Illinois Department of Transportation

Department of Transportation
Department overview
Formed 1972
Preceding department
  • Illinois Department of Public Works and Buildings
Jurisdiction Illinois
Headquarters 2300 S. Dirksen Parkway, Springfield, Illinois
Department executive
  • Randall Blankenhorn[1], Secretary
Website www.idot.illinois.gov

The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) is the code department[2][3] of the Illinois state government that is responsible for sustaining, strengthening, expanding, and maintaining a multi-modal transportation system that includes roads, railways, airways, waterways, canals, and terminals such as airports, railway stations, bus stations, warehouses, and intermodal facilities.

The Secretary of Transportation reports to the Illinois Governor. IDOT is headquartered in unincorporated Sangamon County, in the state capital, Springfield. In addition, IDOT has nine transportation district offices located throughout five regions throughout the state, as well as an office in Chicago. [4][5]

Organization

IDOT consists of four divisions and nine supporting offices. The following organization list represents the basic structure of the department’s senior management:

Divisions

Offices

IDOT districts map

History

IDOT was created by the 77th Illinois General Assembly on January 1972. The department absorbed the functions of the former Department of Public Works and Buildings, acquired some planning and safety inspection functions of other state agencies, and received responsibility for state assistance to local mass transportation agencies such as the Chicago-area Regional Transportation Authority, which was in the process of being formed at this time.

Governor Pat Quinn appointed Ann Schneider as the Secretary of Transportation in 2011, marking the appointment of the first women in Illinois history as chief of transportation. In January 2010, Illinois was awarded a $1.2 billion federal grant to build a statewide high-speed passenger rail service.

In the spring of 2014, it was reported that IDOT had engaged in patronage hiring of numerous staff assistants - Ann Schneider resigning following this scandal.[6] Schneider claimed that the improper hires were "recommended to me or my staff by the governor’s office," specifically Chief of Staff Jack Lavin.[7][8]

References

  1. About IDOT accessed 07 October 2015
  2. Uphoff, Judy Lee (2012). "The Governor and the Executive Branch". In Lind, Nancy S.; Rankin, Erik. Governing Illinois: Your Connection to State and Local Government (PDF) (4th ed.). Center Publications, Center for State Policy and Leadership, University of Illinois at Springfield. pp. 78–79. ISBN 978-0-938943-28-0.
  3. 20 ILCS 5/5-15
  4. "IDOT Directory". Retrieved 2008-09-23.
  5. "Ward Map." City of Springfield. Retrieved on March 24, 2009.
  6. "IDOT chief resigns after patronage questions raised". Early & Often.
  7. Chicago Tribune (29 October 2014). "Quinn's IDOT scandal will cost taxpayers". chicagotribune.com.
  8. "Ex-IDOT boss blames gov's office for majority of improper hires". Early & Often.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, April 05, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.