The Village of Norridge has requested and received information pertaining to ComEd operated lights in the village, specifically ones along the major roads and intersections. The purpose is to compare the data provided by ComEd with the location information collected via field checks to make sure that the billing information is correct.

An annual process for the Riverside GIS (Geographic Information System) program is to obtain parcel data and ownership information from the county as they are the custodians of that data. As a part of the 2010 data exchange the village was provided LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data.

The Village of Oak Brook has numerous private roads that are not maintained by the village. As a result, if a certain neighborhood wants a road to be converted to a public road they must adhere to village zoning code.

The Village of Glenview has currently been tasked to come up with ways to more effectively and efficiently answer and fix drainage issues, and has requested assistance from the GIS department. One solution would be to set up a storm water fund, supplying that fund by applying a utility tax, and using it to perform maintenance on drainage ditches (which is currently not maintained by the Village.) GIS created data and maps that display major and minor public ditches and major and minor private ditches, and these maps will potentially be used to present to the Board of Trustees to assist with the approval of setting this storm water fund up.

The Village of Lincolnshire Public Works Department conducts a Pavement Patch and Repair Program for Village Streets in need of work. The goal of this program is to maintain and repair roads within the Village that have been identified that work needs to be done to improve the quality of the surface.

The City of Highland Park has an ongoing program to restore ravines in order to prevent further degradations. Some of the issues they are addressing are slope failure, exposed sewer pipes, pollution discharge, and channel scouring. If these are left uncheck the ravines will continue to degrade, thus threatening the stability of nearby structures and increasing the amount of debris dumped into Lake Michigan.

Currently the Village of Glenview does not maintain existing drainage ditches or culverts. This long-standing policy may merit review by the Board of Trustees as many neighborhoods depend heavily on ditch flow as their primary means of storm water drainage. Development of a Village-wide inventory of the existing right-of-way, and easemented drainage ditches is proposed for completion within 2010. Currently the Village is using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to create this inventory.

The Village of Lincolnshire has a rich intranet based mapping application MapOffice Advanced for all village users to access while on the network. The application has tools designed to fulfill business processes of the village staff to obtain information on a daily basis. MapOffice Advanced has a specific view to show Digital Terrain and Contour Information for viewing elevation data. Some users informed the GIS Department that they would like view just the Contour Information separate from the Terrain View. The goal was to provide village staff with a cleaner version of the Contour Information which could be used when printing Utility Infrastructure Maps. It was decided that a Custom Contour Overlay would be created to fulfill this request.

Lake Forest will have access to the web version of MapOffice beginning June 1st. The month of May was spent preparing the base data needed to get MapOffice up and running, which involved loading previous GIS data into the GIS Consortium standardized database.

FEMA defines an area of repetitive loss as: "a property for which two or more claims of more than $1,000 have been paid by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) within any 10 – year period since 1978." The properties only represent 1% of all of NFIP’s insurance policies, but have accounted for nearly one-third of the claim payments. FEMA provides all repetitive loss information to every community each year and if a community wishes to participate in the Community Rating System (CRS) program, then they must map out each area and property and submit the maps to FEMA.

Every year the Village of Oak Brook performs improvements on roads, water main and infrastructure as a part of their capital improvement program. Prior to the improvements starting, the village is required to notify all residents that are directly and indirectly impacted by the improvements.

The Village of Lincolnwood’s Geographic Information System (GIS) team has been hard at work developing tools to increase productivity and simplify employee’s workflows related to geographic data. Through MapOffice Advanced, a customized web mapping application, Village employees have many tools aimed at extracting tabular data using geographic contents.

The Special Service Area 16 came up for it’s first three year review in the Spring of 2010. The City Manager required methods to determine if the Special Service Area had fulfilled it’s goal of maintaining an economically vibrant downtown. He decided that a study of the location units used for retail, services, office, and vacant units would supply the required information

With the building of a new village hall and an updated police station, the Village of Wheeling took the opportunity to put in a new sprinkler system for the outdoor areas of both buildings. The sprinkler system consists of roughly 600 sprinkler heads varying in size, flow, and type tied into a computer system. The Village of Wheeling requested that a map be created showing the location of all the features within the system overlaid on aerial imagery.

