Recent Streetsblog CHICAGO posts about Toni Preckwinkle

Join Me for the Very First (Legal) Ride on the North Branch Trail Extension

By John Greenfield | Sep 21, 2016 | 22 Comments

I’m happy to report that I got to take the maiden voyage on the northern half of theNorth Branch Trail extension this afternoon after officials cut the ribbon on the 1.8-mile stretch of off-street path. You can take a virtual spin on the trail with me by watching the video below. It’s probably not riveting […]

New County Policy Supports Active Transportation, Lacks Specific Goals

By Steven Vance | Jul 19, 2016 | No Comments

Cook County’s new “Long Range Transportation Plan,” released last week, is the first such document published since 1940 and is a policy platform that will guide decisions about transportation spending for the next 24 years. To the credit of county officials, the plan voices strong support for improving walking, biking, and transit, which represents a […]

CNT, Active Trans to County: If You’re Going to Raise Sales Tax, Fund Transit

By John Greenfield | Jul 14, 2015 | 5 Comments

Streetsblog Chicago is on vacation from July 13-17 and will resume publication of Today’s Headlines and daily articles on Monday, July 20. We’ll keep in touch this week via social media and occasional posts. In the meantime, here’s an excerpt from this week’s Checkerboard City, John’s transportation column, which appears in print in Newcity Magazine. […]

Cook County’s Transportation Plan Thinking Big, But Where’s The Money?

By Steven Vance | Oct 20, 2014 | 21 Comments

Earlier this year, Cook County embarked on its first transportation plan since 1940, asking residents to weigh in on how and where to improve transportation across the second most populous county in America. That feedback has helped the transportation department to draft a new vision statement [PDF] – that world-class transportation will spur economic growth […]

Transit Future Slowly Building Coalition to Fund Expanded Transit

By Steven Vance | Oct 13, 2014 | 7 Comments

The Transit Future campaign sure did arrive with a bang. Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle both spoke at its April announcement, which was accompanied by a splashy map and website. It seemed like a huge expansion of the region’s transit network was closer than ever, once Cook County and Chicago officials rallied […]

Preckwinkle, Environmental Groups Want CMAP to Drop Illiana

By Steven Vance | Sep 9, 2014 | 25 Comments

The Sierra Club and other organizations intend to petition the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning to remove the Illiana Tollway from its regional plan, effectively disallowing the state from building the new highway. The deletion is possible because CMAP, the federally-designated Metropolitan Planning Organization for this region, is finalizing a mandatory update of its GO […]

CNT and Active Trans Launch “Transit Future” Funding Campaign

By John Greenfield | Apr 4, 2014 | 47 Comments

On Monday, Governor Quinn’s Northeast Illinois Public Transit Taskforce released its final report, underscoring the need for better funding for regional transit. Yesterday, the Center for Neighborhood Technology and the Active Transportation Alliance launched a new campaign, dubbed “Transit Future,” to raise that money via a new Cook County-based revenue stream that would help the […]

Cook County Seeks Feedback on First Transportation Plan Since 1940

By Steven Vance | Mar 7, 2014 | 3 Comments

Cook County has begun the process of creating its first transportation plan since its 1940 highway plan. The Cook County Department of Transportation and Highways is collecting feedback from residents on present and future transportation needs. “Connecting Cook County” launched late last month, and the long-range transportation plan will guide Cook County’s investments. Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle said in […]

As IDOT Postpones Illiana Vote, Planners Say the Region Doesn’t Need It

By Steven Vance | Sep 27, 2013 | 3 Comments

Illinois Department of Transportation Secretary Ann Schneider has pushed back a crucial vote about the Illiana Expressway a week to October 17. The vote by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning policy committee will decide if building 47 miles of tolled highway south of the urbanized areas of Chicagoland and into Indiana can proceed. If […]

Metra Headaches Continue While Quinn Forms Committee to Reform Transit

By Steven Vance | Aug 16, 2013 | 29 Comments

A fifth Metra board member gave up his post Thursday after the Chicago Tribune wrote that Stanley Rakestraw no longer lived in suburban Cook County – as required – and the person who appointed him, Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle, asked him to tender resignation. Board members are resigning after allegations of double dipping (for […]