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That's a sentiment that continues to resonate 80 years later. The MPC still consists of public- and private-sector business and civic leaders focused on "sensible planning and development policies" to solve current and future problems in the Chicagoland area. "We are a complex city and region, and getting anything done is complicated, but you need intermediaries—and that is what the Metropolitan Planning Council has tried to be," says Barrett, herself a resident of Lakeview. For Barrett that means managing more than 20 people and collaborating with hundreds of com- munity leaders and active volunteers, including a 60-member board and 273 mayors in the six-county region in Illinois, plus Northwest Indiana and Southern Wisconsin. Barrett is tasked with convincing cities to collaborate, then uses those discussions to give recommendations to improve housing, trans- portation infrastructure, economic development, and the management of natural assets, all while finding funding sources. As the middle of five children, Barrett jokes she has always been in the nego- tiator role. "I definitely enjoy finding the shared self-interest. Where is the win-win?" Finding those victories means weighing in on important issues like how to find solutions for Lake Michigan's water loss, the creation of a Cook County Land Bank Authority to tackle vacant fore- closed properties, and championing the Lakefront Protection Ordinance to help convince the Chicago Children's Museum to stay and expand at Navy Pier instead of moving to Grant Park. To help fund these ventures, Barrett is looking at public-private partnerships coupled with state and federal funding. "You can either compete against everyone else in the country in an environ- ment of bipartisan gridlock and budget crisis, then wait," she says. "Or you can take your destiny in your own hands and try to figure out some self-help solutions. We've been big proponents of cities and regions that will succeed in this new global economy by embracing this self-help." That's something Barrett, 49, a single mother of two ( Jacob, 14, and Cassandra, 12), learned early on. After earning a bachelor's degree in speech communication from Northwestern University, the native of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, headed to Washington, DC in 1986, where Rahm Emanuel helped her get a job as a part-time supervisor at a phone bank at the Democratic Congressional Campaign committee. After leaving Washington to work as the deputy field director for Illinois Senator Paul Simon's presidential campaign, she became the field director for Richard M. Daley's 1989 mayoral campaign and eventually became Daley's chief of policy and chief of staff to the Chicago School Reform Board of Trustees, helping the city's bid to host the 1996 Democratic National Convention during her seven-year tenure. Those experiences left Barrett well prepared for the challenges she now deals with on a daily basis. "I could not have predicted I would enjoy staying at MPC all these years, but the challenges are ever- evolving, and I am drawn to that," says Barrett. "It's a place I feel I'm making a difference." MA FROM LEFT: MarySue Barrett's office holds mementos and awards from the American Planning Association, Publicity Club of Chicago, and the Governor of Illinois. *lunch break "The Joffrey Ballet has noon classes, so I'm back taking ballet. I love it. It's really hard. I'm 49 years old and the body is not the same." *cultural exchange "I tend to rotate [arts institutions] every year. I have one membership at an institution that is more family- oriented and one subscription to a theater. Last year it was Lookingglass, and this year I'm doing the Goodman." *on rahm "It's fun to have a punch-me-on- the-shoulder kind of relationship with the Mayor." *concerts at wrigley field "I still like the music I listened to in college. When Billy Joel and Elton John did a concert a few years ago at Wrigley Field, there was no way I was going to miss it." CITY PLANNER MarySue Barrett shares some of her favorite things about life in the Windy City. continued from page 55 56 MICHIGANAVEMAG.COM VIEW FROM THE TOP 055-056_MA_SP_VFT_Spring_14.indd 56 2/11/14 2:42 PM