About Us: Certification Review

The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) is the federally designated metropolitan planning organization (MPO) for northeastern Illinois. As the MPO, CMAP is responsible for allocating federal transportation funds and managing the transportation planning and programming process.

CMAP’s MPO Policy Committee is designated by the governor and northeastern Illinois officials as the MPO responsible — together with the state and public transportation operators — for carrying out transportation planning activities for the metropolitan planning area.

Transportation planning processes that address major issues in the region are documented in the Unified Work Program, Transportation Improvement Program, Regional Transportation Plan, public meeting minutes, agency publications, and reports from all participating agencies.

At least every four years, the MPO and the state are required to certify that the planning process meets federal requirements. The MPO Policy Committee certifies that the transportation planning process is conducted in accordance with all applicable requirements. Based on the most recent review in 2026, and ongoing oversight by the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration, the transportation planning process carried out in the Chicago, Illinois, transportation management area was certified as meeting the requirements described in Title 23, Code of Federal Regulations.

MPO organization and structure

Structure

Metropolitan planning area boundary

CMAP’s metropolitan planning area includes the counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will, as well as Aux Sable Township in Grundy County and Sandwich and Somonauk townships in DeKalb County.

View the metropolitan planning area boundary map, boundary endorsement, and governor’s boundary approval.

Agreements

CMAP maintains cooperative agreements with other MPOs and agencies that operate in the urbanized area. Those agreements are:

• CMAP and IDOT federal performance measures intergovernmental agreement
• CMAP, IDOT, RTA, and service boards agreement
• CMAP, NIRPC, IDOT, and INDOT cooperative agreement
• CMAP, SEWRPC, IDOT, and WisDOT cooperative agreement
• Transportation/air quality planning agreement for Goose Lake Township
• CMAP and IEPA Agreement for coordination of air quality related transportation planning
• 5307/5340 designated and direct recipients
• 5310 designated recipients
• IL/IN urbanized area split of 5307/5340
• IL/WI urbanized area split of 5307/5340

Unified Work Program

The Unified Work Program (UWP) contains the planning projects CMAP and other agencies undertake each year to enhance transportation in northeastern Illinois and fulfill federal planning regulations. The UWP document includes transportation planning activities to be carried out in the region, detailing each project’s description, products, costs, and funding sources. The UWP Committee develops a program of transportation planning projects for recommendation to the MPO Policy Committee and the CMAP Board.

Transportation Improvement Program

CMAP is responsible for managing the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for northeastern Illinois. The TIP is the region’s agenda of multimodal surface transportation projects. It includes all federally funded projects and regionally significant, non-federally funded projects selected for implementation in the next five years.

TIP projects may be funded through a variety of federal, state, local, and other fund sources, including federal programs directly managed by CMAP: Carbon Reduction Program, Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program, Surface Transportation Program, and Transportation Alternatives Program.

The FFY 2027-32 TIP provides an overview of the transportation programming process, the relationship between the TIP and the 2026 Regional Transportation Plan, financial resources, project selection processes, air quality conformity, and procedures for amending the TIP. View the current project list on the eTIP website and find further information — including a list of projects for which federal funds were obligated within the federal fiscal year, amendments, reports, and more — on the TIP programmer resources page.

Project selection

CMAP hosts a call for regional transportation projects every two years. In the interim years, CMAP programs local Surface Transportation Program projects in collaboration with the Chicago Department of Transportation and the region’s eleven subregional Councils of Mayors.

The CMAQ, CRP, & TAP Project Selection Committee provides overall guidance for the development of the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program, Carbon Reduction Program, and the locally programmed Transportation Alternatives Program, and recommends projects to the MPO Policy Committee for funding. The STP Project Selection Committee does the same for the Surface Transportation Program shared fund.

Transportation planning

The state created CMAP in 2005 to address development and transportation challenges in northeastern Illinois through a continuous, cooperative, and comprehensive planning process.

Regional Transportation Plan

As the federally designated MPO for northeastern Illinois, CMAP is required to develop and update a long-range transportation plan every four years. The 2026 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) fulfills this requirement and serves as the long-term blueprint for the region’s multimodal transportation system through 2050.

Developed in partnership with transportation agencies, local governments, community organizations, and residents, the RTP establishes regional transportation goals, strategies, investment priorities, and major capital projects. It guides how the region plans for, invests in, and improves transit, roads, highways, freight, biking, walking, and accessible transportation.

The RTP also brings together several federally required components of the metropolitan transportation planning process, including the financial plan, socioeconomic forecast, regional capital projects, system performance measures, travel demand modeling, public and stakeholder engagement, and air quality conformity.

Travel demand model documentation

CMAP is the primary agency responsible for developing and maintaining travel forecasting methods for northeastern Illinois. Travel demand model documentation shows the status of CMAP’s regional travel demand model.

Socioeconomic forecast

Socioeconomic forecasts are a required element in an MPO’s long-range transportation plan, with a horizon year that is at least 20 years out from the plan’s adoption date. They provide an understanding of forecasted population and employment trends to help shape plan recommendations, and they serve as an input to CMAP travel models for air quality conformity analyses, as well as for small-area traffic projections.

