2008 Press Release: City of Des Plaines Offers Mapping Features on Website

For immediate release
December 18, 2008

City of Des Plaines Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Coordinator Jon Duddles is pleased to announce that new, convenient mapping features are now available to the public from the GIS Consortium through the City�s website. The City has belonged to the GIS Consortium since 2001, along with the Village of Deerfield, Village of Glencoe, Village of Glenview, City of Highland Park, Village of Lincolnshire, Village of Lincolnwood, Village of Morton Grove, City of Park Ridge, Village of Skokie, Village of Winnetka, Village of Norridge, Village of Wheeling, Village of Elk Grove, and Village of Riverside.

Through the GIS Consortium MapOffice� web site, visitors to the City�s website will have the capability of inputting a specific address and viewing a detailed map of the area. Users will also be able to access specific information about a parcel or address including the school district, the garbage collection zone, Cook County Assessor data, FEMA flood plain information, voting districts, and zoning code information. Mapping features will also allow users to measure an area or distance. Special tools will also be available to link to other map engines such as Google Maps and Microsoft Live Search Maps.

Once on the City�s website users need only click on "Des Plaines GIS Maps," located in the "Quick References" on the left side of the home page or the logo above. This link is also available in the "Top Headlines" section of the City�s website. From there the user will be taken to the GIS Consortium MapOffice� website.

"MapOffice� is a browser based application that serves essential GIS tools to the non-GIS professional. The mapping features will provide internet users a convenient means of acquiring information that they in the past would have had to obtain through a phone call or personal visit to City Hall. This valuable service allows users to navigate mapping features on their own," Duddles concluded.