(Chicago) … Soaring energy costs, flooding, insufficient
mass transit, and crumbling bridges – all have made recent headlines and all
stem from poor planning and the continued strain on our nation’s infrastructure.
President-elect Barack Obama’s plan to
support
Great Lakes restoration – along with the potential
for a second economic stimulus package, including money to support infrastructure
investments – make this an ideal time to set a new agenda for
infrastructure investment in the
Great
Lakes
region.
On Monday, Nov.
17, 2008,
leaders
from the Great Lakes business, civic, government, and academic communities will
meet in Chicago to identify and prioritize strategic investments in
transportation, water and energy to be included in a national infrastructure
plan, authorization of a new surface transportation bill, pending climate change
legislation, and implementation of the Great Lakes Compact.
Chicago’s
Metropolitan Planning Council
(MPC)
and New York's
Regional Plan Association
are co-hosting the conference, “Rebuilding and Renewing America:
Infrastructure Choices in the Great Lakes Megaregion,” an America 2050 forum.
The conference will be from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, 151
E. Wacker Dr., Chicago.
This forum is part of America 2050
, a national
initiative to develop an infrastructure strategy for
America
’s future
growth, competitiveness and sustainability. Funding has been provided by the
Rockefeller Foundation, Surdna Foundation, and Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
Local sponsors include the Builders Association and
NIPSCO.
WHAT:
“Rebuilding and Renewing America: Infrastructure Choices in the Great
Lakes Megaregion,” an
America
2050 forum to set a new agenda for infrastructure investment in the
Great Lakes
megaregion
WHO: Invited guests include leaders from
the
Great
Lakes
business, civic,
government
and academic
communities. Invited
speakers and
panelists include the following:
Hon. Earl Blumenauer , United States House of Representatives (D-OR)
(confirmed)
Hon. Peter Gordon MacKay, Canadian Minister of National Defense
and Minister for the Atlantic Gateway (confirmed)
Hon. Edward Rendell,
Governor, State of Pennsylvania (invited)
Hon. Bill Richardson, Governor,
State of New Mexico (invited)
Mayor Richard Daley, Chicago
(invited)
Katherine Baer, Senior Director for Clean Waters, America Rivers
(confirmed)
Cameron Davis, President, Alliance for the Great Lakes
(confirmed)
MaryAnn Dickinson, Executive Director, Alliance for Water
Efficiency (confirmed)
Anne Evens, Director, Center for Neighborhood
Technology, Energy (confirmed)
Van Jones, founding president of Green For
All, senior fellow with the Center for American Progress (invited)
Maureen
McAvey, Executive Vice President, Infrastructure Initiatives, Urban Land
Institute (confirmed)
Anne Pramaggiore, Executive VP of Customer Operations
and Regulatory ad External Affairs, Commonwealth Edison Co. (confirmed)
Ilana
Preuss, Director of Campaign Partnerships, T4 America (confirmed)
Rob
Puentes, Fellow, Metropolitan Policy Program, The Brookings Institution
(confirmed)
Samuel W. Speck, Commissioner, International Joint Commission;
member, International Joint Commission for the Great Lakes (confirmed)
Wally
Tyner, Professor of Agricultural Economics, Purdue (confirmed)
WHEN: Monday, Nov. 17, 2008, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
WHERE:
Hyatt Regency
Chicago,
151 E. Wacker
Dr.,
Chicago
NOTE: Attendance at the forum is by
invitation only. Members of the media are
welcome
and may register with Jonathan Freedman, Group SJR, at
212-751-3326,
347-528-0853, or
jf@groupsjr.com
; or with
Mandy
Burrell
Booth, MPC asst. communications director, at
mburrell@metroplanning.org
or
312-863-6018.