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Illinois Municipal Policy Journal

The Illinois Municipal Policy Journal (IMPJ) began as a collaboration of the Illinois Municipal League, the School of Public Service, and the Chaddick Institute at DePaul University.  We were honored to be the editorial home of "IMPJ" for four years.  In early 2020, we facilitated the transition of the journal's home to our colleagues at the University of Illinois Springfield.  The goal of the journal is to provide municipal and state leaders in particular with research, best practices, and recommendations related to key issues such as capital budgeting, shared services, home rule, and retail construction trends, among others. The inaugural issue debuted in 2016 and the most recent issue was released in December 2018. IMPJ will continue to provide research-based analysis to help guide policy decisions at the local and state level.

Volume 4, Issue 1 (December 2019)

ARTICLES IN VOLUME 4, ISSUE 1

  • Assessing Disparities of Urban Flood Risk for Households of Color in Chicago | M.B. Keenan, P. Shankar & P. Haas. Full text PDF
  • The New State Preemption, the Future of Home Rule, and the Illinois Experience | N.M. Davidson & Laurie Reynolds. Full text PDF
  • Infrastructure Issues and Spending Practices | A. Blanke & N. Walzer. Full text PDF
  • The Climate of Opinion in Illinois 2008-2019: Gridlock Broken? | J.S. Jackson, C.W. Leonard & S.L Deitz. Full text PDF
  • Pathways to Affordability: Municipal Strategies to Increase Affordable Housing Supply in Illinois | C.S. Smith & K. Smith. Full text PDF 
  • When Politics and Public Administration Collide: The Impact on Human Service Delivery | S. Young, K. Wiley & E. Searing. Full text PDF 
  • Municipal Strategies for Full Lead Service Line Replacement: Lessons from Across the United States | C. Pakenham, D. Philbrick & R. Alkafaji. Full text PDF
  • Modernizing Delivery of Local Public Services: LEAP into the Future | N. Walzer & A. Blanke. Full text PDF 
  • Complex Connections: The Challenge of Improving Air, Bus, and Rail Service to Downstate Illinois, 2009-Present | J. Schwieterman, M. Jacques & K. Snyder. Full text PDF  

ISSUE BRIEFS IN VOLUME 4, ISSUE 1

  • On the Bubble: What Happens to an Illinois Home Rule Municipality When its Population Drops Below 25,001?  | N. Kachiroubas & M. Beyer. Full text PDF

BOOK REVIEW IN VOLUME 4, ISSUE 1

  • Philip Rock, with Ed Wojcicki, Nobody Calls Just to Say Hello: Reflections on Twenty-Two Years in the Illinois Senate | D.F. Eitel & J. Schwieterman. Full text PDF

Volume 3, Issue 1 (December 2018)

ARTICLES IN VOLUME 3, ISSUE 1

  • Understanding the Preferences of Millennials: Implications for Chicago’s Suburbs | W. LeBlanc & A. Davis. Full text PDF
  • Managing the Sharing Economy: Municipal Responses to Homesharing, Ridesharing and Bikesharing in Illinois | B. Bordenkircher, R. O’Neil & C.S. Smith. Full text PDF
  • Choosing Community Choice Aggregation: The Experience of Illinois Municipalities in the Electricity Market | H. Bartling. Full text PDF
  • Municipal Fiscal Responses in the Post-Recession Era | N. Walzer & A. Blanke. Full text PDF
  • Finding Economic Development Strategies that Work: Evidence from the Suburbs of Metropolitan Chicago | N. Kachiroubas & M. Bork. Full text PDF
  • Social Identities and the Illinois Pension Problem: Roles of Politics, Geography and Media | A.S. Veenstra, B.A. Lyons, Z.S. Sapienza & C.S. Kang. Full text PDF
  • Insights into Rising Pension Costs in Illinois Municipalities | A. Blanke & N. Walzer. Full text PDF

CASE STUDIES IN VOLUME 3, ISSUE 1

  • Strategic Models to Rejuvenate the Illinois Economy: Lessons from Other States | K. Boeckelman. Full text PDF
  • Promoting Alternatives to Private Vehicle Travel in Illinois Cities: Five Case Studies of Excellence | L. Crabtree, S. van der Slot & J.P. Schwieterman. Full text PDF

Volume 2, Issue 1 (December 2017)

