Planners: Southland in good place
State of Region focuses on health care and spending on infrastructure. ‘Equity is critically important.’
Health care is big business, hospitals are infrastructure and the Southland stands to gain from equity driven job growth and economic development investment in coming years.
Those were a few take-aways I gleaned Thursday when the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning held its first State of the Region conference. The 90-minute online event featured such participants as Palos Hills Mayor Gerald Bennett and Richton Park Mayor Rick Reinbold.
The theme was Prosperity with Purpose, and keynote speaker was Suzet McKinney, former Illinois Medical District CEO who now heads the life sciences division for developer Sterling Bay.
“Research shows that regions with higher inclusion enjoy greater economic success and longer periods of growth,” McKinney said. “Economic impact is critical to our mission.”
Many local, state and federal government agencies are hyped about prioritizing equity when deciding how to spend public funds on infrastructure. That’s good news for many south suburbs that have predominantly Black populations.
Health care accounts for about one out of every six dollars spent in the nation’s economy. Life sciences are a huge economic engine responsible for 700,000 Chicago area jobs and $72 billion in annual output, according to
CMAP — and that was before the pandemic.
Southland residents are familiar with how health care providers have closed outdated hospitals and invested in newer facilities in recent years. Some medical facilities, like roads and bridges, reached the end of their usefulness due to changes in needs and how care is provided.
Closures have included the former MetroSouth Medical Center in Blue Island and St. James Hospital in Chicago Heights. Major investments have included Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox and Franciscan Health Olympia Fields.
Such trends help explain why health care was the topic of the inaugural event for CMAP, an agency better known for producing transportation-focused comprehensive plans like “On To 2050.” Locations of health care hubs affect public transit investments and other decisions.
“The life sciences sector continues to boom,” McKinney said. “The lesson here is that life sciences are critical to our regional economy.”
Hospitals can attract such nearby projects as medical office buildings, laboratories and eateries to serve thousands of employees, patients and visitors.
Similarly, Amazon fulfillment centers and other huge logistics developments employing thousands in Markham, Matteson, Monee, University Park and elsewhere can lead to new truck stops and other supporting businesses.
“We’re the nation’s freight hub,” said Erin Aleman, CMAP executive director.
Congress is debating a big infrastructure bill that could have a major impact on the Chicago region, Aleman said.
“The infrastructure bill would be transformational,” she said.
There is tremendous support for equitable and inclusive approaches to spending tax dollars and devoting more resources to communities showing the greatest needs, she said.
“We have public support to take action,” Aleman said.
Heightened awareness of equity and inclusion in recent years bodes well for the south suburbs. CMAP and the Southland have not always been on the best of terms. A decade ago, crit
ics from the south suburbs accused CMAP of showing a bias for Chicago by not supporting the proposed South Suburban Airport near Peotone.
Ironically, economic boosters now talk about how the South Suburban Airport would do more to address equity and inclusion than any other project in the Chicago region for decades to come.
There is growing evidence the region needs a third major airport to handle rapidly increasing demand for air cargo. O’Hare and Midway airports are already at airspace capacity limits, and facilities in Rockford and Gary, Indiana are too far away when every mile means dollars to companies like Amazon.
The south suburbs lost 100,000 jobs and towns around O’Hare gained 100,000 jobs in recent decades, according to airport advocates. If the proposed South Suburban Airport is built at Bult Field near Monee, it could transform life for thousands of Southland families.
If there were more jobs in the vicinity, fewer workers would have to commute from the south suburbs to other places. Highway congestion might decrease, and families with shorter daily commutes might save on child care costs and have more money to spend on other purposes.
“Equity is critically important,” McKinney said during a question and answer exchange with Aleman.
While there was plenty of talk about equity and inclusion during Thursday’s event, there was no specific mention of the South Suburban Airport.
Instead, there were take-aways about how health care is a job creating monster serving an aging population and how we will benefit when federal infrastructure dollars start pouring into the region.
Aleman gave an example of how federal infrastructure money is spent to modify concrete sidewalks and curbs to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The improved accessibility was designed for people who use wheelchairs, but it also helps parents who push strollers, she said.
“Everyone benefits when we remove barriers for the most burdened group,” Aleman said.