The A+ Illinois campaign for statewide school funding
reform is asking voters to visit the A+ Illinois Web site
to send
letters to their state senators encouraging them to sign on to the growing list
of sponsors for Senate Bill 2288. The bill provides a new, permanent revenue
source for
Illinois
public schools and property tax
relief for homeowners.
The Illinois Senate Education Committee recently approved SB 2288, “a great start
toward a comprehensive
solution
to Illinois’ school quality and funding
crises,” according to A+ Illinois. The bill would raise the state’s minimum
per-pupil spending amount to $6,974 by 2012, bump up special education funding,
expand investments in early-childhood learning programs, and maintain and expand
grants for high-poverty schools. The bill also would
stabilize
Illinois’ long-term
fiscal health by raising the individual income tax from 3 to 5 percent, and the
corporate income tax from 4.8 to 8 percent; and by providing a refundable
low-income tax credit to protect working
families.
For more information on SB
2288, or to learn more about what A+ Illinois is doing this session to advocate
for reform, please
contact Clare
Fauke,
A+ Illinois communications director, at
cfauke@aplusillinois.org
or 312.516.5576.
Near North Residents Invited to Speak out on Transit, Retail at March 26
Meeting
The Clybourn
corridor between North and
Ashland
avenues has adapted from a
manufacturing hub to a diverse and bustling commercial center. Meanwhile,
residential development in the neighborhood continues, including Parkside of Old
Town, one of several new mixed-income communities created by the Chicago Housing
Authority’s Plan for Transformation. The need for transportation to evolve along
with residential and commercial development is painfully clear to anyone who
travels to the area – whether to shop on a sunny Saturday afternoon or to
deliver the goods beckoning shoppers.
The Near North Task Force of Reconnecting
Neighborhoods
,
a new community development initiative, invites community members to a
public meeting on Wednesday, March 26, from 6 to 7:30 p.m., at Evergreen
Towers Apartments, 1333
N.
Cleveland
Ave.,
Chicago, to:
- Voice their opinions about how to make their neighborhood more convenient
and vibrant.
- Plan improvements that will increase access to transportation, shopping
and jobs.
- Learn more about transportation and retail amenities in the Near North,
Old Town , Goose Island , River North, and former Cabrini Green neighborhoods.
This is the first community meeting on the Near North
Side for Reconnecting Neighborhoods, which will invite residents of three
Chicago mixed-income neighborhoods to participate in the planning for the future
of their communities. The project will result in recommendations for enhanced
transit services, retail, and improved public infrastructure in Near North,
Near West and Mid-South neighborhoods.
The project is being led by the City of
Chicago
Dept. of Planning and Development,
with
support from the
Regional Transportation Authority and MPC. HNTB, a planning firm, will handle the
project’s technical work and research.
For
more information, contact MPC Reconnecting Neighborhoods Manager Brandon
Johnson, 312-863-6046 or
bjohnson@metroplanning.org
.
Visit
the Reconnecting Neighborhoods Web
site
for
data on your community, and to read the Reconnecting Neighborhoods
blog.
New Joliet Community Development Corporation Breathing Life into Plan
A new
community development corporation has
formed
in
Joliet,
Ill.,
to help coordinate and secure funding for a community redevelopment plan created
by local residents and other stakeholders in the city’s 4
th
and
5
th
districts. These neighborhoods have weathered economic challenges
even as
Joliet
consistently ranks among the nation’s fastest growing
cities.
The Unity Community Development Corporation
(UCDC) will breathe life into the Joliet Quality of Life Plan, which
the city adopted in November 2007. The plan – a joint effort by residents, local
stakeholders, and city leaders, with support from MPC, Center for Neighborhood
Technology, and consultants – sets forth a community redevelopment strategy.
Recommendations address housing, transportation, retail and industrial
development, education, and more. To learn about the plan or UCDC, contact
Joanna Trotter
, manager of MPC’s
Community Building Initiative, at 312-863-6008, or
jtrotter@metroplanning.org
.
Learn more by contacting
Mandy Burrell
Booth, MPC assistant
communications director, at 312-863-6018 or
mburrell@metroplanning.org
,
or by visiting the MPC Web
site
.