CMAP

Happy #FeaturePhotoFriday! CMAP Executive Director Erin Aleman delivered the keynote at today’s Chicagoland Supply Chain Forum at DePaul University, highlighting how northeastern Illinois can build on its strong freight and logistics foundation to remain competitive in the decades ahead. Erin discussed the region’s unmatched infrastructure assets, the future being shaped through The Century Plan and 2026 Regional Transportation Plan, and the major investments already turning plans into progress across our freight, rail, highway, and logistics networks. Thank you to Professor Nezih Altay for the invitation, as well as to Dr. Sulin Ba, Dean of DePaul University’s Driehaus College of Business, for bringing together logistics practitioners, students, and regional leaders for a timely conversation on supply chains, infrastructure, and the future of movement in Chicagoland.

We're celebrating winners of CMAP's #PublicServiceAwards. We're highlighting a team member who brings creative ideas and approaches and has the commitment to make things happen. Newly assigned to community engagement for the Regional Transportation Plan (the RTP), Gabriel Guevara helped establish a goal-setting structure to ensure that the RTP was present in communities across all 7 counties of our region. Throughout this process, Gabe always brought a positive, collaborative, can-do attitude. You can learn more about the RTP. There's a link in our bio. Each year at CMAP, we celebrate #PublicServiceRecognitionWeek with our Public Service Awards. The recognition week is over, but the celebration of our outstanding public servants continues.

We rely on electricity to power our lives and the economy. It also impacts climate resilience. As demand on the electric grid grows, there is an emergent need to plan for its future. Thank you to Desislava Dikova, Policy and Grant Manager, Pure Lithium; Mark Pruitt, Principal, the Power Bureau, and adjust professor, Northwestern University’s Master of Science in Energy and Sustainability; Stacey Paradis, Commissioner, Illinois Commerce Commission; and Andrew C. Plenge with @comed for joining our CMAP Board meeting to share your expertise on this critical issue. We appreciate and value your perspectives on current modernization efforts, long-range grid planning, and how regional collaboration can accelerate progress toward a more resilient and prosperous future. This input will help inform The Century Plan, our region's long-term vision for a stronger future. A clean, reliable grid is essential to so many areas that contribute to regional resilience and success: housing, transit, economic competitiveness, and climate resilience.

Climate variability is changing how we plan for water. Join CMAP's upcoming workshop on utility climate and drought preparedness to explore tools and strategies for building resilient water systems. It's coming soon, June 3. Register now. There's a link in our bio. Speakers include: • Rachel Duncan, senior engineer, Carollo Engineers • Trent Ford, state climatologist, Illinois State Water Survey • Cary McElhinney, source water protection coordinator, U.S. EPA Great Lakes Region • Grant Wollert, director of operations, Central Lake County Joint Action Water Agency • Molly Woloszyn, senior associate scientist & regional drought information coordinator, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences and NOAA’s National Integrated Drought Information System

We're continuing to celebrate the winners of CMAP's #PublicServiceAwards. Today, we're highlighting the team that published our region’s first Transportation Resilience Improvement Plan (TRIP). Kate Evasic led the team, which includes Alexis McAdams, Alonzo Zamarrón, Aspen Walters, Joan Smedinghoff, Sean Connelly, and Tim O'Leary. The TRIP identifies where our transportation system is vulnerable to extreme weather and climate change. These can be addressed through targeted investment that increases resilience to the worst climate risks. You can learn more about TRIP. There's a link in our bio. Each year at CMAP, we celebrate #PublicServiceRecognitionWeek with our Public Service Awards. The recognition week is over, but the celebration of our outstanding public servants is only beginning!

CMAP is hiring! We're seeking a senior planner: • with advanced planning knowledge in transportation mobility, local governance, and land use planning • with a specialized focus on bicycle and pedestrian planning to support CMAP's long-term planning needs and address current capacity gaps CMAP is looking for someone with experience leading and supporting planning projects and initiatives, including scope development, project tracking, and budgeting. Also: • At least 5 years of advancing experience, through professional practice, with urban planning projects including content development, research, advanced data collection and analysis, data mapping, field work, external partner engagement, consultant management • A minimum of 2 years of advancing project management experience is preferred Learn more and apply now! Link is in our bio.