ARTICLES IN VOLUME 2, ISSUE 1

  • Understanding the Drivers and Barriers to Fire Department Consolidation in Illinois | R. Herrmann & A. Deslatte. Full Text PDF 
  • How Small Downtowns Grow: Lessons from Elmhurst, Naperville and Normal | S. Wilson. Full Text PDF
  • Community Supported Enterprises as a Local Investment Strategy | N. Walzer. Full Text PDF
  • Promoting Economic Self-Sufficiency via HUD's Moving To Work Program: Evidence from the Housing Authority of Champaign County | P.E. McNamara, Han Bum Lee and C. Strick. Full Text PDF
  • Downtown Development Strategies in Illinois: Assessing the Priorities of Municipal Leaders in Illinois | N. Walzer, M. Evans & M. Aquino. Full Text PDF
  • The Immigrant Policy Context in Illinois: An Overview, Policy Analysis Framework and Implications for Illinois Children | E. Barrios & M. Condon. Full Text PDF
  • Understanding Public-Private Partnerships (P3) Through a Theoretical Cost Comparison | M. Calcavecchia, E. Birkenkopf & J. Finke. Full Text PDF

ISSUE BRIEFS IN VOLUME 2, ISSUE 1

  • Increasing the Benefits from Urban Trees while Minimizing Costs: Lessons Learned from the Chicago Region Trees Initiative | L. Darling, M. Custic, L. Scott & C. Smith. Full Text PDF
  • Tax Increment Financing: Learning from Research and Municipal ''Best Practice" | N. Ermasova & A. George. Full Text PDF
  • Curbside Composting in Illinois: Trends and Emerging Best Practices | C. Smith, A. Janssen Mahajan & J.P. Schwieterman. Full Text PDF

Volume 1, Issue 1 (December 2016) 

ARTICLES IN VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1

  • Shared Services as a Response to Governmental Fragmentation | N. Walzer & C.P. Plasch. Full Text PDF
  • Use of Special Assessments by Municipal Governments in the Chicago Metropolitan Area: The Taming of Leviathan? | R. Hendrick. Full Text PDF
  • Fiscal Recovery after the Great Recession: Reviewing the Performance of Metropolitan Chicago Communities | C. Brewer, J. Vitone & J.P. Schwieterman. Full Text PDF
  • Capital Budgeting Strategies in Good Times...and Bad | B.S. Bunch. Full Text PDF
  • Taxes and Trust: Lessons for Leaders as Illinois' Constitutional Home Rule Authority Approaches its Fiftieth Year | J.A. Kearney. Full Text PDF
  • Measuring the Strength of Illinois' Municipal Reserves: Do Communities Have the Flexibility to Wrestle with Unforeseen Events | S. Sohl, A. Blanke & N. Walzer. Full Text PDF
  • Frameworks for Growth: How Local Institutions and State Governance Influence Economic Development Policy | D.E. Bliss. Full Text PDF

ISSUE BRIEFS IN VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1

  • Is it Time to Reexamine Your Bike Code? A Review of Cycling Policies in Illinois Municipalities | J. Caldwell & D. Yanocha. Full Text PDF
  • Retail Construction in Illinois: Why the Slump? | C. Brewer, J. Vitone & J.P. Schwieterman. Full Text PDF

ADDITIONAL ARTICLES ON ILLINOIS POLICY RESEARCH

  • Trends And Patterns In Illinois Municipal Revenues And Expenditures: A Fifty Year Picture | E. Benton This report, by Professor Edwin Benton of the University of South Florida, shows that local governments in Illinois have become more dependent on intergovernmental revenues versus the rest of the country in recent decades, while county governments have become less so.

    This report, by Professor Edwin Benton of the University of South Florida, shows that local governments in Illinois have become more dependent on intergovernmental revenues versus the rest of the country in recent decades, while county governments have become less so. To view the full report, email chaddick@depaul.edu.

  • Lemons into Wine: Supporting Manufacturing in Chicagoland | D. Planey

    Full text PDF This report, by Donald Planey of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, explores strategic options for a region struggling with both de-industrialization and the effects of fragmented policy related to manufacturing.

  • The Growth and Decline of the African-American Population in Chicago and its Suburbs: A Cluster Analysis | R. Hunley & T. Gala 

    Full text PDF This report, by Robert Hunley and Tekleab Gala of Chicago State University, uses census data to identify the spatial pattern of the African American movement in the Chicago metropolitan area since 1990.  

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