The Village of Norridge requires that every residential property within the Village limits to have at least 65% green space on the property. This means that the homeowner can only have 35% of the property consist of impervious surface areas such as the building, garage, driveway, and patios. Any resident in violation of this policy can face fines and may be forced to make changes to their property. In the past, the Village would calculate the green space percentage by measuring the area of the parcels and the features using a ruler and a pencil. The Village asked the GIS department to come up with something that would aid in their analysis.

Springtime in the Chicago land area in some cases can mean more noise from construction then the sounds of birds chirping. And although the nice weather at this time of year allows for field crews to work with little disruption, local residents would often disagree that they are not disturbed. When streets are suddenly closed or traffic begins to build, residents of a community can certainly become irritated and thus complain to the community staff. Even though it is impossible to stop these complaints completely, a community can do their best to notify the residents where and when these big construction projects will be occurring, this is exactly what the Village of Morton Grove, IL did.

A recent development in the Riverside, IL Geographic Information System (GIS) has been the creation of a street inventory. Information captured includes the type of surface material, road base material, cross section type, curb and gutter information, last improved dates, planned improvement dates, and other statistics that can be derived from the GIS such as the length of roadway and even surface area could be calculated quickly.

The Tyler Edens application is an important financial and permit enterprise system that allows the city easily track finances and permit status. The application will only function efficiently if it has good base information such as zoning districts, addresses, and owner information. This information is readily available but requires the tools within the GIS to combine this information into one table. The GIS tools also clean up the County provided assessor owner information to assure owners within the city of Highland Park has correct street names. The GIS office annually creates a flattened import file that is used to keep the Edens data current.

The isolation of a water main is an important function of local government. Isolation of a water main needs to occur for a variety of reasons. Typically it is done to allow for maintenance or inspections, but it can also be done in the event of a spill or leak to prevent something from getting in rather than to stop something from getting out. Water main isolation can also used to take a piece of a plant out of use for a short or long period of time or to change the process stream.

Starting in 2009, the Village of Wheeling began using a survey grade GPS system to collect utility information in the field. The village started with the sanitary system, moved on to the water system, and is then planning to collect information for the storm system last. Collecting this information using a survey grade system provides a level of accuracy not normally seen in field collection GPS and allows the data to be integrated into GIS and CAD with minimal effort.

In early 2010 a multi-year planimetric data collection project was completed and the data incorporated into the Village of Riverside GIS (Geographic Information System) database. Information collected in this process included features such as roadways, sidewalks, driveways, recreation areas, curbs, retention walls, among many other things.

The Village of Skokie has progressively added new users, taking advantage of the Village’s Geographic Information System (GIS). While adding users is key to the success of the GIS Program, new users have a learning curve for the new applications and software whether it be ArcView™ or MapOffice Advanced™. Training and demonstrations can alleviate many of the questions and issues users have with interacting with the new technology.

In order to properly drive a car or walk across a street requires that someone knows where they heading. Although these everyday tasks seem to happen naturally it would be foolish to overlook the hard work that people do to ensure that we are accurately guided. Guidance comes in many forms, but for this article we will focus on the guidance that the City of Park Ridge, IL provides its residents by making certain that their street pavement markings (thermoplastics) are identifiable and easy to follow. For not having crosswalks painted brightly enough or turn lanes not properly identified, could easily result in an unnecessary accident.

The Village of Deerfield has began a using an Engineering Firm to survey and smoke test the sewer storm system within the village. This program involves using provided GIS data to be used in the field by the Engineering Firm and village staff to conduct the smoke testing program. Smoke testing involves using special equipment to help find defects and issues within the sewer storm system. As smoke is passes through the system equipment is used to detect any leaks within the system. Defects are then recorded and mapped using GPS technology. The process also included verifying mapping information and GPS was then used to update, add, or remove sewer storm system infrastructure.

The Village of Lincolnshire has completed a process of identifying all storm sewer outfalls that discharge into streams and rivers. This process was completed to help prepare for NPDES requirements and also to determine if all outfalls have been correctly accounted for throughout the village.

