Imagining Metropolitan Government

Editor: Leverett S. Lyon
Source: Chicago Historical Society (ICHi-37954)

In 1955 State Representative Paul J. Randolph, a Republican from Chicago, served as chair of a commission to study the problems resulting from the lack of coordination in rapid metropolitan growth after World War II. The resulting report, published in 1957, found that existing fragmented local governments were ill-equipped on their own to meet region's needs with regard to water supply, sewage, and other elements of infrastructure. Upon completion of the report Randolph sponsored a bill creating the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission. Governmental Problems in the Chicago Metropolitan Area: A Report of the Northeastern Illinois Metropolitan Area Local Governmental Services Commission, 1957.

See also: Governing the Metropolis; Infrastructure; Layers of Infrastructure (Diagram)

Intercommunity Councils

Creator: Northeastern Illinois Metropolitan Area Planning Commission
Source: Chicago Historical Society (ICHi-37966)

In the 1960s the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission sought to foster cooperation between neighboring municipalities by encouraging the development of intercommunity councils, where representatives of local governments could deliberate on issues of common concern and attempt to coordinate regional planning. Similar councils exist in the early twenty-first century, including the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association and the Barrington Area Council of Governments. Map of Intercommunity Councils, 1963.

See also: Barrington Hills, IL; Government, Suburban