The Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission has initiated a three-year project to develop and advocate a Regional Growth Strategy for northeastern Illinois. The Commission's broad goal in undertaking the project is to see the region achieve, over the next two decades, continued improvement in the quality and sustainability of its development. Attainment of this end requires the pursuit of three objectives: (1) renewed growth and investment in those areas which have experienced population and/or employment losses in recent decades; (2) continued growth and investment in those built-up areas in which growth is leveling off and which could face future losses; and (3) cost-effective public investment and high standards of environmental protection in conjunction with new development or redevelopment.

The Commission has adopted a policy statement detailing the need for a growth strategy, its intended outcomes, and necessary steps in its preparation.

The Commission's decision to develop a Regional Growth Strategy is a response to forecasts of substantial new growth between now and 2020. In the next quarter-century, the six-county area is expected to increase in population by 25 percent, to slightly over 9 million people, and by 37 percent in employment, to 5.3 million jobs. The future distribution of this growth will, if the Growth Strategy is successful, be different from past trends.

Between 1970 and 1990, the region's population and employment grew by 4 percent and 21 percent respectively. Older communities experienced declines in population and jobs, while new suburban areas grew rapidly. The 2020 forecasts show renewed growth in the City of Chicago and many of the older suburbs. Substantial new suburban development will be sustained not by abandonment of mature areas but by areawide expansion in which all parts of the region share.

Attainment of those objectives will not occur without deliberate public action. The Commission is working with a broadly-based advisory process involving public officials and other regional interests to forge a consensus on policy tools likely to influence the shape and quality of the region's development. The Commission is also working with these partners to develop an informed and engaged public.

Last modified 7-10-98