The next Metropolitan Mayors Caucus business meeting will be held on Thursday, December 14, at the offices of Mayer Brown, Rowe & Maw, 71 S. Wacker Drive, 33rd Floor, in downtown Chicago. A warm breakfast will be served at 8:00 am. The meeting will be called to order at 8:30 am. and adjourn by 11:30 am. While the agenda will be finalized with the Executive Board in a couple of weeks, some of the possible topics that the Caucus officers have been discussing include:

• A report on efforts to bring the 2016 Summer Olympics to Chicago.
• A discussion on making the metro area the “greenest region” in the United States.
• How the Caucus can make 2007 the “Year of Education Reform”.
• Presentation of the latest round of “Clean Air Communities” awards.
• A possible recommendation from the Diversity Issues Task Force re a proposed action agenda.
• Presentation of proposed legislative priorities for 2007.

Governing Magazine reported recently that the state of Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity is offering extra tax breaks to companies or developers that site their projects in areas with mass transit or affordable housing nearby. Sponsored by Representative Kathy Ryg, (District #59 and Senator Terry Link (District #30), the plan works as an incentive for businesses to locate where there is a surplus of workers.

Said Rep. Ryg, “We know where people live, but the jobs are getting out of reach for some of them.” Executive director Frank Beal, Chicago Metropolis 2020 said, “There’s real cost to business of having a workforce a great distance from the jobs.” For more information, go to Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

On November 9 the RTA released the Moving Beyond Congestion Vision And Strategy report. This latest release is part of a yearlong effort by the RTA, Metra, CTA and PACE to develop a vision and program for the future of transit in Northeast Illinois. The report will be mailed to each of the communities in Lake County during the next several weeks.

On Tuesday December 5 from 6:00 to 7:30 pm, a community meeting will be held at the University Center at the College of Lake County in Grayslake. The purpose of the meeting is to seek public input regarding the RTA’s proposed operational and capital budget for 2007.

The RTA's strategic plan was developed to determine how to maintain, enhance and expand the $27 billion transit investment that was built and operated over the past 100 years. The goal of this joint strategic planning project is to have a world-class public transportation system that is convenient, affordable, reliable and safe. This robust transit system would be the keystone of the region's growing business opportunities, thriving job market, clean air goals and more livable communities.

The Metropolitan Mayors Caucus has developed a model ordinance requiring community antenna television systems to obtain franchises. It is written as a stand alone ordinance. It identifies a recommended process to be followed as a municipality considers allowing providers of competitive video programming and other services to do business within its boundaries.

The decision to either adopt it as a stand alone document or to modify it and amend elements of it into a regulatory ordinance your community may already have should be discussed with your legal counsel. To obtain the full draft, go to the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus website.

The next Metropolitan Mayros Caucus Diversity Issues Task Force meeting will be held on Monday, November 27 at 10:00 am at the Addison Village Hall (One Friendship Plaza in Addison).

The members of the Lake County Municipal League Legislative Committee are formulating a list of initiatives for the 2007 legislative session. Among the issues are transportation, pensions, motor fuel tax administration, school funding and erosion of dedicated funds. A copy of the initiatives will be available soon.