APA-IL News BLAST! Legislative Update

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January/February Illinois Planning News, Edition 89 Paula Freeze, Editor

	Legislative Update By Sharon Caddigan, AICP, APA-IL Legislative Chair

The New Year began with quite a lot of discussion on transportation. First, we were threatened, saved, averted, re-threatened and saved again (at least this week) from the public transit ‘doomsday’ shutdown (see this January 17, 2008 Chicago Tribune article, Transit is back on track for more information). But more significantly, the General Assembly ignored the amendatory veto of the Governor and passed into law Public Act 95-0665.

This Act, nicknamed “Complete Streets,” requires that bicycle and pedestrian ways be given full consideration in the planning and development of transportation facilities, which receive State funding. Accommodations must be made to ensure that all State Routes within urban areas provide bicycle and pedestrian access. IDOT is charged with creating design and construction standards for projects seeking funding in 2009. We expect those regulations to be issued sometime this year.

This is a great piece of legislation, which APA-IL supported. A number of other states have enacted similar regulations, and it seems that the federal government will look into this as a requirement for future SAFETEA-LU and other federal transportation funding.

Now, if the General Assembly and the Governor could only agree on the public transit issue….

In regard to some bills we were watching at the end of last year, including annexation requirements and landscape architecture licensing, all bills were returned to Rules by the Senate. It would seem to be back to drawing board for many of these issues.

Sharon Caddigan, AICP
Village of Streamwood
301 E. Irving Park Road
Streamwood, IL 60107-3096
Phone: 630.837.0200 ext 350
Fax: 630.837.5960