Sharon Hudson, Park Forest, and Diane Wilczak, Orland Park, Co-Chairs
Deanna Pearson-Brown, GSU Professor, College of Arts and Sciences, Faculty Facilitator

GOAL I:

• A means to communicate the activities and achievements occurring in the south metro region to all areas within its boundaries and to areas outside the region as well.

GOAL II:

• More collaboration within the south metro region, and with other parts of the Chicago metropolitan area and potential partners worldwide.

GOAL III:

• A more positive image for the region based upon its current strengths, and also upon new endeavors which address aspects of the region that are perceived to be negatives.

The south metro region is an area rich with many remarkable assets. We share a heritage unique in the Chicago metropolitan area. It was the explorations of the DesPlaines and Kankakee Rivers by Marquette, Jolliet, and de LaSalle which spurred the early development of the Chicago area, and encouraged development of both the southeastern and western portions of the United States. The south region also played a key role in linking the east and west coasts with the building of Lincoln Highway (U.S. 30), which was the first road to extend from coast to coast. These and other dramatically historical places represent the region's unique natural and historical resources and its crucial role in the history of the Chicago area.

The region is also the most racially, ethnically, and economically diverse in the entire Chicago metropolitan area. There are excellent transportation linkages providing relatively easy commutes throughout the region, affordable housing, and an abundance of open space and natural ecological resources that set the region apart. Despite these and many more qualities, those who live and/or work in the south metro area often feel like poor relations to the rest of the Chicago region. In an article in the 1990 July/August issue of Chicago Enterprise, an area resident summed it up by saying, "We don't have an image problem...we just don't have an image."

The participants in the Communication, Partnership and Image Action Team determined that achieving the above goals will result in establishing a positive image for our region. In short, the goals focus on communicating and collaborating. While there is an abundance of positive things happening in the region, many of them are essentially well-kept secrets. The team suggests that vehicles for communicating across and among communities throughout the region be established for sharing information and local solutions to common problems (e.g., a regional center or institute, the Internet, community forums, 1-800 number, cable TV, videos, a newsletter, and library facilities.), and that a multi-level marketing campaign be developed to promote our region and its assets, including our unique history, abundant open space, diversity, variety of housing choices, and cultural and recreational opportunities. Members also recommend that a regional building project/annual event be defined through which the image of the region can be enhanced, and that high visibility locations along interstate routes be targeted for physical enhancement and information signs.

Essential to the successful accomplishment of these goals and recommendations is the development of a cooperative spirit among the stakeholders in the south metro region. The realities of our connections and responsibilities as a region, along with the benefits that can be gained from cooperation, must be consistently communicated region-wide. Partnerships must be forged among residents, political leaders, businesses, educational institutions, and civic organizations. Also, there are currently organizations in the region working toward similar goals, such as the Chicago Southland Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Chicago Southland Chamber of Commerce, and these are invaluable partners in terms of their knowledge and expertise.

The team also recognizes that there are barriers to overcome, some of which are addressed by other RAP/2000+ Action Teams, such as the clean-up of brownfields and the creation of jobs. The large size of the region makes consistent and accurate information sharing and establishing effective partnerships more challenging. Another challenge will be to encourage metro-area media to report our progress in an objective manner. In the past, metro newspapers have tended to reinforce the "poor relation" analogy, such as in the 1990 article in Chicago Enterprise entitled, "Will the South Rise Again? Suburban Stepchild Seeks Fame and Fortune."

The Economic and Social Diversity Action Team addressed issues related to the great diversity among residents of the south metro region, including race, ethnicity, income, age, mental and physical ability, and special needs related to housing. The wide variety and wealth of human experience represented in our region are great assets. But appreciation of these assets on a large scale requires a concerted effort on the part of everyone toward awareness, understanding, responsibility, and cooperation.

This is admittedly a tall order, especially with the current national trend which seems to be taking us in the direction of greater polarization as opposed to greater unity. And yet, learning to view and appreciate each other simply as fellow human beings, not in spite of our differences, but rather because they are the very attributes that make each of us special, are goals which are worth pursuing.

