Kane County Chronicle
April 28, 2005
By PAUL DAILING
Imagine the year 2040.
Rather than flying cars and ray guns, think of 'L' trains that run into DuPage County and more bicycle and pedestrian
routes. That is the future foreseen by the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission in its 2040 Regional Framework
Plan.
NIPC, the official planning agency for the six counties that make up the Chicago metropolitan area, on Wednesday
released a draft of its plan.
Now NIPC wants to hear people's comments on the draft.
It is available for download at www.nipc.org/cg. NIPC Director of Communications Tom Garritano said about 4,000
residents, elected officials and planners have contributed comments and suggestions in a series of "Common
Ground" public workshops. He said NIPC used many of them to make the draft.
"The true purpose of NIPC is to set a regional vision," said NIPC Commissioner and Elburn Village President
James Willey. "We feel one of the very best ways to do that is to get as much public input as possible."
Garritano said many past comments from the public have been on the same topic.
"They identified that as one of their main priorities -- 'How do we contain the sprawl?'" Garritano said.
NIPC has scheduled a new series of Common Ground workshops, including one on May 11 at the Kane County Government
Center in Geneva, to hear what citizens, officials and planners have to say.
"It affects daily life for all of us," Garritano said. "It's all about livable communities."
Garritano and Willey said involving people, especially community leaders, in creating the plan will increase the
chance they will put it into play.
"The tough thing about a regional plan is it doesn't really have any teeth, every community can go its own
way," Willey said.
Garritano said all comments, whether said at the meeting or submitted at www.nipc.org, will be put on the record.
However, this does not mean every suggestion will be incorporated into the final draft.
"The idea was not to put out something that everyone thinks is okay, that is innocuous," Garritano said.
The draft outlines what Garritano called an "ideal future," what NIPC members see as the best way to
handle a growing population they say could approach 11 million by 2040.
A U.S. Census Bureau estimate for the region puts the 2004 population at more than 8.3 million, up almost 300,000
since the 2000 census and up by more than 1 million people since the 1990 census.
Based on the 2004 estimate of 472,482 residents, Kane County's population grew by more than 155,000 since the 1990
census, when the population was 317,471. That is a 49 percent increase. NIPC's forecast for the year 2030, on which
the 2040 six-county estimate is based, has Kane County with a population of 692,346.
The plan calls for growth to be directed into compact, mixed-use "centers" with a range of housing choices
and pedestrian-friendly design. The centers would be connected by "corridors" of efficient highways,
arterial roads, train lines, bus routes and trails. Finally, the plan calls for "green areas" such as
parks, farms, natural areas and wetlands.
NIPC defines five types of center: global center, metropolitan center, community center, town center and hamlet.
Aurora and Elgin are the metropolitan centers in Kane County, although nearby West Chicago fits in this category.
Downtown Chicago is the only global center in the plan.
Kane County falls into the West transportation corridor, which includes DuPage County and western Cook County.
The plan recommends such transportation schemes as increased bicycle and pedestrian access, additional lanes to
arterial roads, preventing "unwanted development" if constructing the proposed Prairie Parkway, and extending
the CTA Blue Line, which currently stops at O'Hare International Airport, to DuPage County.
So will the areas of Kane County become scenery when traveling between larger "centers?"
"I think that's a concern to any segment of the region," Garritano said.
The Illinois General Assembly created NIPC in 1957.
Go and do:
The Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission will hold a Common Ground hearing asking for public comment on the
2040 Regional Framework Plan from 4 to 7 p.m. May 11 at the Kane County Government Center, 719 Batavia Ave., Geneva.
For a draft copy of the plan, an online feedback survey and a schedule of other Common Ground meetings, visit www.nipc.org/cg.