Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning Economic Development Committees met March 25.
Here is the minutes provided by the committees:
Members present: John Carpenter (Choose DuPage), Lisa Castillo Richmond (Partnership for College Completion), Peter Creticos (Institute for Work and the Economy), Jonathan Furr (NIU Education Systems Center), Michael Horsting (Regional Transportation Authority), Gretchen Kleinert (Chicago TREND), Kevin Kramer (Village of Hoffman Estates), John Reinert (McHenry County Board), Jay Stewart (Cook County Bureau of Economic Development)
CMAP staff: Dustin Calliari, Anthony Cefali, Kama Dobbs, Austen Edwards, Jesse Elam, Tina Fassett Smith, Jane Grover, Erin Kenney, Elizabeth Schuh, Elizabeth Scott, Gordon Smith, Joe Szabo, Aseal Tineh, Sarah Walwema, Simone Weil
1.0 Call to Order/Introductions
Jonathan Furr called the meeting to order at 9:34 a.m.
2.0 Agenda Changes and Announcements
There were no agenda changes. Austen Edwards announced a job posting for an Associate Policy Analyst at CMAP.
3.0 Approval meeting minutes
A motion to adopt the minutes for January 28, 2019 was made and seconded. With no opposition, the motion carried.
4.0 Legislative Update
Anthony Cefali provided an overview of CMAP’s legislative agendas and framework. Questions focused on balancing regional and downstate needs and ensuring a complete count for the 2020 decennial census.
5.0 Presentation: Illinois Equity in Attainment
Lisa Castillo Richmond of the Partnership for College Completion (PCC) presented on the Illinois Equity in Attainment Initiative (ILEA). In 2017, PCC published a report on inequities in higher education in Illinois, particularly in terms of affordability, access, and completion. The college completion gap is highest between white and black students, across institutions and levels of institutional selectivity. PCC launched ILEA in 2018 to help 25 institutions across the region and state address these inequities. The initiative consists of three components: a common set of core beliefs around higher education; individual college commitments, as developed through context- and campus-specific equity plans; and PCC technical assistance.
Discussion included questions on the gap between white and black students relative to population trends; the gap cannot be explained solely by Illinois’s ongoing population decline among black residents. Other comments pertained to state-level funding for education and whether best practices reflect the greater impact of campus leadership or a supportive state environment.
6.0 ON TO 2050 implementation priorities: Inclusive Growth
Elizabeth Scott provided an overview of CMAP’s ongoing efforts to advance ON TO 2050’s guiding principles, focusing on inclusive growth. Scott reviewed CMAP’s prior analysis and key recommendations from each chapter of the plan. Discussion included comments about the economic activity associated with high-profile businesses, like Amazon, and identifying the beneficiaries of this activity.
7.0 Surface Transportation Program – Local (STP-L) Shared Fund
Kama Dobbs presented an overview of the federal sources of transportation funding that CMAP administers, including the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) program, the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP), and the Surface Transportation Program (STP). Dobbs described how the project selection process now incorporates criteria on a project’s ability to advance inclusive growth and other regional priorities. Committee members commented on the challenges of quantifying inclusion; the need to understand both where people live and where they work in determining transportation facility use; and the importance of taking reinvestment into account alongside transportation-related spatial barriers.
8.0 Labor force recovery
Aseal Tineh presented on recent policy research on demographic and labor force trends in metropolitan Chicago that takes a closer look at the region’s recurring population loss and economic disparities by race and ethnicity. Tineh also discussed upcoming inclusive growth research on topics like flooding, international immigration, demographics, and transportation fares, fees, and fines.
9.0 Committee work plan discussion
Erin Kenney concluded the inclusive growth discussion by posing several questions to the committee members about the nexus between ON TO 2050’s strategies for inclusive growth and other efforts related to economic development in areas that have experienced historical disinvestment. Comments from the committee included the need to align place-based analysis with workforce and education, workforce mobility and access to jobs, the fare box recovery ratio in the region, and the composition of industry clusters.
10.0 Other business
There was no other business.
11.0 Public Comment
Garland Armstrong advocated for improving data on people with disabilities in higher education. Heather Armstrong recommended the state of Illinois institute soda can deposits and payments instead of the soda tax.
12.0 Next meeting
The next meeting will be on Monday, June 24, 2019 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.
13.0 Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 11:32 a.m.
https://www.cmap.illinois.gov/documents/10180/1015237/3.0+EconDev+Minutes+20190325.pdf/5150ebe5-5358-e01c-81aa-0f27ed8e0b6e