The Chicago region faces stalled population growth and a lagging economy. Reinvigorating the region will require investment in infrastructure, transportation, the environment, and governance. The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) is charting a course forward and the agency’s “ON TO 2050” draft plan is open for public comment until August 14, 2018.
Whether to face the next recession or to improve the quality of life in this region we call home, the draft plan outlines key strategies CMAP officials believe will ensure Chicagoland is sustainable and resilient in the face of change and disruption. The BGA Policy team offered our own public comment and a letter of support on July 24, 2018.
The Policy team supports a number of consolidation and streamlining initiatives described in CMAP’s report. In particular, we support the recommendation that the State of Illinois provide assistance and funding to governments considering combining or eliminating units.
The CMAP report highlights the need for local governments to improve budgeting practices to ensure transparency and fiscal soundness, which the Policy team wholeheartedly supports. In fact, the BGA Policy team covered many of the same needs earlier in 2018, in an article about best practices for budgeting and financial accountability.
The report also mentioned that CMAP should bring together local governments in the region to identify best practices in an effort to improve transparency. The BGA’s Policy team noted our support of such a discussion and offered to provide our guidance and expertise.
We hope you will join us in supporting these initiatives and provide your own.