Say hello to Craig Hamill, who joins CMAP as Deputy of Data. Prior to joining CMAP, Craig served in technology and security leadership roles across research, higher education, healthcare, logistics, and enterprise environments. Most recently, he held leadership roles at Rush University Medical Center and UL Research Institutes, where he led work across cybersecurity, data platforms, cloud infrastructure, research computing, innovation strategy, and digital transformation. Prior to that, Craig served as Director of IT at the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, supporting advanced research, faculty, students, and administrative teams through modern technology platforms and improved service delivery. His career has centered on building trusted, secure, data-driven organizations and helping teams use technology to better serve their mission. Craig holds a master of science in Business Information Technology from DePaul University and a bachelor of business administration in computer information systems from Western Michigan University. He has also completed executive education in artificial intelligence at New York University and a fellowship in innovation and technology management at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Craig is a lifelong Chicagoan and currently lives in Uptown with his wife, Sarah and two dogs Stanley and Waldo. You’ll find Craig cycling with Half Acre Cycling and playing ice hockey. He is also a fan of cricket, Manchester United, and following Formula 1.

Each year at CMAP, we celebrate #PublicServiceRecognitionWeek with our Public Service Awards. The recognition week is over, but the celebration of our outstanding public servants is only beginning! Today, we're highlighting Borja González. Borja was the project manager for the Regional Mobility Council (RMC) as part of our Accessible Communities program. Borja took on this role with enthusiasm, intention, and care. The work of the RMC has enhanced CMAP's relationship with the disability community and thoughtfully engaged cohort members in several key projects and program areas, including the Regional Transportation Plan, The Century Plan, and Housing. Congratulations, Borja! Thank you for all that you do.

Help us welcome Kenneth Simon! Kenneth is excited to be part of CMAP as a new accountant and looks forward to contributing to the organization’s mission. He brings a decade of accounting and finance experience. He has worked with nonprofit and private sector organizations. His background includes general ledger accounting, month-end close, payroll, accounts payable and receivable, reconciliations, financial reporting, and ERP systems including SAP, NetSuite, QuickBooks, and now Microsoft Dynamics 365. Kenneth lives in Chicago’s Union Ridge neighborhood with his wife, Hacelyn, twin boys Kyler and Jace, and stepdaughter Andrea.

It's #FeaturePhotoFriday! We're highlighting out latest #TheCenturyPlan event, Great Lakes, High Stakes: Managing our water advantage. Held during @greatlakescurrent 's #ChicagoWaterWeek, this event brought together leaders from government, utilities, business, academia, and more for a timely, future-focused conversation about how we can work together to protect and strengthen our region's water systems. Thank you to Manuel Teodoro, professor of public affairs at @uwlafollette , for sharing his insights on what makes a strong water utility. And thank you to Joel Brammeier, president and CEO of @alliance4greatlakes , for framing an informative discussion on the next steps our region can take. Special shout out to the Student Art Ambassadors from @budlongelementary in Chicago for sharing what they love about water through art! Learn more about The Century Plan at cmap.is/the-century-plan

CMAP’s Erin Aleman and Nora Beck recently joined the Clean Energy and Equitable Transportation Solutions (CLEETS) team to discuss how research, planning, and implementation can work together to advance regional transportation and infrastructure. They highlighted how #TheCenturyPlan and the Comprehensive Climate Action Plan for Greater Chicago can align the region on what we need to do to thrive. CLEETS will build on this work by exploring how transportation electrification strategies impact air quality and public health. As the region’s metropolitan planning organization, CMAP plays a key role in linking transportation planning, air quality goals, and federal requirements. By integrating this analysis into our planning and investment decisions, we can better target strategies that reduce emissions and deliver healthier outcomes across northeastern Illinois. Thank you to Ashish Sharma and @discoverdpi for the opportunity to share our insights!

It's #WhatsUpWednesday! Today, we're focusing on how communities can build resilience to extreme heat and flooding. CMAP's new Transportation Resilience Improvement Plan (TRIP) identifies more than 20 ways local governments and engineers can support more resilient infrastructure. Communities like the @cityofcrystallake , @gov.chicago , @cityoflakeforestil are already showing us how. Swipe to see what they're doing and learn how your community can build resilience. Learn more about TRIP. Link is in our bio. Look for #WhatsUpWednesday each month. We’ll spotlight one of our current projects and share a bit more about what we’re doing in our region.