MPC Roundtable—Accelerate Illinois: Addressing Our Transportation Funding Shortfalls

Frustrated by your commute? You’re not alone. From Chicago to Springfield, and from Belleville to Bourbonnais, Illinoisans in big and small towns alike are fed up with the state of our roads, bridges, transit lines, sidewalks and bike paths. A recent MPC survey found that most people experience transportation frustrations on a daily basis—no surprise considering that our state is grappling with a huge infrastructure backlog and diminishing funding to improve it. Join MPC on Friday, March 20, to learn about Accelerate Illinois, the campaign for a sustainable solution to fix what ails Illinois’ transportation system.
MPC’s roundtable will feature Kirk Steudle, director of Michigan’s Dept. of Transportation since 2006. Steudle will explain how the Wolverine State is planning to fund the maintenance of its road, bridge and transit system with a new set of revenues in 2015.
He will be followed by a panel featuring Leanne Redden, who is the executive director of the Regional Transportation Authority and was formerly the director of planning at the Authority, Illinois Tollway and Village of Schaumburg. Rebekah Scheinfeld, commissioner of the Chicago Dept. of Transportation, will offer insight into the importance of state transportation funding for the City of Chicago. Tom Kotarac, who recently joined the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, will also speak. Tom was previously the senior policy advisor for Ill. Sen. Dick Durbin.
This event is generously sponsored by Freedman Seating Company.