It is with a heavy heart and shock that we share with you the very sad news that our colleague and friend, Ryan Harms, passed away on Sunday, September 5, 2021, while swimming in Lake Michigan. We ask that you keep his family in your thoughts and prayers as they make their way through this tragic event.

Ryan graduated with a bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. He worked as a Planner III for the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission in Peoria. Ryan’s knowledge of everything transportation and the professional manner with which he shared that knowledge engendered a level of respect with everyone he encountered. From the staff and commissioners at Tri-County RPC, Program Managers at IDOT, members of the consulting community and the public, he was always willing to assist with any planning question, issue or task if it enhanced the benefits of planning outcomes for others.

Ryan was really coming into his own as not only a transportation planner but as a leader of those and other regional planning efforts. Ryan had spearheaded the Tri-County's bike plan, BikeConnect HOI: Heart of Illinois Regional Bike Plan, which won the APA-IL Healthy Active Community Award in 2019!

We will miss Ryan’s passion for planning and the towering stature from which he rendered his contemplative thoughts and opinions. Our Planning Community spans municipalities, counties, State Departments, Federal Agencies, and consultants from across the country yet we all will feel the loss of Ryan Harms. Rest In Peace, Ryan.

Please visit his online obituary to read more about Ryan, leave online condolences, and learn about memorial services.

Thanks to our friends Ray Lees and Reema Abi-Akar at the Tri-County RPC for drafting the text for Ryan's memorial page and social media posts.