top of page
Join us for...
Speed Planning!
#APAIL18
2018 APA-IL State Conference
Springfield, IL
September 26-28, 2018
PRELIMINARY PROGRAM
... WITH SESSIONS!
We're excited to announce our 2018 program!
Please note: items below are subject to change while we finalize conference logistics. We will be adding information to this page as new and exciting details are added. A final program will be available soon!
Information about the FREE conference app will be coming soon! The app will have all the information below and more!
All events slated to be held at the Wyndham Hotel unless otherwise indicated.
Conference program and app now available!
Download the official 2018 APA-IL State Conference program!
Download the official 2018 app!
Click here for instructions on how to login to the app. It's easy!
Wednesday, September 26th
Departs at 7:00am
Amtrak Mobile Workshops: Planning for Zero, A Blueprint to the Future – IDOT’s Multi-Year Program and What It Means for Illinois’ Planners, and I-84 Multimodal Station in Hartford, CT
Speaker(s): Stacey Meekins, AICP | Jamie Simone, AICP | Gina Trimarco, AICP
(CM | 1) Departs from Chicago Union Station, 500 W Jackson Blvd Ste 107, Chicago, IL. While riding Amtrak's Lincoln Service to Springfield, our speakers will present their respective projects: Stacey Meekins, AICP will present Vision Zero, a bold initiative that aims to eliminate deaths and serious injuries due to traffic crashes. Jamie Simone, AICP will help familiarize attendees with IDOT's multi-year program and how it can help to identify planning opportunities for communities, counties or regions. Gina Trimarco, AICP, will be discussing the I-84 Multimodal Station in Hartford, CT.
Departs at 7:57am
Amtrak Mobile Workshops: Planning for Zero, A Blueprint to the Future – IDOT’s Multi-Year Program and What It Means for Illinois’ Planners, and I-84 Multimodal Station in Hartford, CT
Speaker(s): Stacey Meekins, AICP | Jamie Simone, AICP | Gina Trimarco, AICP
(CM | 1) Departs from Gateway Center, 50 E Jefferson St, Joliet, IL. While riding Amtrak's Lincoln Service to Springfield, our speakers will present their respective projects: Stacey Meekins, AICP will present Vision Zero, a bold initiative that aims to eliminate deaths and serious injuries due to traffic crashes. Jamie Simone, AICP will help familiarize attendees with IDOT's multi-year program and how it can help to identify planning opportunities for communities, counties or regions. Gina Trimarco, AICP, will be discussing the I-84 Multimodal Station in Hartford, CT.
Departs at 9:14am
Amtrak Mobile Workshops: Planning for Zero, A Blueprint to the Future – IDOT’s Multi-Year Program and What It Means for Illinois’ Planners, and I-84 Multimodal Station in Hartford, CT
Speaker(s): Stacey Meekins, AICP | Jamie Simone, AICP | Gina Trimarco, AICP
(CM | 1) Departs from Uptown Station, 11 Uptown Cir, Normal, IL. While riding Amtrak's Lincoln Service to Springfield, our speakers will present their respective projects: Stacey Meekins, AICP will present Vision Zero, a bold initiative that aims to eliminate deaths and serious injuries due to traffic crashes. Jamie Simone, AICP will help familiarize attendees with IDOT's multi-year program and how it can help to identify planning opportunities for communities, counties or regions. Gina Trimarco, AICP, will be discussing the I-84 Multimodal Station in Hartford, CT.
8:00am - 5:30pm
Registration Opens
Stop by the registration desk to pick up your name badge and conference bag!
If you have any questions, we're happy to help you at the registration desk.
8:00am
Exhibit Hall / Breakfast Opens
Breakfast till 9:30am.
9:30am - 12:15pm
Mobile Workshop: Hospitals & their Neighborhoods - Exploring the Enos Park Access to Care Collaborative
Speaker(s): TBA
(CM | 2.5) Participants will visit the Enos Park neighborhood, which is adjacent to two regional hospital campuses, and then attend a session in one of the medical facilities. Memorial Medical Center, HSHS St. John’s Hospital, and SIU Medicine’s Center for Family Medicine fund a project to place community health workers (CHWs) within the Enos Park neighborhood to meet community needs and expand care in the heart of Springfield.
9:30am - 10:45am
The Mounds – America’s First Cities
Speaker(s): Laura Lyon
(CM | 1.25) The Mounds – America’s First Cities: Heartlands Conservancy will present their efforts to elevate the status of the Cahokia Mounds to a national designation within the National Park Service. Although often overlooked, Cahokia Mounds is a World Heritage Site and is considered one of the greatest achievements in the ancient history of our continent. Through an extensive planning and public engagement effort, HeartLands Conservancy studied the mounds system and produced a feasibility study with findings and recommendations regarding one of our oldest cities.
