Return to Index

The proposed pilots will be conducted in one county from northeastern Illinois (Kane or McHenry) and three from southwestern Illinois (Madison, St. Clair, Monroe). Technical support will be provided by University of Illinois’ Department of Regional and Urban Planning (U of I), Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission (NIPC) and Southwestern Resource Conservation and Development (SWRCD). Fiscal support will be provided to local planning organizations through revising planning grants within the Department of Natural Resource’s national recognized C2000 Ecosystems Program. In addition DNR will provide support for the U of I to incorporate the system of plans into the land use model. The projected timeline for both of these projects is 15-18 months. We will do a legacy plan in other urban areas as funding becomes available.

	The Northeastern Illinois Regional Planning Commission (NIPC) is assisting with the liaison functions for this region. During the summer of 2004 various stakeholder groups were contacted to introduce them to the project and explain the Legacy proof of concept. These groups included; • Organizations with working knowledge of environmental, agricultural, cultural issues and also organizations who could assist with providing relevant resource inventory data. • McHenry County Council of Governments • Members of Imagine McHenry County (members of development community) • Planning staffs from a variety of municipalities and the county
	The Peoria Pilot covers the counties of Peoria, Tazewell, and Woodford. The Tri-County Regional Planning Commission (TRPC) is the regional liaison. The TRPC is coordinating with local officials through the Peoria Mayor’s Vision 2020 project (see www//Vision2020.org). Coordinating with the Vision 2020 has several advantages; local involvement, local control and cost savings—avoiding a duplicative process. Decisions stay within the current local process and the state provides tools and information to guide decision making.
	The Legacy Planning project in Southwestern Illinois began with informational meetings in mid-September of 2004. Community leaders and resource specialists from Madison, St. Clair, Monroe, and Randolph counties attended these local meetings. The meetings provided some informational background on the LEAM project and introduced Legacy Planning as a tool for planners. Follow-up calls after the meetings produced positive feedback and support for the project.