Sixty-four people attended a Plan Commission training workshop hosted by the Will County Governmental League at Joliet Junior College April 7, 2018. APA-IL and DePaul University’s Chaddick Institute co-sponsored the training, which had the largest turnout of any training session since the chapter began the program in 2011!
Those attending included representatives of eighteen municipalities, Grundy County, and CMAP. Mayors, other elected officials, City Managers, Village Administrators, a municipal attorney, members of Plan Commissions and Zoning Boards of Appeal, and staff attended. Michael Blue, FAICP and Les Pollock, FAICP were the trainers for the chapter’s 82nd session.
Among the most helpful topics the commissioners listed on the anonymous evaluation forms were: the roles and responsibilities of commissioners, proper hearing procedure, and the comments and discussion with others in the audience.
Many of the commissioners commented that there wasn’t enough time to cover all the material. Some suggested increasing the session to four hours or even a full day or dividing the material into two sessions. Other suggestions were requiring annual training, providing the training when commissioners are first appointed, and encouraging more elected officials to attend.
Want to know how to get training for your officials? Visit the Plan Commissioner Training website and contact the APA-IL Planning Officials Development Officer, Michael Blue, FAICP at podo@ilapa.org
Photographers: Patrick Day, AICP - CMAP; Les Pollock, FAICP - Camiros; Elaine Bottomley, Will County Governmental League