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 Left to right: Jim McConoughey, McHenry County Economic Development Corporation; Xochitl Flores, Cook County Bureau of Economic Development; Kyle Schulz, World Business Chicago; Andrea Sáenz, The Chicago Community Trust; Scott Gengler, Kendall County Board; Erin Aleman, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning; Peter Austin, McHenry County Administrator; Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Board President; Greg Bedalov, Choose DuPage; Deborah Conroy, DuPage County Board Chair; Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant, Will County Executive; Lori E. Lightfoot, Mayor of Chicago; Doug Pryor, Will County Center for Economic Development; Irene Sherr, Cook County Bureau of Economic Development; Jim Reynolds, Loop Capital; Sandy Hart, Lake County Board Chair; Kevin Considine, Lake County Partners; Michael Fassnacht, World Business Chicago
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In first-of-its-kind partnership, regional leaders unite around economic strategy to boost shared prosperity
The Greater Chicagoland Economic Partnership launched this month, and regional leaders will work together in a first-of-its-kind collaboration among the seven counties of northeastern Illinois and the City of Chicago to drive economic growth and advance equity across the region.
The Partnership is made up of economic development leaders across the public, private, and civic sectors. It will focus on promoting the region’s many assets, including extensive freight infrastructure, diverse talent, strong exporting industries, and world-class institutions of innovation, research, and culture to develop a competitive global identity.
World Business Chicago will manage the partnership and will expand its services region-wide, complementing existing municipal and county programs. Each of the partners have made a financial commitment totaling $1 million for the first in a three-year pilot.
The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) set this work in motion two years ago, supported by a grant from the Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust, at the request of the region’s county board chairs and the deputy mayor of Chicago. CMAP partnered with the Brookings Institution — a nonprofit public policy organization.
"I am confident that this new partnership will advance our goals of achieving an inclusive and thriving region," said Erin Aleman, executive director of CMAP. "CMAP appreciates the opportunity to help shepherd this new era of regional economic cooperation for northeastern Illinois."
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PART initiative aims for stronger and more financially secure transit system for northeastern Illinois
Big, bold solutions are needed to secure the financial viability of our region’s transit system. The development of a plan for a stronger and more financially secure transit system for our region is underway.
With a fiscal cliff facing the region’s transit providers, the Illinois General Assembly and Governor J.B. Pritzker approved Public Act 102-1028. The law requires CMAP, in collaboration with stakeholders, to submit a report that considers transit system funding, governance, coordinated regional service, and other factors. The Plan of Action for Regional Transit, or PART, report is due to the legislature by January 1, 2024.
Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic with emergency federal assistance expiring and ridership below pre-pandemic levels, the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), Chicago Transit Authority, Metra, and Pace are projecting a budget shortfall of $730 million in 2026.
CMAP is engaging a diverse group of stakeholders from the business, community, environmental, labor, and civic sectors, along with the public, in this process. The PART steering committee held its first meeting on January 18 and plans to convene four other times throughout 2023.
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Mobility Recovery report helps reimagine how our transportation network can better serve all residents
To prepare the region for a post-pandemic recovery, CMAP worked with our partners to develop a mobility strategy that can support an equitable recovery, sustain the transit network, and ease a rebound in congestion.
The Mobility Recovery report is a two-year effort — supported through research, analysis, and outreach — that tracked trends to better understand how our region’s transportation needs evolved during the pandemic and identified strategies to address these challenges.
The report was developed in partnership with more than 20 local governments, transportation providers, transit advocates, and other organizations in northeastern Illinois.
The report identifies solutions that can:
- Invest in a stronger and more financially secure transit system
- Expand travel by safe and active modes
- Balance the benefits and impacts of e-commerce and freight activity
"The pandemic has created new challenges for northeastern Illinois’ transportation system and intensified many longstanding disparities,” said CMAP Executive Director Erin Aleman. “The Mobility Recovery report provides a blueprint to help people and goods move through our region sustainably and equitably for decades to come.”
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CMAP Board highlights: 26 communities to receive technical assistance; IIJA project booklet available
The CMAP Board held its first meeting of the year last week. Here are some highlights:
- The publication of an updated federal and state advocacy agenda and Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act priority projects will support and promote our region as a leader in transformational investments that address climate change, and enhance resilience, equity, and safety.
