Council toasts the success of its two-year Bold Plans, Bright Future Campaign to raise $14.2 million for an endowment and special program initiatives, welcomes new board members
(CHICAGO)…..
Mayor Richard M. Daley outlined the
critical
role Chicago plays in building
a vibrant metropolitan region before a crowd of more than 1,000 business,
government and civic leaders at the Metropolitan Planning Council’s (MPC) 2005
Annual Meeting Luncheon, Oct. 26, at the Hyatt
Regency Chicago, 151 E.
Wacker
Dr.,
Chicago.
At the luncheon,
the Council also celebrated the success of its two-year Bold Plans, Bright
Future Campaign to fund an endowment and special program opportunities, as well
as presented its 2005 Burnham Award for Excellence in Planning to the City
of
Waukegan.
Historically, MPC has
delivered a crowd-pleasing program for guests of its Annual Meeting Luncheon,
the Council’s sole fundraising event. This year’s luncheon – co-chaired by Frank
M. Clark, president of ComEd, and William M. Daley, chairman of the
Midwest
region of JPMorgan Chase, and lead sponsored by
Allstate, BNSF Railway, Bombardier, Inc., BP America, Chase, and ComEd, An
Exelon Company – was no exception.
Mayor Daley addressed
his priorities in the areas of housing, education, transportation, and
the environment, and he shared his perspective on the current and future needs
of the city and
metropolitan
Chicago. A longtime advocate for regional
cooperation, the mayor noted that the barriers that once separated
Chicago
and the suburbs are
rapidly coming down.
“Whether
they live in Forest Park, Park Forest or Forest Glen, people want pretty much
the same things: good schools, safe neighborhoods, affordable housing and
convenient transportation,” said Mayor Daley. “They know that a strong
metropolitan area requires a strong city at its core. And they want the leaders
of business and government to work as partners – not opponents – to improve the
quality of life for the entire region. I’m very impressed by our progress in
regional cooperation over the last several years, and I’m confident it will
continue under the leadership of the Metropolitan Planning
Council.”
MPC President
MarySue Barrett
thanked the mayor for
his leadership, noting that through efforts such as the Metropolitan Mayors
Caucus – established by Mayor Daley as a partnership between Chicago and
northeastern
Illinois
’ 272 municipalities – the mayor has
greatly enhanced the ability of local leaders to work together on key regional
issues, such as housing, transportation, sensible growth and education. In turn,
said Barrett, organizations that work on these issues, such as MPC, have been
able to form new partnerships and expand their impact.
“In the past year, we’ve worked with
communities as far south as
Beecher and as far north as Round Lake Beach, and though each community is different,
we all share basic concerns, such as ensuring quality schools and a range
of housing and transportation options, and preserving our natural resources,“ said Barrett.
“Today’s Annual Meeting Luncheon is a celebration of both our
accomplishments and the individuals and organizations who have joined with us to
identify better approaches to addressing these key regional issues.”
Indeed, according to John A. Buck, chairman and CEO of
The John Buck Company and chair of MPC’s Board of Governors, and John S. Gates,
Jr., co-chairman of CenterPoint Properties Trust and immediate past chair of
MPC’s Board of Governors, the Council had much to celebrate. Prior to Mayor
Daley’s presentation, the pair shared highlights from the past year, among them
passage of the new federal transportation bill, which included an overall share
increase for Illinois and funding for freight infrastructure improvements; a
greatly expanded employer-assisted housing (EAH) program statewide, and
Congress’ introduction of legislation that
would provide federal support for EAH; and momentous progress made by the A+ Illinois coalition to
advance the statewide movement for school funding reform and property tax
relief.
Buck and Gates also
raised a toast to the culmination of the Bold Plans, Bright Future Campaign, a
two-year effort to raise $14.2 million to fund an endowment, support special
program opportunities, and provide operating funds for 2003 and 2004. Anchored
by an exceptional $4 million gift from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur
Foundation in 2001, the Campaign exceeded its goal, raising $14.365 million
thanks to the generosity of its donors and the efforts of the MPC board and
staff. A special video presentation, featuring individuals from across the
region who spoke to how their partnership with MPC has helped advance affordable
housing, transportation, sensible growth, and educating funding goals in the
past year, served as a sincere “thank you” to all Campaign donors. The Council
also gave special recognition to Campaign co-chairs, including Buck and Gates,
as well as Lester Crown, chairman of Material Service Corporation; M. Hill
Hammock, chief operating officer of LaSalle Bank; Elmer Johnson, partner with
Jenner & Block; Lee M. Mitchell, principal of Thoma Cressey Equity Partners;
and George A. Ranney, president & CEO of Chicago Metropolis 2020. The
Council also thanked its entire Board of Governors, whose members served as the
campaign committee and pledged more than $2 million to the
campaign.
Also at the meeting, the Council presented the 2005
Burnham Award for Excellence in Planning, which included a $5,000 cash prize, to
the City of Waukegan for its Lakefront-Downtown Urban Design Plan
.
Waukegan’s 20-year master plan, adopted in 2003, sets forth a strategy for
environmental remediation of a two-mile stretch of Lake Michigan shoreline, as
well as the addition of parks and open space, thousands of new homes, and
hundreds of thousands of square feet of retail, hospitality, entertainment,
education and cultural facilities. Already, the city has taken significant steps
toward realizing the plan’s goals, including obtaining financing to support
brownfield clean up,
re-energizing
Waukegan
’s nightlife by reopening the Genesee
Theater, and issuing design guidelines and requests for proposals to developers.
“With its Lakefront-Downtown Urban Design Plan
,
the City of Waukegan undertook a thoughtful, inclusive planning process to
boldly envision the largest piece of vacant Lake Michigan lakefront between
Chicago and Wisconsin as a recreational, residential and commercial ‘harbor
city,’” said Barrett, who presented the Burnham Award to Waukegan’s Mayor
Richard H. Hyde. “Big dreams are admirable; however, what earned
Waukegan
the 2005 Burnham
Award for Excellence in Planning is that the city went a critical step further
to guide the creation of a feasible, long-term plan for preserving,
rehabilitating, and redeveloping this regional gem.”
At the annual meeting, the Council also welcomed new
board members. Elected to the Board of Governors from the Resource Board are
Joseph A. Gregoire, president, Chicagoland and Northern Illinois, National City
Bank, and J. Stanley Pepper, managing director,
Green Products. New members
elected to the Board of Governors are Julie M. Howard, COO, Navigant Consulting,
and Quintin E. Primo III, co-chairman and CEO, Capri Capital. And
newly appointed to the Resource Board is Ricardo Estrada, executive director,
Erie Neighborhood House.
Founded in 1934, the
Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan group of
business and civic leaders committed to serving the public interest through the
promotion and implementation of sensible planning and development policies
necessary for an economically competitive
Chicago
region.