Having an accurate inventory of the components that make up a municipal utility system is very important to the overall success of a city or village maintaining that utility at a high performance level. While this type of inventory has traditionally involved descriptive text information regarding a particular utility system feature, with a robust GIS system that same inventory can now contain a spatial component. By adding this spatial aspect, the municipality can better track and maintain their capital investments and the overall integrity of the system. Recently, the Village of Winnetka, IL took advantage of its GIS system to help develop an electric pole inventory for its Water and Electric department to use for future maintenance and analysis.

Within the sector of local government there are many important services that a community provides for their residents. Among the long list, one service that often gets a lot of discussion is the condition of the streets, or better yet, the street resurfacing program. Whether residents file a complaint about the vast number of potholes on a street or someone passing through town inquires about a refund for a road induced flat tire, the general condition of a street attracts a fair amount of attention. With these ideas in mind the City of Park Ridge, IL decided to take a different approach at surveying the condition of their streets in an effort to better understand the current state of their road infrastructure.

JULIE (Joint Utility Locating Information for Excavators) is a not-for-profit corporation that provides homeowners and professional excavators with a place to call when planning to dig. Before any ground breaking occurs, the homeowner or excavator has to call JULIE and answer questions about the excavation. JULIE will then notify its members with underground utilities in that area to be marked. Because the Village of Wheeling is a member of JULIE and owns a majority of the sewer and water lines in the village, they are responsible for going out and marking utility locations.

One of the latest Geographic Information System (GIS) developments in Oak Brook IL has been the creation of two maps showing the capital improvement road projects from 2010-2014 and from 2015-2019. Prior to the creation of these maps, all of the road capital improvement projects were stored in a pavement management system or PMS. This contains information on the portion of the road to be resurfaced, the type of resurfacing to occur (overlay, microsurfacing, etc.) and the year in which each is going to occur. For example, a road that is microsurfaced in 2009 could have an overlay in 2010.

Everyday residents of the City of Park Ridge, IL access other parts of their neighborhood and town via the use of a sidewalk. Although many citizens of the city do not pay much attention to these sidewalks, they are quick to notice when there is impedance such as a large crack or a bump up in the concrete. Moreover, these impedances can be labeled as trip hazards and can cause injury to residents. For this reason alone it is very important for the city to track all of these trip hazards and do their best to remove them from the sidewalk system.

Utility mapping is a critical function of any municipal GIS system to help support the daily workflows of various departments, including Public Works and Engineering. While most communities are only responsible for maintaining water and sewer utility systems, the Village of Winnetka, IL includes an electric system as a component of their standard utility maintenance. By maintaining this complex system in GIS, the department has helped to streamline their electric system inventory and improve the efficiency of both the field crews and the office staff in locating system components.

A control point is a location on the ground whose horizontal and vertical location is known. This allows a potential developer to determine the elevation of the area and make sure they are in the correct geographic datum. The village of Wheeling provides this information to developers, through multiple maps and documents. Every time a developer would request control point information, village staff would have to hunt through multiple locations to find the appropriate information. The village decided to organize their control point information to better serve potential developers and to ease the burden on office staff. They asked the GIS department to come up with a solution.

Planimetric data are geographic features captured during a photogrammetric (airplane fight) mapping process that are flat and without elevation information to depict the terrain. Such features include bridges, roadways, building footprints, bodies of water, and railroad lines. Photogrammetry is the most cost-effective method for producing this type of mapping information for large areas and these features typically represent the base data in a map. As a member of the GIS Consortium the Village of Riverside participates in an annual data collection process which allows them to obtain such planimetric data. An advantage for the community is that they receive cost savings being a part of such a large group contracting these services. The current service provider for photogrammetric mapping is Ayres and Associates of Madison, WI.

The Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Department routinely utilizes its valuable resources to analyze the layout of its current utility infrastructures. By using the aerial photography that the village paid for in 2005, the GIS Specialist is able to review utility lines and structures in their current location and compare them to where they are located on the aerial photography. Since the utility infrastructure data was originally created at a time when good aerial photography was hard to come by, many of this data is not one hundred percent accurate.

Planimetric data are geographic features captured during a photogrammetric (airplane fight) mapping process that are flat and without elevation information to depict the terrain. Such features include bridges, roadways, building footprints, bodies of water, and railroad lines. Photogrammetry is the most cost-effective method for producing this type of mapping information for large areas and these features typically represent the base data in a map.

