I am very excited about the upcoming
annual IL Chapter APA
conference, a joint event this year – for the first time ever – with
the Illinois Chapter of ASLA. For many years, APA-IL has had a goal in
its Chapter Development Plan to “build bridges” with allied
professions, so that we can learn from and collaborate with one
another. There are some excellent sessions in the works. Also, I have
it on good authority that we’ll have the privilege to hear from our
distinguished Lieutenant Governor, APA’s esteemed Executive Director. (I don’t
need to name them, do I?) The conference planning committee, led by
Craig Hullinger and Ben Vyverberg, is working hard and doing a
fantastic job. Check out their article with more details in this
newsletter.
Please read about some of the other Chapter and Section activities
on our web site – we are doing so much and I am writing about a
fraction of it. Let me know (773.983.9836) if there’s an APA topic
you’d like to hear about. (Alternatively, I could make this column much
shorter!) I will mention just a couple other recent activities I have
been involved in:
Every month, we (me and/or John Paige, our able Chapter
Administrator) attend a meeting of the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for
Planning (CMAP) Land Use Committee. The group is working on goals and
visioning for the new Regional Comprehensive Plan, as well as learning
about all the organizations represented on the Committee. All the
meeting materials are online at http://chicagoareaplanning.org/land%5Fuse/.
The APA-IL Chapter was asked to serve on the advisory committee for
the housing reinvestment workbook which the Campaign for Sensible
Growth, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, Illinois Housing
Council, Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, and Metropolitan Planning Council
are cooperating to produce. The workbook will complement some very
successful predecessors: Sensible Tools For Healthy Communities, Planning 1-2-3, and Retail 1-2-3. It’s a great project, and I was pleased to see that several other APA-IL members are also at the table.
Both committees are interesting and enjoyable – which I’m especially
grateful for since they require me to wake up way earlier than usual.
Make sure you get outside and enjoy summer!
