ILAPA News BURST! Illinois State Section Report

Illinois State Section Report by Rob Kowalski, AICP

	After a winter break the Illinois State Section is ready to commence a schedule of activities for 2006. The highlights for the year will be two "Section Meetings" and several Citizen Planner Training Workshops. Section Meetings are one day conferences held in select communities downstate. The Section recruits local planners from that community to organize an agenda of presentations that focus on any variety of topics. We try to rotate the location of these meetings over the years so members can get the experience of places they perhaps haven't visited in a while. The Spring Section Meeting will be held Friday May 5, 2006 in Carbondale. Information will be forthcoming. Please mark your calendars today and plan on attending. Carbondale last hosted a Section Meeting in 2002 and it was one of the best events hosted by the APA-ISS. Heading south in late Spring also gives everyone the opportunity to sample summer weather a little early! The Fall Section Meeting has not yet been set. Throughout 2006 the APA-ISS intends to promote more Citizen Planner Training Workshops in as many communities as possible. These workshops are designed to educate plan commissioners, elected officials, and citizen planners the basics of planning and the public process. Similar to the Section Meetings, local planners are encouraged to organize and host a workshop in their community. The APA-ISS can assist in finding speakers and producing materials and sample agendas. If your community could use a refresher on the basics of the role of planning, please consider hosting an event. Contact a Board Member of the ISS and they can help you get started. Finally, the ISS has budgeted funds in 2006 to help subsidize registration costs for members to the Annual Four State Conference. The State Conference this year will be combined with the Annual Four State Conference (shared with the Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin Chapters) this fall. Plans are in the initial stages, and you should circle October 4-6, 2006, on your calendars. The Conference will be in the Chicago area and we hope to have a venue in the western or northwestern suburbs. For those of you going through the annual budgeting process, do not forget to set aside funds to attend this Conference. There will be plenty of opportunities for Chapter members to get involved in the Four State Conference, whether it is through Conference sessions, mobile workshops, or general organization and logistics. We will need your help to make this a memorable Conference.
	Rob Kowalski, AICP Assistant Planning Director 102 N. Neil St. Champaign, IL 61820 Phone: 217.403.8800 Rob.Kowalski@ci.champaign.il.us