Local service coordination, and where appropriate consolidation, is one of several coordinated investment strategies emphasized in GO TO 2040 for local governmental units to create efficiencies and adapt to a future of increasingly limited financial resources. In northeastern Illinois, 307 public school districts collect nearly half of all revenues from local governments (over $18.5 billion in FY 2009). ...

Nurturing the region’s industry clusters is one of the main recommendations from the Human Capital chapter of GO TO 2040.  The plan directs CMAP, with the support of its partners, to perform “drill-down” analyses into specific established industry clusters, including freight, advanced manufacturing, and biotech/biomed, to better understand them.  CMAP is focusing on freight as the first in...

Private research and development (R&D) jobs have been declining in the Chicago region for the past decade according to data from the Illinois Innovation Index for February 2012.  This month's newsletter, which focuses on private R&D activity in the state, calls attention to the challenges and opportunities the region faces in industry-driven research.  GO TO 2040 stresses the importance of...

GO TO 2040 states that improving data and information systems relative to innovation should be a top priority for the region and the State of Illinois. Improved efforts to collect, track, and analyze important measures are needed to help guide public policy and ensure investment decisions are more efficient. Examples of the metrics that will help decision makers include the number of new business openings, business relocations out of the region and in to the region, business closures, number of jobs created within innovation-intensive sectors, number of patents granted, and venture capital investments.

A new report from Metropolis Strategies provides some ideas for nurturing industry clusters in our region, one of GO TO 2040’srecommendations to support economic innovation.  Prepared by RW Ventures and Innovation Network for Communities, “The Chicago Region’s “Green” Economic Opportunities” reportidentifies several opportunities for economic innovation in the region’s burgeoning green sectors.  It...

On February 1, Governor Quinn delivered his 2012 State of the State address, outlining his administration's efforts to spur economic growth and improve infrastructure. 

The governor applauded the growth of automotive manufacturing jobs at Ford and Chrysler plants in Chicago and Belvidere, respectively.  He stated that Illinois exports are on the rise, having jumped 30 percent in 2011. Building...

On December 8, 2011, the U.S. Census Bureau published the 2006-2010 American Community Survey (ACS) five-year estimates, which provide a rolling sample of detailed population characteristics over the past several years.

The ACS data is available to the public.  A more detailed analysis and instructions for accessing the data can be found on CMAP’s Census page. 

In summary:

• The CMAP region shows an increase in overall...

According to GO TO 2040, research and development (R&D) jobs have been declining in the Chicago region for the past decade.  Economic innovation plays a major role in producing sustainable economic prosperity and enhancing the global competitiveness of places around the world.  Though innovation is generated primarily by the private sector, GO TO 2040 recommends that the public sector...

In June 2011, CMAP’s Policy Updates blog covered efforts by the State of Illinois, Cook County, and the City of Chicago to support efficient governance by improving access to information and coordinating across government bodies, helping to save money and improve service delivery.  In the months since, progress has been made by all three units of government to further those efforts.

On June 21, 2011, the State...