PLANNING OFFICIALS TRAINING
The APA-IL Planning Officials Development Committee creates training opportunities and brings them to planning officials around the Illinois.
Planning officials work hard reading packets, reviewing cases, conducting public hearings, and considering policy matters; but they rarely get the chance to sit back and look at the big picture of what they do and the significance it has to the communities in which they live. Also, most officials are not professionals in the planning or development fields and can benefit from a bit of extra training on the topic. Even seasoned commissioners appreciate the chance to step back from the task of plan review and approval, learn what’s new in planning, and discuss their role with fellow commissioners. The APA-IL has teamed up with the Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development at DePaul University to provide trained faculty that lead planning officials through an in-depth curriculum that includes:
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Planning History
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Tools of the Trade - master plans, zoning codes, etc.
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Role of the Commissioners
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Role of Others in the Process
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Basics of “Findings of Fact”
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Open Meetings/Ethics
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Regional Planning
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Special Topics - a custom-built to include particular issues that a community would like to cover. Examples include: site plan review, sustainability, design review, affordable housing, economic development, or transit oriented development.
Planning Officials attended training at the 2014 State Conference and can attest to the quality and value of the APA-IL's Plan Commissioner Training.
Faculty (2011-2019)
Since the training is offered throughout the state, the faculty are volunteers from around Illinois. We have two faculty at each workshop. All are experienced planners, often with both municipal planning experience and private sector planning experience.
Michael Blue, FAICP
Chuck Bevelheimer, AICP
Andy Cross, AICP
Carrie Davis, AICP
Mercy Davison, AICP
Phil Dick, AICP
Greg Jones, AICP
Courtney Kashima, AICP
Bruce Knight, FAICP
Laurie Marston, FAICP
Les Pollock, FAICP
David Silverman, AICP
Bob Sullivan, FAICP
Dan Ungerleider, AICP
Cindy Winland, AICP
Contact Us
Contact APA-IL Planning Officials Development Committee Chair, Michael Blue, FAICP for more information on training opportunities.
Training News
Where we've held sessions:
Map prepared by the Chaddick Institute of DePaul University
What are our attendees saying?
Violetta Cullen, City of Evanston - "I got a chance to hear from a lot of different municipalities that have the same type of problems that we did and compare ourselves."
I highly recommend it for everybody!
Keith Youngquist, Village of Mount Prospect - "What I great time! I've been a commissioner for 15 years. Don't know why I didn't do this training earlier."