Chicago Metro Section
The Chicago Metro Section (APA-CMS) is a sub-section of the statewide Illinois Chapter of the American Planning Association. The APA-CMS covers topics relevant to seven Chicago counties: Cook, DuPage, Will, Lake, Kane, McHenry, Kankakee, and Grundy.
Chicago Metro Section Executive Committee
- Section Director - Justin Keller, AICP, Elevate
- Assistant Director - Valerie Berstene, AICP
- Secretary - Sam Shore, AICP
- Past Director - Brandon Nolin, AICP, Village of Morton Grove
To contact the Chicago Metro Section, please contact us.
Executive Committee Documents
CMS Section By-Laws
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CMS Programs
The CMS collaborates with local planners to develop a calendar of monthly programs each year to provide educational and professional development opportunities for fellow planners, students, and affiliated professionals. Some of the CMS monthly programs are co-sponsored with affiliated organizations, such as CMAP, UIC, DePaul, and the Chaddick Institute, which reinforces APA-IL’s capacity to form partnerships that help promote the planning field and form connections with other related fields, such as development, real estate, architecture, and design. In addition to its monthly programs, CMS also works with local student organizations to sponsor networking and mentoring activities, which help up and coming planners break into the planning work world.
Chicago Metro Programs, News, & Events
| 08/05/2025Join the APA-CMS for a panel discussion on conducting community engagement in a culturally competent manner. Members watch & earn CM for FREE!
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| 07/28/2025The Lakota Group, 2024-25 Tier I Sponsor, led APA-CMS attendees on a tour through Chicago's Ravenswood neighborhood.
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| 06/19/2025Listen to the Chicago Metro Section presentation in historic Riverside, IL
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| 03/27/2025Join the APA-IL Chicago Metro Section as they focus on suburban communities, from what their ordinances look like to what the impacts have been. Bring your curiosity, bring your questions, and let’s dive in.
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Chicago Metro Archives
2025
| 05/01/2025SOLD OUTJoin the Chicago Metro Section in historic Riverside, IL
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2024
| 02/12/2025A realistic simulated law school experience for planners (in a bar)!
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| 10/16/2024On 11/6, come out for a tour of the Wild Mile, the first-ever floating eco-park!
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| 10/09/2024On 11/2, join the APA-CMS & ILASLA for their annual event collaboration!
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| 05/16/2024On May 15, 2024, a group of planners and affiliated professionals rode the rails for a "Metra Crawl" on the UP-NW line, featuring Park Ridge and Arlington Heights.
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| 03/18/2024The Chicago Metro Section of the American Planning Association - Illinois Chapter (APA-CMS) donned their hair nets on Wednesday, March 6th, for a night of giving back and connecting.
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2023
| 06/28/2023On June 22, 2023 the Illinois Chapter of the American Planning Association's Chicago Metro Section (APA-CMS) teamed up with Epstein once again for our annual bicycle tour.
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| 06/16/2023The Chicago Metro Section and DePaul University Chaddick Institute's Municipal Design Review Network (MDRN) hosted a virtual roundtable discussion with professionals that are tackling the design challenges associated with converting existing commercial building stock into housing.
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2022
| 04/11/2022Learn how design review is handled in communities to further improve the quality of the built environment and public realm.
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| 01/07/2022As midwestern planners and landscape architects grapple with how to adapt, this event gets beyond the basics to discuss site-level impacts ...and what we can do about it.
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2021
| 09/01/2021Join APA-CMS and ILASLA in a joint (virtual) event to discuss the ties between where you live and your health ...
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| 07/30/2021This APA-CMS session presented examples of middle housing, explained why it supports inclusion, and unpacked the policies ...
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| 06/09/2021Come learn how Chicago, by putting equity, resiliency, and inclusion at the forefront, is creating a roadmap for the revival of disinvested communities.
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| 04/26/2021Learn how transportation agencies are leveraging these tools to solve their most pressing and of-the-moment transportation issues and what lessons they have learned in doing so.
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| 03/21/2021The APA-IL Chicago Metro Section and Ancel Glink’s Quorum Forum podcast hosted a live virtual happy hour for the Sixth Annual Bar Exam Planning Law Session!
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2020
| 11/11/2020The Illinois Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ILASLA) and the APA-IL Chicago Metro Section (APA-CMS) presented an engaging discussion on community lighting standards and the ins and outs of Dark Sky communities on November 10, 2020.
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| 08/26/2020Teska Associates and the APA-IL Chicago Metro Section are teamed up to provide a webinar for planners that have become Department Heads and Managers, have recently taken on or expect to be thrust into a more managerial role, or are interested in taking on that role in the future.
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| 05/29/2020ILASLA and APA-IL Chicago Metro Section are teamg up again to provide a fun and engaging program ...
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2019
| 06/20/2019Ninety ILASLA and APA-IL members attended this event at the Morton Arboretum.
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