Lake County is an important regional partner in our work at CMAP. Core to our mission is understanding local goals. We achieve this by collaborating with local stakeholders throughout northeastern Illinois to build consensus and improve the quality of life in our region — together.
Last year, we made progress in advancing our goal for a transportation system that works better for everyone. With our partners, we prioritized transportation projects, as reflected in the Northeastern Illinois Priority Investments booklet. This has already had a powerful impact, with the region securing more than $1.27 billion in federal funding for transportation projects in 2024, including $18.8 million for Lake County’s Cedar Lake Road Realignment. Read more about 2024 progress here.
By leveraging funding from federal opportunities, regional transportation partners can implement transformative projects that support our economic strength, climate resilience, multimodal accessibility, and safety for all who travel through the region.
In addition, the Greater Chicagoland Economic Partnership (GCEP) continued to successfully drive economic development through a unified regional strategy in 2024. In partnership with Lake County Partners, World Business Chicago and others, we are working together to promote all of Chicagoland, its significant transportation and freight infrastructure assets, diverse talent, strong exporting industries, and world-class institutions of innovation, research, and culture.
Whether it’s planning for today or tomorrow, collaborating and convening, or delivering data and policy analysis, CMAP has consistently led with excellence for nearly two decades. We look forward to continuing to serve northeastern Illinois to make it a strong, thriving, and resilient region.
From a planning perspective, what are the biggest opportunities in Chicagoland?
One thing we are keenly aware of is rising housing costs and housing availability. This has intensified concerns about displacement and affordability, especially in areas undergoing rapid redevelopment. Housing needs, combined with remote work and changing travel patterns, offer an opportunity for communities to reimagine how they redevelop and grow — allowing for more mixed-use development near transit to better meet the needs of people and families.
It’s hard to pick just one area of opportunity because planning is so interconnected. Communities and counties can collaborate on so many issues — working together on housing, job access, safer transportation, climate change, and economic development. This type of strategic collaboration is well supported by the GCEP, as well as CMAP’s hands-on work with communities through our longstanding technical assistance program.
How does your background in transportation and planning shape your leadership approach?
Transportation is so much more than getting from place A to B; it’s about people and their quality of life. It’s about opportunity and jobs. It’s about health and safety. Thoughtful planning is fundamentally about making communities better for today and tomorrow’s generations.
As a planner and a leader, I am an optimist and futurist who strongly believes in the power of possibility — and people. I know, and have seen first-hand, that when people work together, we are stronger and can solve seemingly impossible challenges. Because we know why and more importantly who we are doing it for.