9:30am - 10:45am
Adjusting to Changes in Small Communities
Speaker(s): Norman Walzer | Gary Kull
(CM | 1.25) Population projections for 2025 show that more than 50 non-metro counties will lose population and the Baby Boom generation will represent the largest increase in number of residents. Thus, local governments will face a shrinking work force at the same time that aging populations will require more and different services. This presentation will examine these changes and offer strategic directions that local officials can take including ways to keep the current work force working longer, innovative approaches to attract Millennials and young adults in the region, and offer new opportunities for elderly residents to find more suitable housing arrangements while opening larger, older homes to young families.
9:30am - 10:45am
A Blueprint to the Future – IDOT Multi-Year Program and What It Means for Illinois’ Planners
Speaker(s): Molly Berns | Brian Davis | Joe Schatteman
(CM | 1.25) This session will teach the attendees how to utilize the Illinois Department of Transportation's (IDOT) Multi-Year Program to identify planning opportunities for communities, counties or regions. We will also discuss important elements of IDOT’s transportation assent management plan (TAMP). Panelists will describe how they have utilized the information contained in the multi-year plan. Examples will be provided regarding how the multi-year plan has been beneficial to the planning and implementation process.
10:45am - 11:00am
Break
Speaker(s): TBA
10:45am - 12:15pm
Mobile Workshop: Downtown Springfield Redevelopment Walking Tour
Speaker(s): TBA
(CM | 1.5) Beginning at the conference hotel, participants will walk throughout downtown Springfield on a guided tour, spanning from the Lincoln Home National Historic Site, to the state capitol complex, to the Old Capitol, and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. Speakers will highlight the city’s central business district urban design and functionality, while also discussing recent redevelopment projects and ongoing planning efforts.
11:00am - 12:15pm
Sustainability and Climate Resilience for Land Managers
Speaker(s): Anthony Tindall | Shantanu Pai | Nichole Cavender | Christopher Schmidt
(CM | 1.25) Over the last century average temperatures for Illinois have already risen 1F, recent projections show that even in a lower emissions scenario temperatures will rise for Illinois and thereby altering the climate for the region. Various communities and regions within Illinois have derived their own unique approach to reduce their contribution to greenhouse gas emissions and thereby help mitigate the rate of climate change, however communities in Illinois are also addressing the hard question of adaptation, i.e. what do we do now to prepare our community during and for a changing climate. This panel will highlight the unique challenges that climate change poses to land managers across Illinois and they are preparing for and responding to the current and projected impacts within their limitations.
11:00am - 12:15pm
Can a Suburb be Pretty Darn Sweet? | New Urbanism, Building a Better Burb, and the Suburbs of the Future
Speaker(s): Gary Scott | Emily Fultz, AICP | Mark Koplin, AICP | Andy Cross, AICP
(CM | 1.25) There is an emerging area of city planning and urban design that focuses on "retrofitting suburbia" to create more livable, sustainable places - that cater to a much wider range of ages, household types, and lifestyles. After over-viewing these trends and planning context themes, the panel of speakers will profile certain case studies from CNU, Build a Better Burb, and Chicago area communities to show how these techniques can be applied to the adaptive reuse of a small, historic building in a neighborhood district - or to massive scale suburban sites like the former AT&T corporate campus along I-90 in Hoffman Estates, which will be converted into a "metroburb" concept. The session will conclude with a Q&A component that will allow attendees to offer examples from their communities and very quick brainstorms on potential "better burb" approaches from the panel.
12:45pm - 1:45pm
Networking Lunch
Lunch on the town!
1:45pm - 2:45 pm
Keynote Speaker
Speaker(s): Carol Ross Barney
(CM | 1)
2:45pm - 3:00pm
Break
Expo Stage: Ratio presents
3:00pm - 4:15pm
Community Building through Community Planning
Speaker(s): Brandon Nolin, AICP | Elizabeth Scott, AICP | Tameeka Christian | Tanesha House
(CM | 1.25) This session will profile the planning process undertaken in North Lawndale, a community on the west side of Chicago that has witnessed several decades of disinvestment, but many feel is on the cusp of positive change. Attendees will leave the session equipped with tools they can use to augment their own projects and supplement more traditional planning and community engagement efforts.
3:00pm - 4:15pm
Curb Your (Parking) Enthusiasm: Innovative Approaches to Address a Transitioning Curb Space
Speaker(s): Jane Wilberding, AICP | Lindsay Bayley | Emily Egan, AICP
(CM | 1.25) The curb has traditionally been used for vehicle storage, with reactive regulations periodically occurring based on land use changes or specific requests. However, curb space management is being revolutionized as emerging transportation technologies continue to alter travel behavior and parking demand. Cities large and small are beginning to see the effects of this transition through increased demand for pick-up/drop-off space, lowering – or eliminating – minimum off-street parking requirements, and an increased interest in extending retail space and pedestrian/bicycle amenities. The success of a healthy, vibrant downtown relies on the presence of curb space management policies that adapt to the constantly changing demand of its users, whether it be vehicles, transit users, bicyclists/pedestrians, or retail space. This panel presentation aims to arm cities – large and small – with the right tools to address these changes based on their individual needs.
