Rebuilding and Renewing America: Infrastructure Choices in the Great Lakes Megaregion
Monday, November 17, 2008
8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Hyatt Regency Chicago,
151 E. Wacker Drive, Chicago
Download the Agenda
Monday, November 17, 2008
8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Hyatt Regency Chicago,
151 E. Wacker Drive, Chicago
Download the Agenda
Freight congestion, aging bridges, insufficient mass transit, brownouts, soaring energy costs, flooding, and polluted waters - all news in recent years, and all partially the results of continued strain on our nation's infrastructure. At the same time, the need for an economic stimulus is greater than ever. The election of a new President and new Congress gives us a fresh opportunity to set a new agenda for infrastructure investment in the nation and in the Great Lakes megaregion to revive the flagging economy and to compete globally.
On November 17, Chicago's Metropolitan Planning Council and New York's Regional Plan Association hosted a forum to identify and prioritize strategic investments in transportation, water, and energy to be included in a national infrastructure plan, authorization of a new surface transportation bill, pending climate change legislation, and implementation of the Great Lakes Compact. Leaders from the Great Lakes business, civic, government, and academic communities are encouraged to attend and help define this emerging federal-regional agenda.
Featured speakers included U.S. Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Tom Petri (R-WI) and Canadian Minister of Defense and Minister for the Atlantic Gateway, Peter Gordon MacKay.
This forum was organized locally by the Metropolitan Planning Council and nationally by the Regional Plan Association, which is grateful for funding support from the Rockefeller Foundation, Surdna Foundation, and Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
Confirmed speakers as of 11/05:This forum was organized locally by the Metropolitan Planning Council and nationally by the Regional Plan Association, which is grateful for funding support from the Rockefeller Foundation, Surdna Foundation, and Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
Introductory Comments
* MarySue Barrett, President, Metropolitan Planning Council
* Robert Yaro, President, Regional Plan Association
* Anne Pramaggiore, Executive VP of Customer Operations and Regulatory ad External Affairs, ComEd
Featured Speakers
* Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)
* Hon. Peter Gordon MacKay, Canadian Minister of National Defence and Minister for the Atlantic Gateway
Congressional Plenary Panel
Moderator: John McCarron, Adjunct Lecturer, Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, contributing columnist to the Chicago Tribune
* Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)
* Representative Thomas Petri (R-WI)
MPO Panel
Moderator: Robin Snyderman, Vice President of Housing & Community Development, Metropolitan Planning Council
* Randy Blankenhorn, Executive Director, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning
* John Swanson, Executive Director, Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission
* Chester Jourdan, Executive Director, Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission
* David Warm, Executive Director, Mid-America Regional Council
* Steve Ernst, Study Director, Rockford Area Transportation Study
* Terry Kohlbuss, Executive Director,Tri-County Regional Planning Commission
Water Roundtable
Moderator: Al Appleton, Former Commissioner, New York City Department of Environmental Protection
* Samuel W. Speck, Commissioner, International Joint Commission
* Deborah Shore, Commissioner, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
* MaryAnn Dickinson, Executive Director, Alliance for Water Efficiency
* Katherine Baer, Senior Director for Clean Waters, America Rivers
* Cameron Davis, President,Alliance for the Great Lakes
Energy Roundtable
Moderator: Catherine Morris, Keystone Center
* Kyle Barry, Vice President of Business Expansion, McGuire Woods Consulting
* Wally Tyner, Professor of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University
* Anne Evens, Director of Energy, Center for Neighborhood Technology
* Sadhu Johnston, Chief Environmental Officer for the City of Chicago
* Val Jensen, Vice President, Marketing and Environmental Programs, ComEd
Transportation Roundtable
Moderator: Petra Todorovich, Director, America 2050
* Ann Drake, CEO, DSC Logistics
* Maureen McAvey, Executive Vice President, Infrastructure Initiatives, Urban Land Institute
* Rob Puentes, Fellow, Metropolitan Policy Program, The Brookings Institution
* Ilana Preuss, Director of Campaign Parternships, T 4 America
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