Chicago Children's Advocacy Center

The Chicago Central Area Committee (CCAC) is a diverse coalition of leading business, institutions, and nonprofit organizations who all share an interest in supporting strategic planning and development activities that strengthen our city's competitive edge and enhance its urban quality of life. Since 1956, the CCAC has been an influential force in decisions that affect the future of Chicago. We have a nearly six-decade history of influencing strategic planning choices in Chicago and facilitating the discussion on challenging issues that affect the nation's third-largest city. Since our founding in 1956, CCAC members have worked in partnership with the City of Chicago on every major comprehensive plan that has focused on the development of downtown Chicago, including most recently the 2009 Central Area Action Plan. Since 2013, in an effort to supplement the City of Chicago's planning capacity, we have been engaged in an ongoing series of major initiatives based upon the chapter-by-chapter recommendations of the Central Area Action Plan aimed at identifying projects of merit and developing consensus to move them forward, including: The Illinois Medical District Planning Charrette (November 2013): CCAC members held a planning charrette focusing on the Illinois Medical District (IMD) on Chicago's Near West Side that resulted in recommendations for improvements to the IMD that were subsequently adopted by the Illinois Medical District Commission.