4:15pm - 4:30pm
Break
Expo Stage: APA-IL Pro Bono Committee presents
4:30pm - 5:30pm
2018 APA-IL Awards Program
Speaker(s): Various
5:30pm - 7:30pm
2018 APA-IL Awards Reception & Exhibitor Meet and Greet
Speakers(s): N/A
Thursday, September 27th
7:45am - 5:00pm
Registration Opens
Stop by the registration desk to pick up your name badge and conference bag!
If you have any questions, we're happy to help you at the registration desk.
7:45am
Exhibit Hall Opens / Breakfast
Breakfast till 9:00am.
9:00am - 12:00pm
Plan Commissioner Training
Speaker(s): Michael Blue, FAICP | Greg Jones, AICP | Laurie Marston, FAICP | David Silverman, AICP
For plan commissioners only
9:00am - 10:30am
National Neighborhood Days: Cultivating Social Capital for Change
Speaker(s): Douglas Farr | Sydney VanKuren | Mercy Davison, AICP
(CM | 1.5) Want to magnify your community’s progress towards its equity, resilience, and climate goals? Is your community working towards identifying its goals about growth and change? Is your community still learning who its members are? Wherever your community is in terms of building social capital and working towards a more sustainable future, the National Neighborhood Days movement can help you accelerate progress! Join this workshop to learn everything you need to bring National Neighborhood Days to your community in 2019! Bring your ideas, leave with a plan!
9:00am - 10:30am
The Emerging Nexus between Land Use and Financing Planning: An APA & GFOA Initiative
Speaker(s): Drew Awsumb, AICP, Shayne Kavanagh, Jennifer Henaghan, AICP, and Kevin Wachtel
(CM | 1.5) sometimes performed, the emerging focus on financial resiliency has raised the importance of better aligning financial and land use planning at the local level. A city’s land use decisions have important implications for the city government and overlapping jurisdictions’ financial health for years, if not decades to come. Stemming from a presentation at the 2017 APA-IL State Conference in Naperville, APA National and GFOA have created a joint working group, based in the Chicago region and including dozens of local government jurisdictions, to begin to unpack what all of this means - and what to do about it. This session will present the initial tool kit and planning methodology recommended by the group.
9:00am - 10:30am
Tollway Project Development and Implementation
Speaker(s): Nicole Nutter, AICP | Rocco Zucchero | Reed Panther, AICP
(CM | 1.5) The Illinois Tollway is in the midst of a 15-year, $14 billion capital program, Move Illinois: The Illinois Tollway Driving the Future. Through this program, several major projects have been completed or are in the works. The Tollway approaches ever project uniquely to each corridor’s needs. The session will be focused on describing the Tollway’s planning process from project development to implementation. Examples will be provided of various projects, the different stages they are in and how they were and are being approached
10:30am - 2:30pm
Mobile Workshop: Loving Logistics - The Midwest Inland Port
Speaker(s): TBA
(CM | 3) Participants will travel 45 minutes east to Decatur, Illinois for a panel session at the headquarter offices of the port that will discuss the importance of transportation infrastructure and the logistics industry in Illinois economic development. The Midwest Inland Port is a multi-modal transportation hub that serves both domestic and international logistics demand. The speakers’ discussion will continue at Taproot, a restaurant located on historic Merchant Street in downtown Decatur.
10:30am - 2:30pm
Mobile Workshop: Planners in the Classroom
Speaker(s): TBA
(CM | 2) It is our hope that by reaching out to the youth of the community and educating them in the theories and practices of our profession we will make our communities even better places to live and work. This workshop will allow students to create their own ideal community.
10:30am - 11:00am
Break
Expo Stage: Ancel Glink presents
11:00am - 12:00pm
Speed Planning
Speaker(s): Various
(CM | 1) This session offers a taste of the best planning has to offer from recent award winners and other agencies through a fast-paced, interactive session covering a wide range of topics. How does it work? One project, topic, and/or speaker will present at one table for the entire session. Here’s where the real fun begins: every 15-20 minutes, attendees will be instructed to move to another table to listen to a different presentation. Every 15-20 minutes a new group of people will be sitting at each table for the award winner or agency to do their presentation again. Think musical chairs, APA-IL style!
12:00pm - 1:30pm
Networking Lunch
Lunch on the town!
1:30pm - 2:30pm
Plenary Speaker
Speaker(s): Randy Blankenhorn, Illinois Transportation Secretary
(CM | 1)
1:30pm - 4:00pm
Plan Commissioner Training: Mock Hearing
Speaker(s): Michael Blue, FAICP | Greg Jones, AICP | Laurie Marston, FAICP | David Silverman, AICP
(CM | 2.5) Conference attendees are welcome to attend! We will cover typical items that occur during a public hearing and how best to handle the process. Commissioners will be asked to volunteer to read a script and play the parts, such as developer, attorney, engineer, architect, planner, neighbor. At several points, we will ask the audience how the hearing is going based on what they learned in the morning. We will discuss whether certain things could have been handled in a different manner so the commissioners will learn about best practices for conducting a hearing. Please note, this takes place at the City of Springfield City Hall Council Chambers.
2:30pm - 2:45pm
Break
Expo Stage: SB Friedman presents
2:30pm - 4:00pm