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One of the meetings, hosted by the Southwest Conference of Mayors, will be at 7 p.m. Aug. 5 at Chicago Ridge Village Hall, 10455 Ridgeland Ave. Another will be at 7 p.m. Aug. 8 at the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association, 1904 W. 174th St., East Hazel Crest. …Please click  here to read the rest of Steve Metsch’s story in the Southtown Star.

The Village Board gave its approval to moving forward with a trio of street resurfacing projects that are 80 percent funded by the federal government. At stake is the resurfacing of Cottage Grove Avenue from 162nd to 154th streets, along with Vincennes Avenue from 162nd Street to Old Vincennes Road, and 154th Street from Ninth Avenue to State Street. The Village Board on Monday took two 5-0 votes in favor of the resurfacing projects. Village Engineer Patricia Barker said the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association was able to obtain a federal grant that will be divided among various communities. Please click here to read  Gregory Tejeda’s full story in the Times.

The event will take place on August 21, 2013 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. Registration will start at 8:30 am. The address for the event is the prestigious UBS Tower located at 1 North Wacker, Chicago, IL. Breakfast will be provided. The presentations will feature some of the key assets of the Southland area, benefits of transit oriented developments, and specific tools available to spur development. Among the tools that will be highlighted will be the BUILT Fund, the South Suburban TOD Fund, the South Suburban Land Bank, as well as SSMMA’s Atlas tool. As a key draw, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle has accepted to be the key note speaker for the event. An open house will follow the presentations to encourage municipalities and developers to network. In addition, municipalities can reserve an informational table for promotional materials about the municipality or specific development sites. The table can accommodate display boards, flyers, maps, and brochures. ICEMILLER, LLP has generously agreed to sponsor the event and all municipalities are encouraged to participate. Please make sure to RSVP and reserve your table by contacting Holly Campbell at Hollycampbell@chicagosouthlandedc.org or by calling 773.909.1651. Please RSVP by August 2nd. Space is limited. Sponsored by:

Due to the effects of the recession, current Vacant Building Owners can Secure New Business Tenants and apply for a 60 percent reduction in the property tax rate. With the amendment, the property can be vacant only 1 year, instead of 24 months, to qualify. The Amendment was encouraged and supported by SSMMA, the CSEDC, and the Village of Tinley Park. Trustee Dave Seaman and Trustee Brian Maher of Tinley Park spearheaded the effort to approve this amendment to help economic development in the region. Special thanks to Cook County Commissioners Joan Patricia Murphy and Liz Gorman for pushing this amendment through County Finance Committee. For more information on this amendment, please contact the Incentives Division at the Cook County Assessor’s office at 312-443-7550.

After a unanimous decision at the July 1 city council meeting, Chicago Heights has a new director of public works. Mayor David Gonzalez was approved to appoint Mike Swortz, 59, to run the department that oversees several key projects in the city, including tree trimming, sewer repair, landscaping and caring for public properties. “I feel honored and grateful to have the job,” Swortz said. “I do have a motto: Do it right the first time.”…Please click here to read the full story.

National Foreclosure Settlement Funding To Advance Neighborhood Rebuilding Efforts Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced $70 million to assist housing efforts across the state to help rebuild Illinois communities that have been devastated by the national foreclosure crisis. The funding provided by Madigan stems from her lead role in obtaining a historic $25 billion national settlement last year with the country’s five largest bank mortgage servicers – Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citibank and Ally Bank, formerly GMAC. The settlement addressed allegations of widespread robo-signing of documents and other fraudulent practices by banks during foreclosure proceedings. With today’s announcement, Madigan is dedicating $70 million in settlement funding toward relief efforts for Illinois communities fraught with vacant and abandoned properties. The funding seeks to help rebuild neighborhoods that have been hardest hit by foreclosure in two critical ways: By rebuilding and rehabilitating vacant and abandoned properties to turn around blighted neighborhoods and by providing critical housing counseling to homeowners and renters to build stable communities. Some resources were also dedicated to housing policy and data experts that will ensure all the awardees have access to vital information, tools and strategies for success…. A snapshot of awards from the $70 million: Cook County Land Bank: $6 million to assist in the start-up of the Cook County Land Bank, estimated to be the largest land bank in the country, and support the already existing South Suburban Land Bank. The two land banks will support local municipalities in bringing vacant, abandoned and foreclosed properties back to productive use – boosting local economies, benefiting area schools and reducing crime. Please click here to read the full release. What does this mean for the Southland? SSMMA’s  Housing Collaborative/Metropolitan Mayors Caucus will receive $335,536 to develop a replicable code enforcement strategy. The three main objectives of the project are: 1) develop a data base for tracking troubled properties; 2) provide incentives to responsive owners; and 3) publish a “best practices” manual on code enforcement strategies. Our partners on this project are Metropolitan Planning Council, Center for Community Progress, and The Law Firm of Ancel, Glink, Diamond, Bush, Dicanni & Krafthefer. Additional awards benefiting the southern suburbs include: South Suburban Land Bank Development Authority (SSLBDA)/Cook County Land Bank Authority (CCLBA) $6M to help both SSLBDA acquire troubled properties and to help launch the CCLBDA Community Investment Corporation – $2.2M to leverage private investment for the rehab of 200 2-4 unit properties in targeted Chicago neighborhoods and in the southern suburbs. Habitat for Humanity South Suburbs – $1M to renovate 7-10 affordable homes for sale targeting Chicago Heights Hispanic Housing Development Corporation – $3M to implement a model scattered site rental program targeting Chicago Heights Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago, Inc. /South Suburban Housing Center – $1.75M to leverage with additional funds to expand affordable lending and homeownership education and counseling service in Kane County and the southern suburbs. Spanish Coalition for Housing – $1.1M to provide bilingual financial literacy services by providing foreclosure, mediation and new homebuyer counseling in targeted communities including some in the southern suburbs. Most of these awards will be distributed over a three-year period. Click here to read more about these and all of the funded projects and about the process.

