Timothy W. Martin, Secretary of the Illinois Department of Transportation
(http://www.dot.state.il.us) 
"Working together, we are able to plan our growth for the future, maximizing the use of our existing infrastructure, while at the same time minimizing future environmental impacts. IDOT is committed to Context-Sensitive Solutions and the coordination of transportation and land use planning. The 2040 Plan is a blueprint for the future that builds upon these principles."

Paula Thibeault, Executive Director of the Regional Transportation Authority
(http://www.rtachicago.com)
"The 2040 Plan supports TOD which is one of the priorities of the RTA. TOD can make transit more effective for residents of the region, while enhancing the livability of our communities. The RTA’s partnership with NIPC, the Chicago Area Transportation Study, and the Illinois Department through an interagency agreement ensures our collaboration on the integration of land use and transportation planning so that our region is better equipped to meet its residents’ future needs."

John Rogner, Chair of Chicago Wilderness
(http://www.chicagowilderness.org)
"The environment and natural resources are integral to the livability of northeastern Illinois and its communities. Members of the Chicago Wilderness consortium, NIPC prominent among them, collaborate daily to protect and enhance open spaces, areas of biodiversity, water resources, parks, trails, and other natural assets. The 2040 Plan identifies 'Green Areas' -- ranging from small parks to large savannas and prairies, and from streams to large rivers and lakes -- that our region needs to safeguard for future generations."

Doug Scott, Director of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
(http://www.epa.state.il.us)
"By partnering to address non-source point pollution and wastewater treatment plans, IEPA and NIPC help the region manage a complex system of water resources that include Lake Michigan. The Great Lakes basin contains approximately 20 percent of the world's fresh surface water, and we cannot afford to take these resources for granted. Because the benefits include drinking water, marine life, recreation, and commerce, the 2040 Plan identifies protection of water resources as among the region's top priorities."

Jerry Roper, President and CEO, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce
(http://www.chicagolandchamber.org)
"Chicago is the global center that drives our region's economic prosperity. Effective land use across northeastern Illinois is important to the business community, because good choices about when and where to develop land help maximize the benefit of public investments in transportation and other infrastructure. The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce supports efforts to increase collaboration by decision makers at the local and regional levels, which is central to the 2040 Plan's goals."

Juanita Irizarry, Executive Director of Latinos United
(http://www.latinosunited.org)
"Latinos United helped NIPC reach out to a number of areas that have large Latino communities, including areas with some of the highest projected population growth in northeastern Illinois. A number of community-based organizations and individual residents were eager for their voices to be heard, and NIPC's Common Ground process for public involvement made that possible. The perspective of our community added to the 2040 plan in a significant way."

Thomas J. Murawski, Executive Board Chairman of the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus (http://www.mayorscaucus.org) and Mayor, Village of Midlothian
"Northeastern Illinois needs to plan carefully for the growth that is in our future. The Metropolitan Mayors Caucus was founded in 1997 to foster just the type of regional cooperation that will be key to success for NIPC's 2040 Plan. Our communities can work together as a region and achieve common goals related to effective land use, which is a local prerogative and a regional imperative."

Rae Rupp Srch, former Council of Mayors executive committee vice chair (http://www.catsmpo.com), former NIPC commissioner, current Regional Planning Board appointee
"Public participants who helped shape the 2040 Plan expressed a desire for northeastern Illinois to be governed more collaboratively at the regional and local levels, with greater public involvement. 'Zero-sum gamesmanship' -- in which one community believes it can only succeed at another's expense -- is detrimental to the region as a whole. At the same time, regional agencies must respect local opinions on land-use issues. By working together at the local and regional levels, we can reach our goals and achieve a new standard for livable communities, as expressed in the 2040 Plan."

Donald Kopec, Executive Director of the Chicago Area Transportation Study
(http://www.catsmpo.com)
"CATS and NIPC have worked together for decades, a partnership that will continue as the 2040 Plan is implemented. The Transit Oriented Development/Redevelopment aspects of the plan give residents more transportation options by encouraging compact development of businesses, housing, and other amenities around transit hubs."

Dr. Sokoni Karanja, president of the Centers for New Horizons
(http://www.cnh.org)
"I like the substantive way that NIPC and its Common Ground process involved youth on a continuing basis in formulating the 2040 Plan. For 30 years, Centers for New Horizons has maintained that families are a community’s most important asset, its most precious resource. We appreciate our partnership with NIPC and look forward to continued collaboration toward the 2040 Plan's success."

Ellen Shubart, Manager of the Campaign for Sensible Growth (http://www.growingsensibly.org)
"The 2040 Regional Framework Plan is going to be one of the strongest tools to take into the municipalities and counties to show why complementary plans are needed. Yes, each community is unique, and yes, each community needs its own land-use plan. But they also need to take into account the regional framework. If we all don't work together, we are going to split apart, and that's not good for anybody."

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About the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission
The Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission (NIPC) was created in 1957 by the Illinois General Assembly as the region’s comprehensive land-use planning agency. The legislation authorizes NIPC to conduct research for planning -- including official forecasts of population, employment, and other socio-economic indicators -- to advise units of local government on their plans and policies, and to provide general comprehensive plans and policies for use by local governments. NIPC's role was reaffirmed in 2000 by an Interagency Agreement with the Chicago Area Transportation Study (CATS), the Regional Transit Authority (RTA), and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). The agreement stipulates that NIPC's plans and data are the basis for the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) that guides critical decisions and investments of federal transportation funding. For more, see http://www.nipc.org.