Maintaining the region’s well being is comparable to
keeping a home in good repair: as soon as one renovation project is completed,
something else needs attention. Last week, the region celebrated as Springfield
finally approved a long-term funding solution to the region’s transit operating
crisis. Now, as local, regional and state leaders prepare to turn their
attention to the 2008 to-do list, MPC will highlight key agenda items at a media
briefing on Tuesday, Feb. 12
, from noon to 1:30 p.m., at MPC’s
offices, 25 E. Washington St.,
Suite
1600.
MPC experts will provide
background and forecasts on critical regional
issues expected to be debated this year, including:
-
a state capital investment plan for roads and
bridges, transit and freight, housing and schools;
-
innovative financing mechanisms for infrastructure
projects, such as public-private partnerships and congestion pricing;
-
a statewide framework for managing water resources;
and
-
new
state leadership for planning in
Illinois
.
They’ll also discuss how the elections can help call national attention to the
concerns of
metropolitan
Chicago ’s residents and businesses. And
they’ll explain how changed policies will affect stories currently making
headlines, including the housing market’s turndown, the global energy crisis,
and
Chicago’s Olympics hopes.
To register, contact MPC Assistant Communications Director Mandy Burrell,
312
.863.6018,
mburrell@metroplanning.org.
Individuals Strengthening Chicago Schools to Share Successes at MPC
Roundtable
Join MPC on Thursday, Jan. 24
, as we continue our Roundtable Series featuring
neighbor-led community revitalization efforts. Parents and school administrators
from
three Chicago communities will discuss how
they’ve forged partnerships to strengthen their school communities at a
luncheon discussion, from noon to 1:30 p.m., at the Chicago Architecture Foundation,
John Buck Company
Lecture Hall,
224 S.
Michigan Ave., 1st Floor
Lobby,
Chicago.
Henry S. Webber,
vice president for community and government affairs
at
the
University
of Chicago and an MPC board member, will moderate
a panel of parents and school
administrators
from
Chicago’s Lincoln
Square, Little Village, and
Austin
communities.
This roundtable is co-hosted with
the Chicago Architecture Foundation and generously sponsored by the National
Endowment for the Arts.
Cost for MPC donors is $15; cost for non-donors is $30.
Members of the media may attend free of charge. Lunch will be
provided. To register, contact MPC Assistant Communications Director Mandy
Burrell, 312 .863.6018, mburrell@metroplanning.org
.
St. Charles Set to Vote on Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance, Housing Trust Fund
The
west suburban City of
St.
Charles
keeps moving one step closer toward approving an
inclusionary zoning ordinance and housing trust fund, both of which would help
preserve and create more affordable housing in the community. In February, the
St. Charles City Council is scheduled to vote on the measure, which was approved
unanimously by the Planning and Zoning Committee on Jan. 14.
If the measure is
approved, St.
Charles will join
a small, but influential group of cities
(including
Chicago,
Lake Forest
and
Highland Park
)
that have instituted similar measures to ensure they have a mix of housing at
all price points available to local residents.
“St. Charles is part of a growing number of cities in
our region that not only have acknowledged how important it is to have homes
affordable to local residents and workers, but that also have taken actions to
balance their housing stock,” said Joanna Trotter, manager of MPC’s Community Building Initiative
, which helped the city draft the measures.
“An inclusionary zoning ordinance and housing trust fund are the first two of
several new tools and resources the city is considering to preserve affordable
housing in
St.
Charles
, and help leverage private sector investment to
create new affordable homes.”
For more information about what the ordinance and trust fund could mean
for St.
Charles, and
the region, contact Trotter at 312-863-6008, or
jtrotter@metroplanning.org
.