Many of you attended the recent Upper Midwest/Four State Conference in St. Charles. I would like to thank our Co-Chairs Rob Kowalski and Phil Bus, along with the Chapter’s Administrator, John Paige, for all of their efforts to provide a great conference for membership. Rob, Phil, and John, along with the Committees and many volunteers, provided a conference program with a wide variety of interesting topics, along with mobile workshops and a great opening reception. The conference was a tremendous success. The Illinois APA also thanks the many sponsors that assisted with putting on a first class conference. Highlights of the conference include:

• Over 400 in attendance.
• 18 corporate sponsors, a new record for our Conference sponsorship, including sponsorship of the opening reception and 12 exhibitor booths.
• 175 enjoyed an elegant evening at the Historic Hotel Baker in St. Charles.
• 28 stimulating sessions, from GIS tools to Zoning Law to Latino Affairs.
• 3 fun mobile workshops looking at downtowns, bikeways, and smart growth.
• 9 awards presented in recognition of great Illinois planning products.
• 2 provocative keynote addresses covering media relations and politics.
• Thousands of hallway conversations exchanging ideas and making new contacts.

You can view conference highlights and photos at http://www.ilapa.org/conf/2006conf_hlite.html.

By now, you should have received election ballots in the mail for both the four state chapter officers positions, as well as positions for each of the State sections. Information on our candidates can also be viewed at http://www.ilapa.org/elec06.html. Many thanks to Past President Michael Blue for his efforts and his Committee for providing a slate of candidates that are well qualified and committed to supporting the Chapter and activities for the next two years. Please do not forget to send in the APA ballot postmarked by November 10 (as well as voting in the mid-term elections on November 7).

As this will likely be my last column as President of the Illinois APA, I want to thank you, the membership, for the honor and pleasure of serving the past two years as President. Have you ever asked the question, “What does APA do for me”? Attendance at the semi-annual APA leadership meetings answers that question and provides insight into the vision for APA, the passion for the planning profession and the efforts to increase the awareness of planning and promoting planning at every level. A prime example is the recent communications package which was unveiled out at the National Convention last spring and is available from APA for planners to use in their jobs on a daily basis and in talking to the press about planning issues. APA is taking active measures to give planners the tools to make great communities happen.