(Chicago)….. Before a crowd
of nearly 1,000 business, government and civic leaders gathered for the
Metropolitan Planning Council’s (MPC) 2006 Annual Meeting Luncheon on Monday,
Aug. 7, Illinois Republican gubernatorial candidate Judy Baar Topinka outlined
what she plans to do, if elected, to reduce congestion, increase housing
options, improve schools, and inspire sensible growth. Democratic Gov. Rod R.
Blagojevich was invited to speak at the forum, however a last-minute scheduling
conflict prevented him from attending. His campaign has arranged for the
governor to appear before the same audience (place to be decided) on Thursday,
Sept. 7 at 10 a.m.
Also at the luncheon, MPC
presented its 2006 Burnham Award for Excellence in Planning to Bethel New Life,
Inc., and welcomed new board members.
Topinka responded to
specific questions posed by MPC in advance, as well as to follow-up questions
from moderator Craig Dellimore, political editor for WBBM Newsradio-780 AM.
Topinka outlined how her administration would address sensible planning for
growth, state investment in housing and transportation, and education funding
and property tax reform to meet the current and future needs of the
Chicago
metropolitan
region.
This year’s
luncheon marked the third time in as many gubernatorial election years that MPC
has hosted a candidate forum at its annual luncheon. At each of the past
forums (which are not debates), at least one candidate has made statements that
have led to policy change for Illinois – one of the main reasons the Council
hosts its annual event, according to MPC
President
MarySue
Barrett.
“Our Annual Meeting
Luncheon gives us the opportunity to educate the candidates about the issues we
believe are critical to the success of the Chicago metropolitan region and
Illinois, such as providing homes affordable to all households, maintaining and
expanding transportation options to connect people and places across the region,
overhauling our education funding system to relieve the burden on property tax
payers and provide adequate funding for our schools, and helping the region grow
and attract new economic investments while making the most of existing
infrastructure and maintaining green space,” said Barrett. “These are among our
top priorities, and, over the last year, we’ve achieved quite a few victories in
these policy arenas.”
The Annual Meeting
Luncheon – MPC’s sole annual fundraising event – also provides a time for MPC
staff, board and funders to celebrate the year’s successes with partners and
friends.
Before the candidate forum
got underway, Barrett shared some of the past year’s highlights, including the
launch of the Illinois Water Supply Initiative, which stemmed from an MPC,
Openlands, and Campaign for Sensible Growth report on the need for statewide
water supply planning; passage of two pieces of statewide housing legislation
that will increase affordable and workforce housing
options near jobs and
transportation; the work of MPC’s Community Building Initiative, as well as
Campaign for Sensible Growth/Urban Land Institute-Chicago Technical Assistance
Panels, which are helping communities across the region tackle specific
development challenges; and the success of the A+ Illinois campaign – which MPC
co-leads with eight other organizations across Illinois – in elevating statewide
school funding, quality and property tax reform as a top campaign
issue.
After Topinka’s
responses, Joseph A. Gregoire, president and CEO of Illinois Banking for
National City Bank, and chair of the Burnham Award selection committee,
presented the 2006 Burnham Award to Bethel New Life President and CEO Steven
McCullough for the Chicago-based community development corporation’s
Bethel
Center
and Parkside Estates developments.
For 19 years, the Burnham Award has recognized innovative plans and projects in
the
Chicago
region. This year’s award includes a $5,000 cash prize underwritten by National
City Bank.
“Since 1979, Bethel New
Life has been working to transform
Chicago
’s
West Side
by increasing opportunities for
prosperity,” said Gregoire. “Parkside Estates and the
Bethel
Center
– which collectively offer places to live, work, shop and learn, all within
blocks of the El and neighborhood amenities – underscore Bethel New Life’s
dedication to expanding options for the thousands of people living in
Garfield
Park
and surrounding neighborhoods. The
selection committee was particularly impressed by Bethel New Life’s unrelenting
high standards for design and workmanship.”
The Bethel Center is a
“green-designed,” multi-use development connected to the Green Line El station
at Lake and Pulaski, with businesses such as Westside Coffee Express (the
neighborhood’s first coffee shop), a dry cleaner, daycare, Community Saving
Center, and employment center. Together with Parkside Estates, one of
Bethel
’s affordable housing developments located just two
blocks away,
Bethel
is connecting jobs, places to
shop, public transit, and affordable homes in
Garfield
Park
, representing community planning at
its best.
“On behalf of our board,
staff, partners and the residents of
Garfield
Park
, we accept the Burnham Award from
MPC. Our work embodies the principles necessary to create a community of choice
for existing and future residents,” said McCullough. “Transit-oriented
development, green technology, and focused affordable housing combined with
strong community participation prove that these concepts can work in low-income
communities across the country.”
At the meeting, the
Council also installed new board members. As outgoing chair of MPC’s Board of
Governors, a position he has held since 2004, John A. Buck, chairman and CEO of
The John Buck Company, passed his duties to Lee M. Mitchell, partner in Thoma
Cressy Equity Partners. Buck welcomed two new members of the Board of Governors:
Gail K. Boudreaux, executive vice president of external operations for Health
Care Service Corporation, the parent company for Chicago-based Blue Cross Blue
Shield of Illinois; and
Paul Carlisle, senior vice
president, market manager for Chase, who served on MPC’s Community Building
Initiative Blue Island Task Force in July. Buck also announced
newly
appointed members of MPC’s Resource Board: Marca Bristo, president and CEO of
ACCESS Living of Metropolitan Chicago; Jimmy M. Lago, chancellor of the
Archdiocese of Chicago, who is transitioning from the Board of Governors; and
Stephen M. Porras, vice president of acquisitions and affordable housing for LR
Development Company and developer of the CHA mixed-income community Roosevelt
Square.
More than 50 companies
and hundreds of individuals supported the event, including Annual
Meeting Luncheon
co-chairs Joseph A. Gregoire, president and CEO of Illinois Banking for National
City Bank, and a member
of MPC’s Board of Governors; King Harris, chairman of Harris Holdings, Inc., and
vice chair of MPC’s Board of Governors; John S. Gates, Jr., chairman and CEO of
PortaeCo LLC, and former chair of MPC’s Board of Governors; and Penny Pritzker,
president of Pritzker Realty Group, L.P., an MPC executive advisor, and an
education advocate who has become an important bridge to the business community
on this issue. MPC also is grateful to media partner Comcast, which will
broadcast the MPC Annual Meeting Luncheon through its OnDemand feature.
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.