Greetings, loyal Media Tips readers,
The Great Tree Debate of 2005 (Holiday v. Christmas
v. Choose-Your-Own-Celebration) got us thinking about our own evergreens – those
stories that remain fresh, months after we first planted the seed here in the
Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC) Media Tips.
Regular Media Tips readers know we send four tips
each month, featuring recent events, perspectives, and breakthroughs in issues
important to the region, such as affordable and workforce housing,
transportation planning and funding, and urban and regional development. MPC had
much to celebrate this year – and some of our accomplishments even made
headlines, for which we are grateful (especially to those of you who called us!)
Yet, we are far from having worked ourselves out of
a job. The Council’s vision of a region where all residents have access to
affordable homes, transportation options, quality schools, clean and abundant
water, and job opportunities has not been met. With that in mind, we offer a few
evergreens – a sampling of 2005 stories that will merit continued attention in
2006.
WATER
With Nary a Drop in Sight, Water Conservation Education Is Essential
Mother
Nature’s lackadaisical attitude – and the ensuing drought – 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 framed coverage of the drought this summer, the onset
of wintry weather tricked most into believing the dry spell over. In fact,
according to the most recent report from the Illinois State Water Survey,
northern
Illinois
experienced the driest March to
November period on record, and most of the region remains in a severe or extreme
drought.
Meanwhile, record-level housing development in several
growing counties makes water an even more pressing issue. MPC and its partners
see a great need statewide to raise awareness of what everyone can do to protect
and preserve water quality and quantity. Changing Course – a study of
the region’s water resources released in December 2004 by MPC, the Campaign for
Sensible Growth, and Openlands – 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.
In addition, on Jan. 9, 2006, the three organizations
will release a follow-up to Changing Course, entitled Troubled
Waters: Meeting Future Water Needs in Illinois. The report will highlight
the challenges to maintaining a sustainable water supply in Illinois and the
Chicago metropolitan region, and recommend that Illinois develop a statewide
framework for regional water supply planning and management to meet the needs of
a growing
population.
Currently, no comprehensive statewide or regional plans or entities exist for
managing the water supply. Instead, water supply is managed by communities,
counties, and private companies in an isolated manner. Indeed, the
work is so fragmented that, as MPC has learned through our community
outreach on this issue, officials in one county were surprised that growth
in a neighboring county would affect their water supply! Because aquifers and
watersheds are regional in nature -- cutting across political boundaries -- it
is vital that local leaders recognize the important of managing water at the
regional level.
“Explosive population growth is certain to increase the strain on our water
supply, and we must absorb the fact that, even in the Great Lakes region, water
is a precious commodity that must be preserved,” said Scott Goldstein, MPC vice
president of policy and planning. "Managing water at the regional and state
levels is the best way to ensure that we will continue to have a clean and
abundant water supply as we continue to grow.”
MPC contact: Scott Goldstein, Vice President of Policy and Planning,
312.863.6003, sgoldstein@metroplanning.org
Contact:
Joyce O’Keefe, Deputy Director, Openlands, 312.863.6263, jokeefe@openlands.org
EDUCATION FUNDING AND TAX REFORM
Education Reform Must Top Candidates’ To-Do Lists in Election 2006
Yes, that is an echo you hear ringing in the halls of the State Capitol: at the
start of the 2005 legislative session, Senate President Emil Jones urged
the
94
th General Assembly to
overhaul
Illinois’ “terrible, terrible, outrageous”
school-funding system. Unfortunately, despite groundbreaking consensus building
statewide, real reform failed to occur in 2005 – and Jones’ sentiment remains
relevant as we head into the new legislative session.
In 2006, MPC will continue to help lead the A+ Illinois campaign for
statewide education funding and tax reform, not just because guaranteeing every child
in
Illinois
a quality education is the right thing to do, but because our state’s
fiscal health depends upon it. We all face an uncertain future if we fail to
fix
Illinois’
broken school funding system. As manufacturing jobs decline, workers need new
skill sets and technological proficiencies to compete for better-paying jobs.
Yet, the state’s failure to adequately fund our public schools means many
Illinois
students are not receiving the training they need to compete for the jobs of
today and tomorrow.
While
Illinois’ own
Education Funding Advisory Board has set the foundation level – what is needed
to provide each child an adequate education – at $6,405 per pupil, we are
falling about $1,200 per-pupil short of hitting that mark, putting the rest of
the burden on local school districts. And local property taxpayers, already
overburdened, are increasingly saying “no” to school funding referenda,
exacerbating local school funding dilemmas. The result: financially strapped
schools are being forced to cut programs and positions, instead of investing in
smaller class sizes, better teacher training, and other efforts proven to
enhance student learning. Meanwhile, Illinois’ extreme over-reliance on property
taxes is leading to economic disinvestment in many communities statewide, as
commercial and industrial business owners – feeling the pinch of sky-high
property taxes – move operations to (lower tax) neighboring states or
overseas.
