Chicago Metropolis 2020 - Metropolis Index Press Release (2002)

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News Release
CONTACT: 312-332-2020
ON APRIL 29, 2OO2

METROPOLIS INDEX: CHALLENGES IN SCHOOLS, HOUSING AND TRANSPORTATION THREATEN VITALITY OF CHICAGO REGION

Key measurements in a new Metropolis Index of economic strength and social inequities detail serious challenges to the region’s vitality.

Despite the Chicago region’s advantage of having a diverse mix of industry sectors, the economic health of the region is threatened by traffic congestion, an inadequate supply of housing for workers close to jobs, low test scores of children in schools with high concentrations of poverty, and a tax system that limits the ability of some communities to educate their children and combat crime.

Those are some of the findings in the second report card on the region – the Metropolis Index – prepared by Chicago Metropolis 2020. Based on statistical information and guided by consultation with recognized experts, the Metropolis Index is an authoritative and independent assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the region.

“The Chicago region will remain strong only if we acknowledge our challenges and develop solutions,” said Donald G. Lubin, Chairman of Chicago Metropolis 2020. “While life is good for a great many of the more than 8 million citizens of the region, that prosperity is not shared by all.

“Too many schools have failed to provide a good education for our children,” Lubin said. “Too many men and women can’t afford to live in or even close to the communities where they are employed. If we do not do better, the entire region will suffer.”

“By many measurements, this is a vibrant region that remains an attractive place to conduct business as well as raise a family,” said George A. Ranney, Jr., President of Chicago Metropolis 2020. “But we cannot afford to ignore regional problems or delay acting on regional solutions.

“Bumper-to-bumper traffic and failing schools demand our attention,” Ranney said. “These are regional problems that, in the long run, impact all of us. If we don’t address problems highlighted by the Index’s benchmarks, this region will no longer be able to compete, and we’ll suffer the consequences. All of us work and live in this region together.”

Some of the measurements reported in the Metropolis Index include:

The region lost jobs at a faster rate than the nation from 2000 to 2001. Until 2001, when the national economic downturn began, the economy of the Chicago region recorded a steady growth in jobs, gross regional product and productivity.

Cars and people are combining to push the region’s transportation system to the breaking point. Between 1994 and 1999, there was a 2.7 percent average annual increase in daily vehicle miles traveled per mile of roadway while our population increased by .7 percent. One result was a 17 percent increase in rush hour trip time between 1994 and 1999.

Growth was uneven in the construction of 40,000 new single and multi-family housing units in 2001. Moderate and low-income families often have difficulty finding housing near where they work despite a strong housing market.

There is a wide disparity in academic achievement in the region. Average test scores in Chicago Public Schools (CPS) are not as high as those from the rest of the region. However, there is a correlation between poor test performance and high concentrations of poverty. When scores from all public schools in the region are separated by income levels, the average scores for Chicago students are about the same or better than the average scores for the region’s suburban students of comparable income levels.

The region has become more ethnically diverse since 1990 and has made modest progress in integrating its residents. Yet when compared with other large metropolitan areas in the nation, this region’s African-American and Latino populations are among the nation’s most segregated.

The average tax capacity per household – the amount of revenue a municipality could raise if it taxed each household at the regional average – was $747 in 1998. (Tax capacity indicates a municipality’s ability to provide basic services.) However, many cities like Robbins ($107 tax capacity per household) and Ford Heights ($118) are far below suburbs like Oak Brook ($6,954), Oak Brook Terrace ($3,645) and Barrington Hills ($3,453).

Chicago Metropolis 2020, which was created in 1999 by The Commercial Club of Chicago, promotes innovative solutions to long-term challenges facing the Chicago region. In addition to CEOs and senior executives, Chicago Metropolis 2020 includes representatives of labor, government, faith-based groups and other civic organizations.

Later this year, Chicago Metropolis 2020 will unveil the Metropolis Plan for Growth and Transportation, which will illustrate how the actions of government, businesses and residents can shape regional growth and provide a model of how the region might develop over the next 30 years. Access the complete text of the Metropolis Index at www.chicagometropolis2020.org.