Associate members and Housing Collaborative featured at March dinner meeting

The South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association honored its associate members March 17 over dinner at the Flossmoor Country Club in Flossmoor, IL. Associate membership provides participants opportunities to meet and talk with elected municipal leaders from throughout the Southland in both formal and informal settings. Learn more about associate membership or see a list of the honored organizations here. A membership application is here.

The meeting also featured SSMMA Deputy Executive Director of Housing and Community Development Lakeshia Wright and the highlights of participation in the Housing Collaborative in a video including: • The Housing Collaborative’s background, • Establishing the South Suburban Land Bank and Development Authority to address regional housing issues, • Implementing transit-oriented development projects to provide more livable communities, • The regional need for collaboration on housing issues

Community Development Planner Kimberly Morris added that the Housing Collaborative also provides community development support for healthier communities. The Collaborative’s work is made possible through partnerships with roughly 26 south suburban communities, Cook County, the Cook County Department of Public Health, the 2nd Congressional District, the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, Neighborhood Housing Services, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, Metropolitan Planning Council, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, IFF SSLBDA and more. Click here to download the Housing Collaborative’s brochure.

In addition, Forest Preserve District of Cook County Superintendent Arnold Randall offered a presentation on the amenities and health benefits the forest preserves now provides such as camping, hiking, fishing, boating, zip lining and birding (see recent article). His presentation slides are here.

We thank the Village of Flossmoor for hosting this fabulous dinner meeting as well as sponsors Clark, Baird, Smith, LLC and Comcast. More photos are here.