CMAP funding dilemma:  How you can help

by Tom Garritano
4/10/09

As you may have heard, a portion of the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) budget is in jeopardy because the Comprehensive Regional Planning Fund (CRPF) was zeroed out of Governor Quinn's proposed Fiscal Year 2010 budget. Annually, CMAP gets 70 percent of this overall $5 million statewide fund, which supports planning in metropolitan and rural regions alike.

With our partners, CMAP is seeking to address the shortfall by working with the Governor's office, the General Assembly, and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). Members of our Board will visit Springfield on May 6, 2009, in hopes of convincing the state's leaders to restore the fund. The Illinois Association of Regional Councils, the Illinois Metropolitan Planning Organization Advisory Council, and CMAP have prepared a report on the impacts of the CRPF.

The CRPF's $3.5 million to CMAP makes up less than one-third of our FY10 budget, but the loss of this funding could have profound effects. Without the necessary local match provided by the CRPF, metropolitan Chicago could lose close to $11 million in annual federal transportation planning funds. As if that's not bad enough, the loss of those funds would render CMAP unable to manage the regional Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), jeopardizing all of the region’s federal transportation dollars and projects. This would include all stimulus funds for roads and transit through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), as well as any new state capital bill intended to leverage federally appropriated dollars.

Also affected are CMAP’s non-transportation planning functions -- which include housing, water and other natural resources, economic and community development, among other quality-of-life issues -- for which the State of Illinois funds are crucial. We hope you agree this is certainly not the time to step away from the responsibility of comprehensive regional planning. Across our state and the U.S., citizens are demanding greater transparency and accountability during these challenging times. The Comprehensive Regional Planning Fund is a cost-effective way for Illinois to help assure the public that tax dollars are being spent wisely for roads, transit, wastewater treatment, and other essential infrastructure.

To help reverse this budget shortfall, please see our "call to action" fact sheet, sample letter, and list of contacts, which we've posted to help you make your feelings known to the Governor's office, leadership in the General Assembly, and appropriation chairs. We also encourage you to contact your local legislators or anyone else in a position to influence Springfield. The Illinois State Board of Elections can help you find out who represents your area.  For more information, contact CMAP chief of staff Jill Leary (312-386-8662 or jleary@cmap.illinois.gov). We sincerely appreciate your support. 

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