There are undeniably barriers within our region which make progress difficult. There is a lack of awareness on the part of many regarding the reality of the experiences, including prejudice and discrimination, among those who are in the minority. Ugly and dangerous stereotypes perpetuate this lack of understanding, and are too often met with silence on the part of regional leaders in the government, schools, churches and other institutions. Additionally, there seems to be an unwillingness on the part of some to make the connection between economic deprivation and negative, antisocial behavior. On the other hand, reaction to the initial draft of the RAP report reflects concern from some community members regarding government programs which provide assistance with no expectations, and about attitudes which tend to allow past hardships to be used as excuses for not becoming productive members of society. There is also a low value placed on voting among members of some communities, which has resulted in a less than equitable distribution of power.

Another barrier to progress relates to the tendency of media portrayals to be unbalanced, emphasizing and reinforcing polarization, such as during elections, crime reporting, and negative community coverage, rather than giving broadcast or print space to positive news stories. Presenting a challenge toward achieving "sufficient accessible housing for those with special needs" are personal biases among some in the real estate industry, and among many community members who say that providing housing opportunities for a wide diversity of individuals is a worthy goal, but not in their communities. There are also those who, while not necessarily opposed to Section 8 housing, believe that consideration should be given to whether areas already "impacted" by race or with assisted housing should be off-limits to Section 8 certificate holders.

While the challenges are significant, action team members recommended several strategies for change, including the establishment of a non-profit regional umbrella organization to promote harmony among diverse groups through research, workshops, seminars, and assistance in the development of projects; an organized effort to work cooperatively with the media; a campaign to encourage informed voting; and a plan to encourage the real estate industry to promote diversity in the region so as to prevent resegregation. Participants agreed that greater interaction among all people can help to bring about greater awareness, understanding, and appreciation for those who are physically and mentally challenged, as well as for those who represent diverse racial, ethnic, cultural, and economic backgrounds. Accessible housing is inextricably tied to attitudes toward the poor, people of color, and toward those with differing levels of physical and mental abilities. These attitudes must change in order to establish the conditions for self-determination, including acquisition of adequate and healthy living environments.

As a region, there are many resources at our disposal to help achieve these goals. Organizations including, but not limited to, the National Coalition Building Institute, the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association, the South Suburban Housing Center, the Housing Coalition of the Southern Suburbs, and the Leadership Council for Metropolitan Open Communities are all committed to making improvements. Governors State University has made the "appreciation of diversity" part of the focus of its mission statement. There are also Human Relations Commissions in most municipalities, and many elected officials who are determined to level the playing field and promote understanding across economic, racial, and social lines. Finally, it is the desire of most people to have a better quality of life, not just for themselves but also for others, that is a valuable lever which can be built upon to achieve these goals.

The achievement of the goals established by the RAP/2000+ Education and Training Action Team would go a long way toward ensuring the emergence of qualified, knowledgeable, and skilled workers for the benefit of our region and beyond. Many different facets of providing a high quality of education in the south metro region were addressed. In discussing general concepts particularly related to elementary education, participants stressed the importance of communication between educators and parents, and the shared responsibility/accountability of the students themselves, their families, and their teachers. Everyone in the region has a vested interest in the education of today's youth, including families, teachers, administrators, libraries, businesses, service organizations, and other groups, and should, therefore, approach education as a team endeavor. It was also suggested by some that school boundaries be evaluated and realigned when appropriate in order to allow students to maintain peer relationships when making the transition from elementary to high school. In addition, there is a rapidly growing consensus for education funding reform in order to provide high quality education in all parts of the region in a way that is fair and equitable to taxpayers.

The action team made several recommendations for improving the educational outlook in the region, including: the implementation of collaborative education programs throughout the region; the establishment of learning accountability for students through academic standards by encouraging school districts to act collaboratively; the incorporation of parenting classes and life-skills in the curriculum; the development of regional efforts to address school finance issues; and the coordination of the services of all adult education providers using a computerized information network.