- Twenty-six communities throughout the region will receive technical assistance to improve traffic safety, make travel more accessible, and help them prosper in the years ahead. We’ll be working with communities on developing safety action plans and better protecting bicyclists and pedestrians, and partnering with communities to strengthen compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
- As serious traffic injuries and fatalities continue to rise throughout our region, CMAP is supporting the Illinois Department of Transportation's 2023 federally mandated roadway safety targets for a 2 percent annual reduction rate. Our safety work includes safety action planning for the counties in our region; ongoing tracking and public reporting of regional safety performance measures and targets; and an upcoming series of performance measure dashboards, so that interactive data showing trends and targets can be more accessible to our regional partners.
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Making our streets safer: New agreement between IDOT and CDOT will help pedestrians and bicyclists
A new agreement between the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) will make it easier to implement traffic safety features on local roads and state routes in Chicago.
The memorandum of understanding includes:
- A list of traffic safety infrastructure that won’t be subject to comprehensive IDOT review before installation, allowing the city to design and self-certify projects such as curb cuts and other sidewalk improvements to make streets more walkable.
- Updated design standards to emphasize pedestrian safety at intersections. This will allow for additional safety features at certain state routes, such as curb extensions and bump-outs that shorten crossing distances for pedestrians.
- An IDOT-CDOT working group to enhance existing interagency collaboration.
The improved collaboration is intended to help address the alarming rise in traffic fatalities in our region, particularly among bicyclists and pedestrians.
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Community-engaged partnerships can apply for
grants to promote health, caring for our land, equity
The Nature, Culture, and Human Health (NCH2) Network will offer small seed-planning grants ($2,000-$5,000) to support community-engaged partnerships around the values of community health, caring for our land, and equity.
Among the examples of projects:
- Planning an urban farm with a youth group and including education about nutritious food, food security, and future professions in the field.
- Exploring ways to create, restore, and spruce up outdoor nature spaces that are safe and welcoming in communities that do not have ready access.
- Figuring out how to make communities with high pedestrian and bike accidents more safe and trustworthy for commuting, recreating, and fun.
- Partnering with organizations to better understand how they care for the land and ensure food and housing security for their families.
- Creating affinity communities around outdoor activities in areas that have low mobility.
Applications are due by Tuesday, February 21.
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Explore CMAP's updated Land Use Inventory
CMAP recently released the 2018 Land Use Inventory, a survey of northeastern Illinois’ land use. Updated from 2015, the data is available for download.
The Land Use Inventory is a resource for county planning departments, regional transportation agencies, federal and state agencies, university researchers, non-governmental organizations, consulting firms, and more. It can help you understand existing land uses when creating a comprehensive plan and track progress toward goals. For example, you can analyze the success of development policies, such as tracking if recent policies have led to more infill and transit-oriented development.
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CMAP planner joins Disability Lead leadership program
Lincoln Edwards, an associate planner at CMAP, was recently named a fellow in Disability Lead's 2023 Institute.
The institute is the only leadership program in the nation specifically for leaders with disabilities and that makes connections to opportunities for civic engagement and leadership. The fellows actively participate in a year-long program to grow as leaders and make changes in their communities.
Lincoln is one of 16 fellows selected from a competitive process. Originally from Philadelphia, Lincoln obtained his master's in planning at the University of Arizona in 2021. His professional passions include urban restoration, community revitalization, and universal design. He is also a member of CMAP's ADA planning team.
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Apply for grant opportunities to help boost safety
on Illinois roadways
IDOT's Bureau of Safety Programs and Engineering has posted six Highway Safety Program Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) for the grant year of October 1, 2023, through September 30, 2024. Illinois is seeking grant applications from local agencies and organizations (not including state agencies) to reduce serious injuries and fatalities on roadways.
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Call for projects: Communities can apply now for surface transportation project funding
To help realize the regional principles of ON TO 2050 and help communities prosper through transportation investments, CMAP is accepting funding applications for surface transportation projects.
The call for projects opened January 17, and it lasts through Friday, March 10.
These programs can help fund projects that improve safety, transit, bicycle, or pedestrian facilities. They also help address freight and traffic movement, repair bridges, reconstruct roads, and invest in alternative fuel vehicles and equipment.
Funding for these projects will be distributed through the federal sources that CMAP manages, including the regional Surface Transportation Program Shared Fund, the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program, the locally programmed Transportation Alternatives Program, and the new Carbon Reduction Program.
The passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) means more money is available for programming these funds. IIJA also created the Carbon Reduction Program, which provides another funding source for projects designed to reduce transportation emissions.
Interested parties can learn more about the call for projects through a virtual Q-and-A session from 1 to 3 p.m., Wednesday, January 25. Attendees can ask questions at any time during the two-hour session.
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