The safety and maintenance of train gates is an issue all communities with rail lines crossing through their borders must deal with. For many, the image of train gate lights flashing causes feelings of impatience, but, in most cases, the wait for a train only lasts a few minutes or so. However, train gates can malfunction, which can cause significant traffic congestion and train delays. Recently, the City of Des Plaines, IL engineering department decided to analyze train gate malfunction and delayed train information gathered from January 1st- June 30th of 2009 at the city’s thirty-two at-grade train crossings. In doing so, the department wanted to determine if there is a problem with the city’s rail system that requires further investigation.

Village employees continually review their current parking layouts within active business districts so they are confident that they are providing their residents with the best services possible. If the village does not provide ample parking within shopping sectors of town, it can easily fall victim to decreasing consumerism and complaints from business employees who need a long-term location to park while they are at work.

Capital improvement projects are essential for a local municipality to maintain a good quality of life for its residents. Resurfacing roads and replacing aging utility mains provide a more reliable infrastructure for the community and ensure that residents do not experience things such as uneven roads and interruptions in utility services. Recently, the Village of Winnetka, IL used Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to help with the coordinating and planning of future capital projects between various village departments to reduce project duplication and maximize project overlap.

Addresses play an important role in the daily activities of Village of Riverside staff whether it is for water billing information, permits, or locating a resident in case of an emergency. In addition, a physical address can serve as a link for answering such questions as what school district do I belong to or what zoning district am I in? However, obtaining this information for a specific address often requires searching through multiple spreadsheets, databases, and paper documents.

The Village of Lincolnshire, IL like many municipalities relies on zoning ordinances to help shape and control the growth of the Village. Along with zoning requirements, the Village also regulates development of residential zones by deploying setback regulations. These regulations help control the size and placement of structures on the lot to ensure adequate spacing within structures within each district or block. This ensures that any given subdivision, street, or block is appealing and avoids any possible situation of residential structures being built too large for the lot it is on.

Ensuring proper lighting of streets is a public service that local communities take satisfaction in providing. Without lights, streets would be impossible to drive on, walk on, or even live along. Therefore, the Public Works Department for Village of Morton Grove, IL decided it was crucial to create a street light inventory of lights that they maintained. This inventory would help them provide better service for their residents. Moreover, they also wanted to locate the electrical lines that supplied power to each streetlight in order to be certain that field crews would not accidently come into contact with them when digging for other utilities.

The City of Highland is very responsive to residents concerns of basement flooding and sewer backups during heavy rain events. The major issue is storm water infiltration of the wastewater sewers exceeding the wastewater sewer’s carrying capacity. Damaged or aging wastewater laterals are a major source of this infiltration.

Whether it is to take a shower or fill up a glass of water, people use water everyday. Although the process seems to happen without much exposure, it is definitely noticed when the water stops running. The procedures that a local community conducts in order to provide their residents with clean and useable water are something that they take seriously. In order maintain the water system, the Village of Oak Brook decided to investigate the strength of the water utility system.

The cycle of weather in the Chicagoland area results in an instability that catches up with communities in the spring. Cleaning up after the harsh winter that batters the roadways and underlying water and sewer utilities can be a very demanding task. Every year streets are resurfaced and water mains are broken and then replaced. These tasks seem simple to the public: village crews go out, dig up the pavement, and replace it. What the public may not realize is the planning that is involved and the analysis which is provided by the Skokie Geographic Information Systems Department (GIS).

Being situated along a river has many advantages, but can also create many issues that have a direct impact on the residents adjacent to these natural features. Riverside, IL has most of its southern boundary defined by the Des Plaines River and there are significant natural areas throughout the community that surround the river which provide for activities such as fishing and scenic walking. These landscapes usually act as a buffer from flooding that can occur during major rain events, but do not always absorb the impact of these events.

Whether it is to take a shower or fill up a glass of water people use the resource of water everyday. Although the process of getting this resource to the consumers seems to happen without much exposure, it is definitely noticed when the water stops running. The procedures that a local community conducts in order to provide their residents with clean and useable water is something that they take very seriously; so it is no wonder why they continually investigate the strength of the water utility infrastructure. For the Village of Morton Grove, IL they have decided to do just that.