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The Chicagoland Transportaion and Air Quality Commission (CTAQC) is constantly monitoring the work of the six-county region's metropolitan planning organization, the Chicago Area Transportation Study (CATS).
CATS is the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for northeastern Illinois. MPOs are authorized under federal law to determine how federal funds will be allocated. They develop long range plans that are at least 20 years in duration.
CATS is one of the oldest MPOs in the country. Its staff is highly skilled and has developed many technical innovations in planning. CATS was established before the federal government set up criteria for MPOs; although federal regulations established MPO criteria, existing MPOs were “grandfathered” in whether they met all the criteria or not.
The Chicago region is unique in the nation with a MPO that is separate from the land
use agency, composed almost exclusively of one demographic segment, not geographically representative, controlled by the state
department of transportation and with committees composed primarily of transportation bureaucrats.
The Center for Neighborhood Technology and the Chicagoland Transportation and Air Quality Commission, along with many others, have advocated for years for fundamental reform of the decision-making structure at CATS.