Regional capital projects

Regional capital projects are major investments in the region’s expressways, transit system, and arterial roadways whose scale and potential impacts warrant additional analysis through the regional planning process.

As part of the RTP, CMAP identifies, evaluates, and prioritizes these projects based on their potential benefits and alignment with regional transportation goals. The RTP must also demonstrate fiscal constraint by showing that sufficient financial resources are reasonably expected to be available to implement projects included in the fiscally constrained plan.

The Regional Capital Projects Benefits Report documents CMAP’s evaluation of these major investments and provides information about how individual projects could affect mobility, safety, system performance, and other regional priorities. Projects that align with the RTP’s policy goals and are financially feasible within the financial plan are listed in the RTP.

Performance measures

CMAP tracks progress and establishes targets for transportation performance measures related to highway safety and assets, system performance, and transit safety and assets.

The System Performance Report documents these federally required measures and targets and describes how performance-based planning informs the RTP and TIP. CMAP tracks progress toward adopted targets through its transportation federal performance measures dashboard.

Financial plan for transportation

MPOs must demonstrate that their long-range transportation plans are fiscally constrained — meaning sufficient financial resources are reasonably expected to be available to implement the investments identified in the plan.

The Financial Plan for Transportation assesses anticipated revenues and expenditures needed to administer, operate, maintain, and expand northeastern Illinois’ transportation system from 2027 through 2050. It documents the forecasts, assumptions, investment priorities, and funding strategies used to demonstrate fiscal constraint and support implementation of the RTP.

Public and stakeholder engagement

Public involvement is a crucial component of the metropolitan transportation planning process, helping ensure that the priorities and experiences of people who live, work, and travel throughout northeastern Illinois inform regional transportation decisions.

CMAP developed the 2026 RTP through extensive coordination with transportation agencies, local governments, community organizations, stakeholders, and residents. The Public and Stakeholder Engagement Appendix documents the engagement process, public comment period, public feedback, and how that feedback informed the final plan.

Integrating freight in the transportation planning process

Northeastern Illinois is one of the nation’s most important freight hubs, making the safe and efficient movement of goods an essential part of regional transportation planning. The 2026 RTP identifies strategies to improve the efficiency of the national freight network in northeastern Illinois while supporting safety, economic prosperity, and quality of life in communities affected by freight activity.

CMAP also conducts ongoing research and analysis of the region’s multimodal freight network through the Regional Freight System Assessment and other freight planning activities.

Air quality conformity

The transportation conformity provisions of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 require CMAP to determine if northeastern Illinois’ transportation plan, program, and projects conform to applicable state implementation plans for the eight-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), and that emissions will not negatively impact the region’s ability to meet the NAAQS.

CMAP conducts air quality conformity analysis for the RTP and TIP to demonstrate that they satisfy all applicable criteria and procedures in federal conformity regulations. The RTP Air Quality Conformity Documentation describes the methodology and analysis supporting the conformity determination.

To conduct this analysis, CMAP consults with regional agencies through the Tier II Consultation process and CMAP’s committees and working groups as described in the public participation plan. Learn more about CMAP’s air quality conformity analysis and process.

Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Mid-Point Performance Plan

The CMAQ Performance Plan, Third Performance Period summarizes the performance measure targets associated with the program and assesses progress for two-year targets. The performance measures are peak hour excessive delay, non-single-occupant-vehicle travel, and on-road mobile source emissions.

Congestion management process

The congestion management process is a systematic approach for managing congestion that provides information about transportation system performance and evaluates strategies for addressing congestion-related problems.

CMAP’s congestion management process informs the 2026 RTP and other regional transportation planning and programming activities by helping identify effective strategies to improve mobility, reliability, and system performance. The Congestion Management Strategy Guidebook and Comprehensive Corridor Study Template provide practical frameworks for CMAP and its partners to evaluate congestion and identify appropriate solutions.

Transportation systems management and operations

The Northeastern Illinois Regional ITS Architecture website is a roadmap for intelligent transportation systems (ITS) integration in northeastern Illinois over the next 15 years. View the ITS architecture summary report and ITS maintenance plan.

CMAP brings transportation professionals together through the Transportation Technology and Operations Coalition to discuss intelligent transportation infrastructure and funding opportunities, among other topics.

Public involvement 

CMAP is always looking for ways to engage with residents and partners to help communities prosper.

Public participation plan

CMAP’s public participation plan guides the agency’s proactive engagement of residents and constituencies in northeastern Illinois and establishes core values for how we integrate meaningful public engagement into our planning initiatives.

Title VI and non-discrimination policy

CMAP complies with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to ensure that no person shall be excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination under any program or activity provided by CMAP because of race, color, or national origin.

Also read CMAP’s equal opportunity employment statement and policies on non-discrimination, public participation, comments, and whistleblower protections, as well as our privacy statement and terms and conditions.

Americans with Disabilities Act notice

In accordance with the requirements of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), CMAP will not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities on the basis of disability in its services, programs, or activities. Read CMAP’s full ADA notice.