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House Bill 3121, which creates the Regional Planning Act, was
produced by a broad coalition of public and private sector leaders.
It won unanimous support in the state Senate and House and was
sponsored by Sen. Debbie Halvorson, D-Chicago Heights, and Rep.
Suzanne Bassi, R-Palatine. "As northeastern Illinois continues to
grow and communities expand, we need to make sure we're planning
ahead to accommodate the additional traffic and increased demand on
our transit systems," the governor said. "By combining the region's
existing planning authorities into one board, we can maximize our
limited resources and improve coordination on both transportation
and land use needs for the entire region."
The new agency is being created by the merger of the Chicago Area
Transportation Study, the region's federally designated metropolitan
planning organization since 1955, and the Northeastern Illinois
Planning Commission, the area's comprehensive planning agency since
1957. It will be led by a 15-member board appointed by mayors and
top elected county officials in the region, with a third of the
seats filled by Chicago, a third filled by suburban Cook County and
a third filled by the collar counties of DuPage, Lake, McHenry,
Will, Kane and Kendall. The composition highlights the expansion of
the metropolitan area by including fast-growing Kendall in the
regional planning process for the first time.
"Governor Blagojevich's action today signals the beginning of a
coordinated attack on the traffic jams that impact our region," said
George A. Ranney Jr., president and chief executive officer of
Chicago Metropolis 2020, one of the many civic groups that strongly
supported the merger. "The business community believes that
integrating transportation and development planning will make the
region's economic climate even stronger, conserve our land resources
and save tax dollars."
"Fighting traffic congestion is one of the Illinois Department of
Transportation's top priorities," said Transportation Secretary
Timothy W. Martin. "This unified planning approach will strengthen
our hand as we compete for federal funding to upgrade our
transportation infrastructure, in terms of roads and highways, rail
service, and mass transit."
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 "As our region continues to grow, both economically and in land
area, it is imperative that we plan in a way that builds strong
communities," said Halvorson, Senate sponsor of the legislation.
"Combining land use and transportation planning will enable
northeastern Illinois to develop in a manner that improves our
quality of life and takes full advantage of our transportation
infrastructure."
"The consolidation of these two commissions into one regional
planning board will provide better coordination between local
governments and transportation agencies, including IDOT, to develop
the most effective land use and transportation plans for the
northeastern region," said Bassi, House sponsor. "The creation of
this board has been in the works for a long time, and many people
have been involved in the process. I am very pleased to see it
finally come to fruition."
The new board will coordinate regional transportation and land
use planning, identify regional priorities, serve as a single point
of contact for the public, and create an implementation strategy to
be delivered to the General Assembly by September 2006. A
four-fifths majority vote will be required for any board action.
Decisions over local land use and zoning issues will remain in
the hands of local governments.
The merger grew out of a recommendation by the Regional
Transportation Task Force, appointed in early 2004 by the governor
and legislative leaders to evaluate methods to improve
transportation planning and program delivery in the six-county area.
That task force, chaired by former congressman William Lipinski,
recommended combining the functions of the Chicago Area
Transportation Study and the Northeastern Illinois Planning
Commission and creating a new board to better coordinate the
activities of the two agencies.
[News release from the governor's office] |
