ILAPA News BURST! 2006 Upper Midwest Four State Conference

	Mark your calendar! October 4-6 are the dates for the 2006 Upper Midwest Four State Conference. This year's Four State Conference, entitled Great Planning Begins at Home, replaces the annual ILAPA conference in Starved Rock and will include participation from Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa. It will be held at the Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, Illinois. The conference will feature multiple conference session tracks, several mobile workshops, a keynote address from John McCarron of the Chicago Tribune, an opening reception at the resort, and of course, a golf outing to cap things off. One of the highlights of the conference will be a one-half day training workshop on the APA Communications Plan. This workshop coaches planners on speaking with the media and assuring your message is conveyed the way you intend. The conference will also contain several sessions on downtown redevelopment including a mobile workshop of successful suburban downtown revitalizations including Naperville. A significant portion of the conference calendar is also reserved for presentation on award winning plans from all four states as well as the 2006 recipients of the National APA Awards program. Other topics will include issues related to renewable energy sources, transportation, development, social planning and technology tools in planning. Conference programs will be sent to APA members in all four states within the next month and early registration will be open until the beginning of September. Sponsor opportunities are currently available at various levels including a Platinum and Gold level as well as opportunities to sponsor the opening reception and purchase exhibit space. Please check http://www.ilapa.org/2006conf.html to learn more about sponsor opportunities. If you have any questions or suggestions about the conference contact either one of the co-chairs, Rob Kowalski (rob.kowalski@ci.champaign.il.us) or Phi Bus (busphil@co.kane.il.us) or the ILAPA Chapter Administrator John Paige (j.paige@comcast.net).

	Rob Kowalski, AICP Assistant Planning Director 102 N. Neil St. Champaign, IL 61820 Phone: 217.403.8800 Rob.Kowalski@ci.champaign.il.us