The January 19 Conference Business Meeting will be the annual Legislative Reception and Dinner. The event will be held at the Hilton Lisle/Naperville, 3003 Corporate Drive West, Lisle. The reception begins at 5:30 p.m. All DuPage legislators have been invited to attend and participate in a discussion of priorities. Registration for this event is required. Click here for more information and to access the registration form. If you have any questions, please contact Kim Sumner, Member Services and Communications Manager.

The 97th General Assembly has released the calendar for the 2011 session, beginning with inaugural sessions in each chamber on January 12 and a session day on January 13. Legislators are now able to file legislation. There will probably be 5,000 to 6,000 bills to consider between now and the end of session on May 31. After the Inauguration, no session days are scheduled until February 1. Some important dates during the session:

The Census has announced the first round of 2010 census statistics - the state population totals and their implications for the new membership of the U.S. House of Representatives. The 2010 census showed the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2010 was 308,745,538. This is a 9.7% increase over the 2000 U.S. resident population.

The Census Bureau is using digital outreach to enhance awareness of this information. It has launched an interactive map widget that enables users to view the history of apportionment and our country's changing population through the past century. The widget can be embedded on municipal websites and will be updated as new data is released.

The release for the population counts at the local level is scheduled to occur in February or March 2011. For more information, visit the U.S. Census website.

 

One million dollars are now available through two new grant opportunities. The grant program seeks to minimize future loss of tree canopy, replant trees, slow the spread of Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) and generally encourage sustainable urban forest management. Visit the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus website or the Morton Arboretum website for the full RFP. Grant funds will be available to assist communities under the Urban and Community Forestry and the Forest Health Cooperative Programs of the United States Department of Agriculture. Funds will be available to purchase and plant trees and conduct an inventory and prepare management plans. Grant applications are due January 21, 2011.  

CMAP will be accepting applications to provide local technical assistance for planning projects that help to implement its comprehensive regional plan, Go To 2040. Eligible projects include comprehensive plans, zoning ordinance revisions, specific studies on important local issues, and many others.

Eligible applicants include municipalities, counties, interjurisdictional groups, and nongovernmental organizations. Applications can be completed with a very simple, easy-to-use form and are due by January 28. For more details and to download an application form, please visit the CMAP website. Please contact Pete Saunders at (312) 386-8654 with any questions.

The Metropolitan Mayors Caucus announces two resources for municipalities to address housing issues. The Caucus recently merged the former Housing and Economic Development Committees to provide a renewed focus on addressing municipal needs in conjunction with transportation, economic and workforce development, land use, and infrastructure planning. The first meeting of the Housing and Community Development Committee is scheduled for Wednesday, January 12 at 10:00 a.m. at the Arlington Heights Village Hall. 

The Caucus is holding a meeting to learn about the most effective tools municipalities can use to confront the vacant property challenge. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, January 19 at 10:30 a.m. at the Addison Village Hall. Business and Professional People for the Public Interest (BPI) will introduce nine tools that reduce the impact of vacant properties and promote healthy, vibrant neighborhoods. Staff from BPI and the Caucus will also be available to provide pro bono assistance as municipalities begin to develop and implement the most appropriate programs. Municipalities are encouraged to send one or two key staff people who would be involved in program development and implementation, so that they can participate in this hands-on discussion. For both events, please RSVP to Allison Milld at (312) 201-4507.

The Regional Indicators Project's new MetroPulse web system has been launched. Created in partnership by CMAP and The Chicago Community Trust, MetroPulse gives the public a simple but powerful interface to access a vast warehouse of data on quality-of-life factors in the seven-county region. MetroPulse represents a major implementation step of the new Go To 2040 comprehensive regional plan. For more information, view the press release.