While the team did not address issues related to higher education in great detail, clearly there are a multitude of education and workforce issues that impact the future of our region, not the least of which is the changing face of the job market for the years 2000+. In 1950, 60% of all people were employed in unskilled jobs, while 20% held professional positions, and 20% were employed in what can be classified as skilled jobs. By 1990, that proportion changed to 45% in unskilled positions, with 20% professionals, and 35% holding skilled jobs. By the year 2000, it is projected that the labor market pie will be shaped as follows: 20% of all people will work at professional jobs; 15% in unskilled positions, and a whopping 65% will hold skilled jobs. Without education and training, people will be unprepared to fill the jobs that are available. (E. Timothy Lightfield, President, Prairie State College, Remarks to the RAP/2000+ Steering Committee, July 31, 1995.)

The jobs which were once available for the large majority of high school graduates who chose not to pursue higher education are no longer there. These jobs are being replaced by skilled jobs requiring a skilled workforce. This changing situation does not just apply to recent high school graduates. The world where a person begins a job out of high school and retires from that same company decades later is a world gone by. Workers who are five, or ten, or fifteen years out of high school need ongoing, skilled education in order to remain employable in this new and changing society. The entire educational system in the south metro region must address the needs of this new student and the requirements of a changing workforce.

The establishment of the goals of the RAP/2000+ Environment and Resource Use Action Team is, in part, a response to the perception that the south region is the "garbage dump" of the Chicago area. While the team does not recommend that no incinerators or disposal facilities be located in the region, they do suggest that consideration be given to proportion and equity when looking at the Chicago metro region as a whole. If environmental justice can be partially defined as an equitable distribution of new sources of pollution throughout the region, it is apparent that the most offensive, new sources of pollution are concentrated in a few areas, and thus represent injustice. There is an unbalanced, substantial presence of incinerators and waste facilities in the south metro region, particularly in the less affluent communities, and apathy on the part of residents allows waste disposal interests to have a significant influence in Springfield. Enacted legislation, such as the Retail Rate Law, provides enormous subsidies to waste incinerators, and members strongly recommend that this law be revised or repealed.

Participants also determined that the re-evaluating and, where necessary, the strengthening of pollution regulations be undertaken. Additional focus should be on strict enforcement of current regulations, including motor vehicle pollution laws, and there should be an increased emphasis on the reporting of exact sources and amounts of pollution. Source reduction of waste materials should be strongly encouraged, as should recycling entrepreneurs.

(In response to these recommendations by action team members, a representative of the waste industry indicated that the modern facilities being constructed in our region are not just "incinerators" but are "waste-to-energy" facilities, turning non-recyclable trash into usable electricity. He also stated their position that current national EPA standards are quite adequate, and that several responsible regional business interests have endorsed the Robbins waste-to-energy facility.)

Another issue that the action team addressed concerns the thousands of acres of industrial brownfields in our region. Priority attention must be given to the clean-up of such lands, returning them to productive use. It was also recognized that the significant natural areas and open space in the region are very valuable assets in terms of economic possibilities and environmental quality, which we must take care to preserve, expand, and promote. Team members strongly support the establishment of the proposed 19,000 acre Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie on the Joliet Arsenal land, and a task force to work toward brownfield clean-up.

Finally, action team members focused on the importance of communication and education as related to environment and resource use. They recommend the establishment of a regional public radio station, an environmental clearinghouse to prepare and disseminate a calendar of related activities, and a regional center that would house socio-economic and environmental data, serve as an honest broker in discussion of various regional issues, and produce an annual state of the region report. Also, it is recommended that a review of K-12 environmental curriculum be conducted with emphasis on regional environmental knowledge, including the location, types, and various sources of pollution. Only by incorporation of more in-depth environmental education into public education can we expect to address issues of citizen apathy.

Individuals participating in the Health and Well-Being Action Team recognize that the region is composed of rural, urban, and suburban areas with diverse health care needs. Some pockets are rich with private physicians, public health care, home health care, mental health care, and substance abuse treatment services, while others have few services, thereby requiring travel to the health care centers in large communities. Access to health care is sufficient for residents who can afford to pay, but individuals with no health insurance or those receiving public aid oftentimes have a difficulty time finding a private physician who will accept the low rates of payment. In a region that has some of the most affluent and some of the poorest communities in Illinois, the consequence is a further widening of the chasm between the "haves" and the "have nots."

