W
hen
Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley spoke at MPC’s Annual Meeting Luncheon in 2005,
he offered keen insights on the secret to
Chicago
’s success. He pointed to the
willingness of business and government to work together, describing our
collective civic pride as
Chicago
’s hidden treasure. He also cautioned
that investing in both our physical infrastructure and our human capital – by
reaching consensus on school funding reform – are essential to the region’s
future. But, the one thing he said that provoked the most reaction? He urged us
to turn off the tap when we brush our teeth!
It
was a vivid reminder that even on the shores of the seemingly bottomless Lake
Michigan, the
Chicago
region has a potential water crisis on
its hands. And while turning off the tap in
Chicago
would save us 6 million gallons of
water a day, our policymakers need to deal with the impact uncoordinated
regional growth is having on our water quality as well as supply.
Water
is not the only natural resource we need to fiercely protect. We are gobbling up
green space, burning fuel, and polluting the air at alarming rates. Thankfully,
both state and local leaders recognize we are headed for trouble, and have
launched a variety of new environmental initiatives.
Chicago
has created the
Green Urban Design Task Force, a collaboration of multiple city departments that
merges the city’s many green efforts. Gov. Rod Blagojevich has proposed a
comprehensive long term energy plan to replace
Illinois
’ dependence on foreign oil with
homegrown alternatives. In November, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for
Planning (CMAP) launched a three-year study of water supply in Boone, Grundy,
Kankakee
,
Kendall
, as well as our traditional six counties. It is no
surprise that MPC’s expertise has been sought out on all these
efforts.
Protecting
and preserving our precious natural resources are at the heart of the Council’s
work. While some of our programs may not seem as obviously environmental as our
water work, better planning the connections between housing, transportation, and
other land uses does have significant environmental benefits. In the spirit of
the new year, let’s all resolve to individually do our part to turn our civic
pride into action and, of course, turn off the tap.