About CMAP

The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning is located in Suite 800 of Sears Tower, 233 South Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL  60606.  Phone:  312-454-0400.  Fax:  312-454-0411.  Click here for directions to Sears Tower.

On September 1, 2006, the CMAP Board issued its strategic report on the agency’s vision, governance, and funding. The report is available at www.chicagoareaplanning.org/docs/.  CMAP was created through legislation (download PDF) that unanimously passed both houses of the Illinois General Assembly and was signed into law by Governor Rod Blagojevich on August 8, 2005.  This new organization has combined the previously separate transportation and land-use planning agencies for northeastern Illinois into a single entity designed to protect natural resources and minimize traffic congestion as the seven-county region plans for the 21st Century and beyond.

The list of CMAP board members reflects the regional consensus that led to creation of CMAP, featuring representation from across the counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will.  The board is chaired by Gerald Bennett, mayor of Palos Hills.  The new agency is a consolidation of the Chicago Area Transportation Study (CATS) and the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission (NIPC).  On April 12, 2006, CMAP hired Randall S. Blankenhorn as its first executive director to oversee operations of the unified agency.

In signing the Regional Planning Act that created the new agency, Governor Blagojevich said:

“As Northeastern Illinois continues to grow and communities expand, we need to make sure we’re planning ahead to accommodate the additional traffic and increased demand on our transit systems. By combining the region’s existing planning authorities into one board, we can maximize our limited resources and improve coordination on both transportation and land use needs for the entire region.”