Indiana, Illinois Decision Makers to Address Shared Transportation Issues
Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana have more in common than time zones and TV channels. An estimated 80,000 people cross the Indiana-Illinois border daily for work, and nearly one-third of the nation’s rail shipments pass through the collective region annually. Indeed, northwestern Indiana and northeastern Illinois share many transportation challenges and opportunities, including unlocking the freight bottleneck by updating rail infrastructure; reducing congestion on I80, I294 and other roads; and improving commuter access to public transportation by expanding bus and rail lines. Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC) President MarySue Barrett will highlight near-term opportunities for leaders to work across borders to address these mutual concerns, when she keynotes the Nov. 21 transportation summit, “Moving Northwest Indiana Forward,” at the Radisson Hotel Star Plaza in Merrillville , Ind.
“We’re one interdependent region, and to ensure that we collectively make the best choices for our future, it’s critical that we foster an open dialogue,” said Barrett. “I’m honored to be part of this discussion and know that, as Northwest Indiana and Chicagoland continue to grow, the Metropolitan Planning Council will work to connect leaders and solutions across the state line.”
In recent years, MPC has intensified its outreach beyond the six-county Chicago metropolitan region, including northwestern Indiana. To learn more about MPC’s growing partnership with Indiana, visit www.metroplanning.org, or contact MPC South Suburban Coordinator Kristi DeLaurentiis, at kdelaurentiis@metroplanning.org. For conference details, contact MPC communications associate Mandy Burrell at 312.863.6018 or mburrell@metroplanning.org.
MPC contact: MarySue Barrett, President, 312.863.6001, msbarrett@metroplanning.org
Contact: Bill Nangle, Editor, The Times of Northwest Indiana , 219.933.3327, nangle@nwitimes.com (The Times is co-sponsoring the Nov. 21 conference.)
With housing development at record levels in several growing counties, water is becoming a more pressing issue. While this year saw historic droughts, local officials also must be prepared for and work to prevent flooding, which could happen at any time. With passage of the Stormwater Management Bill (SB1910), nine additional counties in Illinois gained the authority to develop and implement stormwater management plans through county and municipal cooperation. The bill affects the urbanizing counties of Boone, DeKalb, Grundy, Kankakee , Kendall, and LaSalle in northeastern Illinois , and Madison , St. Clair, and Monroe in the Metro East area, each of which must decide how to proceed. To help them make an informed decision, the Metropolitan Planning Council, Openlands Project, and Campaign for Sensible Growth will present a Nov. 30 workshop, “Getting Started on Stormwater Management.”
Public officials from affected counties and municipalities are invited to attend the workshop, which will cover how to organize a stormwater management committee, sources of funding, collecting data, and beginning to develop a plan. The workshop takes place from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Northern Illinois University’s Naperville Campus, Room 116, 1120 E. Diehl Rd., Naperville , Ill. Lunch also will be provided. Admission is free, but registration is required by contacting Ellen Shubart, Campaign manager.
MPC contact: Ellen Shubart, Manager, Campaign for Sensible Growth, 312.863.6009, eshubart@metroplanning.org
Contact: Joyce O’Keefe, Deputy Director, Openlands Project, 312.863.6263, jokeefe@openlands.org
A+ Illinois Campaign Hires News Organizer to Ramp Up Downstate Outreach
The A+ Illinois campaign for school funding and property tax reform already has strong statewide representation through such lead partners as the Illinois Farm Bureau and Illinois Education Association . Now the campaign has hired a downstate field supervisor, Meredith Byers, a middle school teacher in Galesburg, Ill., and grassroots activist with other teachers, to help new and old A+ Illinois members organize locally and effectively.
“With the election season upon us, it’s critical that our elected officials and candidates hear a resounding, unified call for changing education funding in Illinois,” said Bindu Batchu, A+ Illinois campaign manager. “Meredith has dedicated her career to ensuring kids in Illinois receive a quality education, and already her passion has helped boost the campaign.”
“You can have a lot of pride in your community and still be critical of its direction,” said Byers, who honed her organizing skills helping to lead a successful school consolidation campaign in the Monmouth-Roseville Community Unit School District #238. “Society has changed a lot since I entered kindergarten, and we need schools that serve the needs of today’s kids. To do that, there needs to be a cooperative of people working toward the future.”
The A+ Illinois campaign is a broad, statewide movement for education quality and funding reform. Supporters advocate that state government take a greater financial role in supporting local school districts, and reduce the over-reliance on property taxes to fund schools. To learn more about A+ Illinois, visit www.aplusillinois.org.
A+ contact: Bindu Batchu, Campaign Manager, 312.863.6014, bbatchu@aplusillinois.org
Contact: Adam Neilsen, Director of Issue Management, Illinois Farm Bureau, 309.557.3162, aneilsen@ilfb.org
Whether saddled with a struggling downtown, planning for a new Metra station, or searching for a broader range of housing options, communities across Chicagoland face many of the same challenges. To help local leaders overcome development and redevelopment dilemmas, the Metropolitan Planning Council’s (MPC) Community Building Initiative provides technical assistance on issues related to housing, transportation, sensible growth, infill development, and zoning. In recent months, MPC has helped the Village of Riverdale and City of Rolling Meadows make strides on two large-scale residential redevelopment efforts.
Over the past couple of decades, the privately owned Pacesetter townhome development in the Village of Riverdale slowly deteriorated until most local residents considered the neighborhood a dangerous eyesore. Today, with MPC’s assistance, the community has established key development partnerships and creative financing – including a recently approved $6.2 million acquisition loan, the largest ever from the Illinois Housing Development Authority – to allow the city to acquire the properties and make plans for redevelopment to begin in spring 2006.
MPC also has been partnering with local leaders in Rolling Meadows to identify strategies for maintaining and increasing the city’s affordable housing stock. As part of this effort, MPC convened a Community Building Initiative Task Force to advise the Rolling Meadows City Council on affordable housing strategies for the 12 Oaks apartment complex, which could relocate approximately 600 residents. T he complex comprises 30 percent of the city’s affordable housing, thus the task force recommended that this deal not only incorporate the city’s original goal of 20 percent affordable housing within the new development, but also seeds a Trust Fund that supports affordable housing as part of all future renovations, developments and condo conversions.
For more information about these and other Community Building Initiative efforts, visit www.metroplanning.org/ourwork/community.asp.
MPC contact: Heather Campbell, Manager, Community Building Initiative, 312.863.6006, hcampbell@metroplanning.org