Today, Ill. Gov. Pat Quinn will give his State of the State address, and there’s been much speculation about what the governor will discuss. MPC, like many policy advocates, will be listening closely to determine whether the governor’s agenda aligns with our own – MPC’s 2010 policy agenda entitled “Plan for Prosperity” can find be found here. Each year, we make public our 12-month plan for developing, advocating for, and implementing policies at every level that advance our mission. This year, we believe we’ve got momentum on our side.
In July 2009, President Barack Obama addressed a room of policy experts, business leaders, and elected officials from around the country, and put out an open call for “new strategies for our cities and metropolitan areas that focus on advancing opportunity through competitive, sustainable and inclusive growth.”
The President’s remarks, which also directed key Cabinet officials to conduct a comprehensive review of federal policies that impede coordinated regional growth, were music to MPC’s ears — and amplified our drumbeat for policies and investments that support an economically competitive, socially equitable, and environmentally sustainable region.
We welcome Washington reviewing its policies from top to bottom, but solutions need to come from the bottom up. That’s why the President dispatched members of his Cabinet to metropolitan regions across America, including Chicagoland, to hear about and see examples of local innovation the federal government can help to replicate and support.
What the White House and Cabinet officials saw and heard when they launched their national listening tour at MPC’s 2009 Annual Luncheon is the tri-state metropolitan Chicago region is ready to be a laboratory for change — and already has tested models of sustainable community development. MPC is looking forward to continuing to work with local, regional, state, and federal partners throughout 2010, to pursue goal-driven, right-sized and coordinated policies and investments. Our Plan for Prosperity provides a roadmap for actions we want to take and policy changes we want to accomplish, guided by these three principles.