The emphasis of the health and well-being goals is upon improved access and prevention of declining health. Health care status of residents cannot be expected to improve until the barriers which impede access are removed, including negative attitudes on the part of practitioners toward serving the poor, consumer and provider lack of awareness of existing services, lack of practitioners in rural areas, and consumer apathy.

Team members also determined that in order to achieve the identified goals, primary focus must include a preventive, family-centered approach. All outcomes must be respectful of the structure and influence of the family as the primary source for the development of personal and social values; must recognize the role of the family in the development of individual members' self-esteem; and must strengthen the family unit and encourage personal responsibility.

It is the improvement of information and the system of referral that the team believes to be the most important. While there is a need for more prevention and alternative education programs for youth and families, the primary problem is not the lack of resources, but rather that the vast array of services are not known to the general public or other providers of service, and maneuvering the maze is a daunting and difficult task. The primary recommendation of the action team is to create an access network to facilitate and enhance networking among providers, thereby improving access and increasing knowledge, cooperation, information, and referral.

An access network for the region would improve access and utilization of health and well-being services available throughout the region; identify all providers and the range of community-based services available; facilitate on-going communication about services and individual (organization) efforts to address health/well-being of residents; develop a mechanism for identifying and referring residents to appropriate services; assist new program development through the sharing of information and resources; provide a dynamic assessment/evaluation/monitoring of social needs and levels; assist in increasing awareness of existing programs and identifying areas of strength and weakness for future programs; develop a widely disseminated and regularly updated computerized information and referral data base networking with similar systems; and expand individual provider access to networks, information, and services available through participant sharing.

In discussing the need for jobs in the south metropolitan region, action team members stressed the importance of "family-supporting, permanent" positions. We must begin by attracting quality employers, retaining current ones to increase the number of high-pay jobs, and expanding educational opportunities. A region-wide strategic plan for economic development with a focus on prosperous industries and quality, skilled jobs rather than simply on "job creation" is needed.

To accomplish this it will be necessary to have a quality, skilled, and ready workforce. This calls for efforts to upgrade current worker skills and improve worker preparation; an increased emphasis on occupational and technical training at all educational levels; a cohesive system of workforce preparation including opportunities for internships, apprenticeships, and on-the-job training; and expanded opportunities for training and retraining of current employees. High school and college students, as well as unemployed and underprepared adults will need information, guidance, encouragement, and support to develop and complete educational plans to compete in skilled, technical occupations.

Our ability to meet the future demands of a technology intensive industrial base is inhibited by limited support for K-12 education and limited recognition of the importance of post-secondary education for skilled, technical careers. Also, there is no region-wide focus in economic planning and development or region-wide dissemination of occupational information, although there is emerging emphasis on cooperative planning between business and education. On the positive side, however, employment in the south metro region grew by 16.5% between 1986 and 1993, and we have a strong network of community colleges and baccalaureate universities in the region, and an average to above average proportion of college graduates, with a large proportion of graduates of regional colleges staying in the region.

As the ratio of local jobs to residents increases, team members predict that economic and transportation patterns would be affected as the region would be able to support more workers. A further effect could be increased retail sales that would, in turn, encourage more local employment opportunities. It is necessary to increase the number of attractive jobs that are compatible with regional skills. This may involve efforts to diversify the economic structure to address specific skill areas, the growth of current employment centers, the development of strategically placed economic or business centers, and increased emphasis on post-secondary education in the technologies.

Enhanced cooperative efforts between government agencies as well as involvement of private sector in planning and initiating economic development efforts with a focus on diversity and strength across employment sectors is important. Improved intra-regional public transportation systems, particularly those that would link the poorest areas of the region to the rest of the region, would contribute to increasing the ratio of jobs to residents.

Social services that now focus on basic maintenance could be more concerned about quality of life. The achievement of this goal will require changes in the area of education, social services, transportation, and job availability. Increased support for and accountability from elementary and secondary education, as well as more options and encouragement for traditionally non-college bound students in the areas of occupational preparation and career training, particularly at the post-secondary level, will be needed. Apprenticeships, internships, work-study options and a comprehensive system of career information and career development services would all contribute to the accomplishment of this goal.

