing county watershed plans. All three publications are available on
the Campaign’s Web site, www.growingsensibly.org.
“Communities are becoming aware once again that there are not endless
supplies of water,” said Scott Goldstein, MPC vice president of policy and
planning. “Water is a precious resource, and we must begin to plan at the region
levelto ensure that communities continue to have adequate water as they
grow.”
MPC contact: Scott Goldstein, Vice President of Policy and
Planning, 312.863.6003, sgoldstein@metroplanning.org
Contact:
Joyce O’Keefe, Deputy Director, Openlands Project, 312.863.6263, jokeefe@openlands.org
MPC, Metropolis 2020 to Brief Media on Regional Planning Board
Once Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich signs HB3121, a single agency known
as the Regional Planning Board will begin to coordinate
and
guide northeastern Illinois’ land
use and transportation plans, a first in the region’s history. The
legislation merges the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission (NIPC) and
Chicago Area Transportation Study (CATS) to create the board, which has the
potential to vastly improve the way we grow, according to MPC and Chicago
Metropolis 2020. The organizations will
outline the promise – and possible pitfalls – of the Regional Planning Board at
a media
briefing on
Aug. 10, 2005, from noon to 1:30 p.m. at
MPC offices, 25 E. Washington St.,
Suite
1600,
Chicago.
“Until now, regional land use
and transportation planning has occurred with little coordination between NIPC
and CATS,” said MarySue Barrett,
MPC president. “With oversight of both
land-use decisions and road and transit projects, the new board not only will
streamline economic development, housing, transportation, and natural resources
decisions affecting our growing region but also give us a stronger voice in
securing federal
funding.”
“Time spent stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic is costly to businesses and
families.With the region's population expected to increase byalmost two
millionby 2030, we must plan now to avoid the kind of traffic jams that cripple
regional economies,” said George Ranney, Chicago Metropolis 2020 president and
CEO. “This legislation allows us to begin the work of creating a strong agency
with the talent and capacity to carry out a coordinated transportation and land
use plan.”
MPC contact: MarySue Barrett, President, 312.863.6001, msbarrett@metroplanning.org
Contact:
James LaBelle, Deputy Director, Chicago Metropolis 2020,
312-332-8156, jim.labelle@cm2020.org
TAPs Tackle Redevelopment Challenges in Midlothian and Chicago
The Campaign for Sensible Growth and Urban Land Institute (ULI) Chicago are
gearing up to convene their second Technical Assistance Panel (TAP) of 2005, which
will focus on strategies for revitalizing the Peterson Pulaski industrial corridor
on
Chicago
’s northwest side. Meanwhile, the organizations are finalizing a report on
the recent TAP in the Village of Midlothian,
Ill.
Over two intense days, Aug. 2 and
3, a TAP – comprised of eight industry leaders in commercial and industrial
development, transportation, planning and development, and architecture – will
study and make recommendations to advance ongoing revitalization efforts in the
Peterson Pulaski industrial corridor. Home to approximately 22 small to midsize
companies employing about 1,900 people, the area is struggling to retain and
attract industrial and commercial development and facing pressures to allow new
residential development.
The Midlothian TAP report – the result of a panel on
June 16 and 17 in the southwest suburb – will offer formal recommendations for
restoring the village’s downtown as a destination serving local residents’
everyday needs and enhancing the area’s aesthetics. The full report will be
available soon at www.growingsensibly.org.
ULI-Chicago and the Campaign
for Sensible Growth will convene a third TAP in 2005, focused on Chicago’s
North Clark Street retail corridor. To learn about TAPs, visit www.growingsensibly.org.
MPC contact: Scott Goldstein, Vice
President of Policy and Planning, 312.863.6003, sgoldstein@metroplanning.org
Contact: Michael Mullen, Chair, Peterson Pulaski TAP,
and CEO, CenterPoint Properties Trust, 630.586.8185, mmullen@centerpoint-prop.com
Mayor Richard M. Daley gave the Chicago Board of Education the green light to
raise property taxes to the maximum allowed by law, a move deemed necessary to
stave off class-size hikes and sustain a city school system facing its tightest
budget in 10
years. Yet the increase –
the ninth since Daley’s city schools takeover in 1995 – is another red
flag signaling to local and state leaders
that
Illinois’
school-funding system over-relies
on the property tax and is in dire need of a comprehensive, long-term
solution.
The Chicago City Council and other
municipal governments would help to advance such a solution by passing a
resolution to support school funding and property tax reform efforts, says A+
Illinois Campaign Manager Bindu Batchu.
“It’s unconscionable that the Chicago Public Schools – like so many school
districts statewide – must choose between squeezing more taxes from property
owners or squeezing more high school students into a classroom to cover its
needs,” said Batchu. “ City leaders should commit to doing what is necessary to
ensure relief for property taxpayers and fair funding for schools.”
Statewide, several municipal
and county governments are considering resolutions to support school funding
and property tax reform; currently, the City
of
Kankakee, the Kankakee County Board, and dozens
of school boards already have passed such resolutions.
The climate for change is ripe: a
growing number of
Illinois
school districts are coming up short,
even after ballooning class sizes, slashing teaching positions, and cutting core
academic programs. Left with little choice, more school districts than ever are
approaching residents with local tax referenda. Since the 2002-03 school year,
the number of tax referenda has more then doubled; yet the number of passed
referenda continues to fall, further magnifying the school funding crisis.
To read a sample resolution or learn more about recent
referenda results in Illinois, visit www.aplusillinois.org
.
A+ Illinois contact: Bindu Batchu,
Manager, A+ Illinois,
312.863.6014, bbatchu@aplusillinois.org