ILASLA members and guests honored volunteers and toasted a successful year at the annual Holiday Spritzer held at ARTango in Chicago.

On Friday, September 19, several quarters and a creative team of landscape architects transformed metered parking spots into temporary public parks. Here, young professionals basked in the opportunity for more urban open public spaces during Park(ing) Day 2014 in Naperville, Illinois.

The Illinois Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ILASLA) focused on promotion of the profession and engagement with colleagues in allied fields during 2014. Whether Plants and Pinot with the ILCA and OGA or mixers with AIA and APA, ILASLA created partnerships with related professions. Numbers grew by 5 percent to 430 active members in anticipation of the chapter hosting the 2015 ASLA National Meeting in Chicago, and in response to the excellent education and programming available to members.

This year Illinois joined 35 other states in requiring continuing education credits for registered landscape architects. In response, ILASLA provided additional courses for CE credit, LARE preparation sessions, and professional enrichment seminars in partnership with Bartlett Tree Experts to support the educational needs and expectations of members. The state also updated its regulations and now requires a landscape architect's seal on plans, specifications and reports prepared under their supervision. In addition, the LandUp business strategy session is open to design professionals in Illinois and the Midwest and continues to draw large audiences for this outstanding series. While professional development was an important element of ILASLA's work in 2014, the chapter also provided opportunities for networking and recognition of members' notable design work. This year's Celebration, their annual award event, recognized 20 projects for their contribution to the design field. Members also gathered several other times during the year for events; some for emerging professionals with their allied design profession counterparts, others simply to raise a beer and enjoy the fellowship of colleagues. The chapter revamped its communication to landscape architects in Illinois. Stream and Vista are e-mailed to members as quick updates on what is happening in the chapter. The e-mail bulletins are complemented quarterly by Elevation, which explores a topic in depth and Folio, which showcases the work of award-winning chapter members. ILASLA members hosted BLA and MLA students from the University of Illinois for firm tours; other members reached out to high school students at the Chicago Architecture and Design College Day. In both cases, the focus was on helping students find their place in the landscape architecture profession. Other members took to the streets to highlight projects by nationally and locally prominent landscape architects on Ask an LA Day; this past September a group of young professionals in Naperville also designed and installed a Park(ing) Day temporary park.