Recent Streetsblog CHICAGO posts about State Policy

Architect Urges Big-Picture, Design Thinking For North Lake Shore Drive

By Steven Vance | Jul 7, 2014 | 128 Comments

Local architect John Krause sees the reconstruction of North Lake Shore Drive, one of Chicago’s most scenic locations, as a chance to think big — not just about the road, but also about parks, transit, trails, the shoreline, and the future of the city alongside it. The Illinois Department of Transportation isn’t used to thinking […]

New License Law Requires Teens To Take Driver Education Classes

By Steven Vance | Jun 30, 2014 | 8 Comments

A new graduated driver licensing law takes effect in Illinois tomorrow. Illinois’s GDL law sets restrictions on young drivers, including when and with whom they can drive. After “graduating” through several time periods and getting more on-road experience, new drivers can eventually obtain a full driver’s license. Secretary of State Jesse White said in a […]

CMAP Plan Update Includes Sobering Look at Region’s Funding Shortfall

By Steven Vance | Jun 17, 2014 | 2 Comments

The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning’s GO TO 2040 regional comprehensive plan has weathered some major ups and downs in its four-year lifespan. CMAP has received several awards for the plan, which required a huge effort on their part to reach out to local residents and overwrite decades of uncoordinated transportation “plans.” Last year, though, the […]

Ben Ross: Citizen Activism Can Overcome NIMBY Opposition to Transit

By John Greenfield | Jun 6, 2014 | 3 Comments

At a talk Wednesday at City Lit Books, transit advocate Ben Ross, author of the new book “Dead End: Suburban Sprawl and the Rebirth of American Urbanism,” discussed the battle for a new light rail line in the D.C. suburbs. This well-run campaign offers lessons for Chicagoans pushing for sensible transportation and development policy, whether […]

State Rep Tries to Dock Block Divvy Stations in Front of Schools

By John Greenfield | May 28, 2014 | 18 Comments

In a case of thinking locally and acting globally, state rep Jaime Andrade (40th) introduced legislation that would have banned the installation of bike-share stations in front of all Illinois schools, not long after a Divvy station was placed by the school he co-founded. Last year, the Chicago Department of Transportation installed the Divvy station […]

Quinn Tying State’s Hands to Preempt Potential Illiana Roadblocks

By Steven Vance | May 14, 2014 | 10 Comments

Governor Pat Quinn is doing everything he can to ensure that the Illiana Tollway will be built, no matter what. The Illinois General Assembly gave the state permission in 2010 to pursue a public-private partnership with a private company to build and operate the tollway, but now Quinn has proposed new legislation that gives the […]

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