A+ Illinois already has begun reaching out to candidates
for local and state offices, encouraging them to have the courage to stand for
real change: a fairer, more balanced state tax system to increase the state’s
share of education funding and reduce the over-reliance on property taxes to
fund
education.
“Candidates
who take a no-tax pledge are effectively saying ‘I will not govern,’” said MPC
President MarySue Barrett. “We encourage candidates not to tie their hands in
this way, so that Illinois’ next wave of leaders can come to the table with
community, civic and business leaders and develop a long-term solution to our
state’s long-standing school funding mess.”
A+ Illinois Contact: Bindu Batchu, Campaign Manager, A+ Illinois,
312.863.6014, bbatchu@metroplanning.org
MPC Contact:
MarySue Barrett, President, 312-863-6001, msbarrett@metroplanning.org
REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION AND LAND USE PLANNING
Regional Planning Board Can Pave the Way to Healthier Communities
Yes,
Virginia, there really is a Regional Planning Board. Though unlikely to register
a blip on Top Story of the Year lists, the creation of the new Regional Planning
Board rocked the planning world in 2005. Why? Because the board – created by
merger of the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission (NIPC) and Chicago Area
Transportation Study – was in the works for decades and has the potential to
rock Chicagoland in the near future, saving money and vastly improving the way
we grow by coordinating and guiding northeastern Illinois’ land use and
transportation plans.
“Until
now, regional land use and transportation planning has occurred with little
coordination between NIPC and CATS,” said MPC President MarySue Barrett. “With
oversight of both land-use decisions and road, freight, and transit projects,
the board will link economic development, housing, transportation, and natural
resources decisions affecting our growing region.”
“Time
spent stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic is costly to businesses and families.
With the region expected to grow by almost two million people and one million
cars by 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, and vice chair of the
Council’s Board of Governors.
Indeed,
state leaders are debating a new state capital investment plan to replace the
expired Illinois FIRST. And, while the urgency for such a plan has intensified
since the U.S. Congress passed a new surface transportation package this summer,
MPC reminds state and regional decision makers that a laundry list of projects
is not a plan. What Chicagoland needs – for a strong economy and healthy
communities – is a combined transportation and land use plan that makes the best
use of limited state resources by giving priority to projects that reduce
congestion and air pollution, and boost local economies through compact,
mixed-use development near transportation. That’s sensible
growth.
MPC believes the Regional Planning Board can and must play a strong role in
guiding the development of a capital spending plan that points the way to
sensible transportation and land use development. For instance, the Regional
Planning Board can ensure that Metra’s STAR line, which will link 100
communities from O’Hare Airport to Joliet , isn’t just a new route to take
commuters from point A to point B. With the board’s guidance, the region can
maximize this $1.2 billion investment by increasing transportation linkages,
changing land use, where needed, and creating new economic development clusters
along the 55-mile route.
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
WORKFORCE AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING
MPC, Local Leaders Seeking Creative Solutions to Workforce Housing Shortages
Experts
advise families to spend no more than 30 percent of household income on housing.
Yet in Illinois, more than 1.2 million households earning less than 80 percent
area media income ($46,540) are doing just that – or are living in overcrowded,
substandard conditions, according to “Building for Success,” the state’s
first-ever comprehensive housing plan, released in January 2005. Where housing
is less expensive, job opportunities are scarce – contributing to the traffic
congestion, economic disparity, and racial segregation challenging Chicagoland
and the rest of the state.
In
2006, MPC will continue to support full implementation of “Building for
Success,” and advocate for more state-sponsored incentives to enable
municipalities and developers to build and preserve more affordable and
workforce housing for the people who – and in the neighborhoods where – it’s
most needed. “Building for Success” offers capacity-building assistance, calls
for an exploration of incentives, and outlines areas where this could occur; but
it falls short of providing a competitive edge to towns that are helping the
state save money by supporting housing for the local workforce, and enhancing
quality of life by linking housing, jobs and transportation.
More
tangible
support to municipalities is a necessary next step. On Dec. 14, 2005,
over 100 municipal leaders and developers attended a forum to explore how they
can better work together to advance the governor’s housing plan, and what else
they agree is needed from the State in order to accomplish those goals. A common
goal among all parties is to achieve our vision: a region where valued members
of our communities, such as teachers, police officers, firefighters, and nurses
can live near work; seniors can age in the communities where they raised their
families; recent graduates can find that first apartment; and families can raise
their children in a single school district, rather than move year-to-year in
search of housing within their means.
MPC contact: Robin Snyderman, Housing Director, 312.863.6007, rsnyderman@metroplanning.org