A concentrated effort to bring a significant percentage of the currently underemployed and unemployable into the mainstream would require directed efforts and resources including the expansion of adult basic education programs in basic skills as well as support for academic and technical skill enhancement to meet today's needs. It would be important to critically evaluate current efforts and identify efforts that are truly effective in this area.

Workplace quality is also a key factor as many of the poorest households are single-parent households, therefore day care, adequate health care, adaptable work hours and other quality factors will be important. Finally it will be necessary to improve the economic base of the region as a whole in order to affect economic opportunity for those who live in the poorest areas of the region.

In order to realize overall progress in the area of jobs and economic development, action team members suggest the encouragement and support of the successful development of projects, such as the airport, to enhance economic opportunity and development in the region. It also was recommended that we work toward attracting and retaining quality employers through a region-wide economic development council; focus on skilled job opportunities through regional occupational information; and work toward building a positive economic development for the region by addressing quality of life issues, highlighting positive achievements and regional strengths, and encouraging inter-governmental and governmental-private sector cooperation.

Planning for land use is most commonly done by local government, while transportation planning is usually carried out at three levels of government -- federal, state, and local. From a regional perspective, two major problems arise here. First, while some transportation and land use planning is carried out for the metropolitan region by such organizations as NIPC (Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission), planning for sub-regions of the metro area, such as the south region, is often neglected; this in spite of the fact that sub-regions of the metro area often have unique concerns and needs. A major cause for this neglect of effective sub-regional planning is the lack of appropriate organizational frameworks within which such planning can be carried out. A second problem that arises from the current manner in which transportation and land use planning are carried out is the very meager coordination, on either a regional or sub-regional basis, between transportation and land use planning; here again the lack of an appropriate sub-regional framework is a major problem.

Team members determined that while the current transportation system in the region is adequate in some ways, it lacks some features and requires further improvements to adequately fill future needs. To avoid further congestion, several linkages of the highway system will have to be completed, including the extension of I-355 to highway I-80 and I-65, the extension of highway 394, and the building of the I-57 Kankakee bypass.

There was also consensus among team members that public transportation is currently inadequate, especially on east-west routes, and will become increasingly so with the growth of the region. Improvement is necessary in the inter-suburban transit system via CTA, PACE, and METRA. Also necessary is the creation of new express bus and/or rail service from existing and developing population centers of the region to existing and growing employment centers. Additionally, as a means to spur economic development, the team supports the establishment of a major airport in the south metro region and the restructuring of the property tax system.

The current land use pattern of the region is a patchwork quilt of local decisions that, presumably, serves well each local jurisdiction but takes little or no account of regional needs or impacts. We thus end up with leap-frog development, longer than necessary travel times to work, shopping, recreation, and home, and with some parts of the region under-served by residential, commercial, and industrial development while such development is over-concentrated in other parts. Consequently, in order to fulfill this goal in relation to land use, coordination and communication of land use policy at the regional level becomes necessary, especially considering the large number of organizations within the region looking at specific pieces of the transportation and land use puzzle.

Team members also addressed the importance of capitalizing on the region's abundant open space. Currently, the counties and municipalities of the south metro region provide a variety of green spaces and recreational opportunities. Under the current system, however, these assets and opportunities are distributed unevenly throughout the region and there is no systematic set of linkages among the different open spaces. This results in a lack of an effective regional system of biking and walking trails. Current flood-plain regulation is also spotty throughout the region, with only some of the local governments providing effective regulation. To deal effectively with these problems, a regional framework should be established and supported with the aim of developing and implementing a regionally linked open space plan.

Finally, team members stressed the idea of "managed growth," which would allow for the orderly development of the region and for the maintenance of a good quality of life. Comments received in reaction to the initial RAP/2000+ report expressed concern about the region's rapid decentralization and fear that projects such as a Peotone airport and new tollroads would spur development far beyond those towns. In order to implement this goal, it may require convincing local governments in the region to relinquish at least some of their local planning power to a regional entity that would determine the rate and location of growth throughout the region.