But as they start to consider a series of ordinances that have a cumulative goal of conserving water, trustees say they don’t want to enact heavy-handed regulations forcing residents to turn off the spigot. The village gulps down, on average, about 2 billion gallons of water annually, the majority of that being used by homes. But the village government is a significant user. Orland Park has been working with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, which in 2011 provided the village with a grant to develop a comprehensive water conservation strategy….Please click here to read Mike Nolan’s full story in the Southtown Star.

From the South Metropolitan Higher Education Consortium website

CEDA Summer Energy Assistance Program Customers currently enrolled in or who received PIPP* in the 2013 Program Year are ineligible for Summer Cooling Program assistance. Benefits can be provided only to income-eligible households that can be included in one of the following groups: Households that contain a member with a medical condition than can be ameliorated by air conditioning, such as asthma, emphysema, coronarydisease and terminal illness. Required documentation must include a doctor’s certification letter dated within the last ninety days, stating that the medical condition would be aggravated by extreme heat. Households that contain a member that is elderly (age 60 & above) Households that contain children younger than 5 years. Households that contain a member receiving social security disability benefits or with a pending determination case at the Social SecurityAdministration. Required documentation must include a letter of determination from the Social Security Administration or receipt of Social Security Disability Benefit Statement. For more information contact: (800) 571-CEDA (2332) For more information, download Ceda Cooling funds2013.

Finance Director This is an exempt position responsible for the operations and oversight of the village’s finance department. This position requires in depth knowledge of general accounting principles, knowledge of budgets and budgeting, bookkeeping procedures, accounts receivables and payable, etc. Minimum of a bachelor’s degree in accounting or finance, with CPA or MBA preferred. http://www.villageofmonee.org/documents/job-finance-director.pdf Assistant Village Administrator This is an exempt position responsible for assisting the village administrator and mayor with day to day operations of administration. The position requires knowledge of administrative policies, collective bargaining, intergovernmental agreements and the general operations of a municipality. Minimum of a high school diploma or GED equivalent; Two years post-high school education in a university, college or community college preferred or equivalent combination of training and experience. http://www.villageofmonee.org/documents/job-assist-admin.pdf Building Department Manager This is an exempt position responsible for the oversight of the building department and code enforcement operations. The position requires strong organizational and scheduling skills. The ability to interact with co-workers and the public in a congenial and effective manner is a must. Minimum of a high school diploma or GED equivalent; Two years of post-high school education in a university, college or community college or any equivalent combination of training and experience that produces the competencies desired for the position will be considered. http://www.villageofmonee.org/documents/job-building-dept-mgr.pdf

While blasting and construction continues at the Thornton Composite Reservoir along Interstate 80, this important component of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago’s Tunnel and Reservoir Plan is due for completion in less than three years. Press release from the MWRD: In 1998, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) executed an agreement with the owner of the Thornton quarry to mine the north lobe of the quarry for use as an important component of the MWRD’s Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP). Since that time, 152 billion pounds of 400 million year old dolomite limestone has been removed from the Thornton Composite Reservoir, and while blasting and construction continues, this project is due for completion in less than three years. Located along Interstate 80 in southern Cook County, Thornton Reservoir, which is designed to reduce pollution and flooding, will have almost eight billion gallons of combined sewage and stormwater storage capacity. Communities throughout the southside of Chicago and south suburbs of Cook County will experience tremendous benefits once the reservoir is complete. “Part of the MWRD’s mission is to protect our water supply source Lake Michigan, from raw sewage pollution and protect businesses and homes from flood damage, and this project will be doing both,” said MWRD Commissioner Michael Alvarez, chairman of the MWRD’s stormwater management committee. “TARP is designed to provide an outlet for floodwaters to reduce flooding.” The construction of three reservoirs is the second phase of TARP. Phase I was completed in 2006 and consists of 109.4 miles of deep, large diameter tunnels in rock with a total storage capacity of 2.3 billion gallons. Phase II consists of three reservoirs which will provide more than 18 billion gallons of storage capacity. Besides the Thornton Reservoir, the McCook Reservoir is also under construction. Stage 1 of McCook 1 is scheduled for completion by Dec. 31 2017 and will add 3.5 billion gallons of storage capacity. The McCook Stage 2 Reservoir is scheduled for completion in 2029 and will add 6.5 billion gallons of storage capacity. The Gloria Alitto Majewski Reservoir was completed in 1998 and provides 350 million gallons of storage. TARP’s large tunnels and reservoirs are designed to reduce the amount of combined sewer overflows (CSOs) and hold the polluted water until it can be fully treated at MWRD water reclamation plants. Since the TARP tunnels went online, the average number of days with CSOs in a year has reduced to 50 from 100. TARP was the first system of its kind to address pollution and flooding and is emulated by cities around the world, including London, Singapore, and Vienna. While these projects are large and costly, TARP has provided solid evidence that such a system is effective and valuable infrastructure. The Thornton Reservoir is set to come online at the same time as disinfection facilities at the MWRD’s Calumet Water Reclamation Plant in Chicago, which also serves the southern area of the county. Working in tandem, the combination will maximize water quality while minimizing flooding. Additional information about TARP can be found at http://www.mwrd.org/irj/portal/anonymous/tarp.