Geospatial andgt; The Layer File andgt; ILGISA 2024 Recap

Last week, the entire MSGS staff attended the 2024, Illinois GIS Association annual conference in East Peoria. Attending the ILGISA Annual Conference as a full team provides MSGS with an excellent opportunity for professional growth, networking, and skill enhancement within the Illinois geospatial community. A few days before, we banded together to cover as many of the sessions as we could, some of interest and some to align with projects. Through sessions that cover GIS applications in transportation, utilities, and environmental projects, the team can acquire valuable insights directly applicable to MSGS’s focus areas. See the full agenda Here

The conference presented a comprehensive slate of sessions, workshops, and panels aimed at advancing GIS practices, tools, and knowledge-sharing for professionals across sectors. As per the norm a significant theme was the usage of how er all use Esri software to address real-world challenges. Some of the most attended sessions were presented by Esri staff themselves, Nate and Anna did great. Some favorite sessions showcased automation and data management within Esri’s platform, covering tools like Microsoft Power Automate andamp; Make.com to streamline repetitive tasks, saving time and reducing error. These sessions highlighted how GIS can enhance community engagement by making spatial data more accessible to the public. Several of our Illinois local government friends showed off very practical examples showed how others could automate data updates and integrate Esri software with enterprise databases using Arcade to keep geospatial information up-to-date across departments. Baylor and Micah both gave presentations on ArcGIS Data Pipelines and ArcGIS Earth respectively. Both were well received even though by Tuesday, Baylor had completely lost his voice. Glad that all the rooms were equipped with microphones.

Not to be one-sided, the open-source sessions underscored the importance of self-sufficiency and scalability in GIS, offering practical takeaways for using these tools to solve real problems. There were several great sessions showcasing FOSS4G-only enterprise GIS deployments. As more organizations turn to open-source GIS, it was great to see the ILGISA community fostering an environment for learning, collaboration, and exploration, empowering professionals with the skills and networks needed to effectively implement open-source solutions.

As an organization, I’m proud to say ILGISA is strong and financially responsible. It is great to see some statewide initiatives gaining traction like the low distortion county projections and even talk (not much else) of a statewide parcel fabric. Chad Sperry received the well deserved Hilton Distinguished Collaboration award and we even gave out the Dahlberg Acheivement award to Cindy Barbra-Brelle for her amazing work on the E911 project.

Of course, the social aspect of ILGISA can not be overstated. We enjoyed giving away some MSGS Swag and introducing Ethan and Katie to anyone we could in the Illinois GIS community. Big thanks to our friends from across the river for sponsoring a great social night at Uncle Bucks Bowling. In addition, networking events (just hanging out) facilitated connections between practitioners, enabling them to share their own implementations, discussing common challenges, and explore emerging geospatial technologies together. Through sessions and informal networking, ILGISA 2024 attendees left with valuable insights into how to enhance efficiency, improve data accuracy, and implement innovative solutions within our GIS Industry.