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* From the Times of Northwest Indiana…
The Indiana Department of Transportation has formally suspended its work on developing the Illiana Expressway, pending a decision by Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner on whether to proceed with the project.
A letter from INDOT project manager James Earl released to state Sen. Rick Niemeyer, R-Lowell, states Indiana will halt all Illiana Expressway work until the Rauner administration completes its review of the project.
On Jan. 12, Rauner froze spending on all major interstate construction projects managed by the Illinois Department of Transportation, including the 40 miles of the Illiana Expressway planned for Illinois.
Just a year ago, the planned 48-mile bi-state toll road appeared to be barreling toward construction. But Rauner’s action and his appointment of a transportation chief who opposed the road have heartened opponents who want the project killed.
* More from Greg Hinz…
In a letter sent to those who live near the proposed toll road, James Earl, Illiana project manager at the Indiana Department of Transportation, said that while the department “remains committed” to the project, it can’t participate without Illinois, which would build the western stretch of the road between I-55 in Illinois and I-65 in Indiana.
Although construction “will be managed separately by each state,” Earl wrote, “the Illiana Corridor is still a project that requires both states to work together and maintain similar schedules. Given the recent decision by the state of Illinois, INDOT is temporarily suspending project development until the Rauner administration completes its review of the Illiana Corridor.”
The Rauner administration has given no indication how long that review will continue. But it already has lifted the freeze on a variety of Illinois Tollway projects, and Randy Blankenhorn, the governor’s secretary of transportation, was a vigorous opponent of making Illiana a priority in his previous capacity as executive director of the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning.
* Meanwhile, I heard last week that some folks who don’t want to see Blankenhorn run IDOT were shopping some oppo on him…
Gov. Bruce Rauner’s pick to run the state’s transportation agency was caught driving drunk more than a decade ago.
A spokesman for the governor said Randall Blankenhorn’s 2004 Sangamon County arrest has been disclosed to lawmakers and should not be considered an issue in his role overseeing the Illinois Department of Transportation and its anti-drunken-driving campaigns.
“Governor Rauner has full confidence in Randy Blankenhorn and knows he will be an effective secretary for the Department of Transportation,” wrote spokesman Lance Trover in an email Wednesday.
According to records reviewed by the Lee Enterprises Springfield bureau, Blankenhorn, 56, received court supervision after he failed a blood-alcohol breath test during a traffic stop in April 2004.
He paid for his decade-old mistake. If people want to oppose him over Illiana or his past support for cutting Downstate’s share of the Road Fund, fine. Otherwise, move the heck along.
posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Feb 13, 15 @ 10:15 am
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Those out-of-control tax and spend liberals in Indiana were all for this project.
Comment by walker Friday, Feb 13, 15 @ 10:22 am
I saw the story on Blankenhorn’s DUI arrest in 2004. My first reaction was so what. Are we to pay for our mistakes for the rest of our lives? It was more than 10 years ago. If you really want to deny this guy this job because of something that happened 10 years ago then you are pretty pathetic.
Comment by Demoralized Friday, Feb 13, 15 @ 10:24 am
Not surprising that Indiana suspends work… to make any sense, it has to at least connect to I-57 inside Illinois. This project has many twists and turns, it has Republican backing and opposition, Will County backing and opposition, Democratic support and opposition, and comes at a time when Illinois needs to get its finances in order.
I’ll say it again…if Illiana is the yardstick by which the viability of projects is measured, there are a lot of transportation projects in the state that might come up on the short end of the stick.
Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Friday, Feb 13, 15 @ 10:25 am
And…Randy is a good guy whose exposed flaw is well enough in the past to not be a factor in his being IDOT director. Timing is everything…if a potential agency head got a DUI while in the middle of the nomination process, they’d probably be toast.
Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Friday, Feb 13, 15 @ 10:28 am
– James Earl, Illiana project manager–
Tough break for Mr. Earl. You just automatically add that third name…
It’s like if Paul Harvey had named his son Lee.
Comment by Wordslinger Friday, Feb 13, 15 @ 10:37 am
Word, I was thinking James Earl Jones instead of the other guy you were thinking of.
Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Friday, Feb 13, 15 @ 10:47 am
Might be a really good time to sack this one. Before it turns into Illianaowa. There’s a lot more important things to do. I have wondered if it would be worth it to consider converting some highways in need of great infrastructure repair into tollways if the people in the region would support such a move.
Comment by A guy Friday, Feb 13, 15 @ 11:08 am
If he did not receive the DUI during working hours, he’s in the clear. This was the reasoning behind another high leader of IDOT District One receiving same, and for another high leader for receiving Peeping Tom charges. What the Senate should really be concerned about before confirming is whether the taint of Chicago will steer his decisions for IDOT, the fact that he is not a Civil Engineer, and will he be keeping his residency in the City of Chicago.
Comment by Gone, but not forgotten Friday, Feb 13, 15 @ 11:12 am
He made a mistake over a decade ago and paid the price. Many of us have done the same thing and never got caught.
I agree, move on to more substantive reasons to support or oppose the nominee.
Comment by Cassiopeia Friday, Feb 13, 15 @ 11:15 am
The head of IDOT ought to be based in Springfield, and having them commute back and forth isnt gonna do much for the prohibition against unnecessary spending.
Comment by Juvenal Friday, Feb 13, 15 @ 11:20 am
Illiana is being privately financed. It is not state funded. Building it will not take from state infrastructure projects. IDOT manages it and funds to do that have been frozen.
The problem I see is that the Illiana takes from Chicago and Cook County, diverting interstate traffic around the City. It will drain these important Illinois assets at a time when the City and County are financially struggling.
This is similar to the problems of building a third airport. Unless Chicago can offset their losses in some way, there will be opposition from the State’s most important economic asset.
In my opinion it is good to rethink these things.
Comment by VanillaMan Friday, Feb 13, 15 @ 11:35 am
A guy:
Current federal policy allows adding tolled lanes to interstate highways, but not converting existing lanes into tolled lanes. There is talk of changing the law. There are many who would pay for the convenience of traveling faster thru congestion (would a 20 minute commute on the Ike or the Stevenson be worth 5 bucks to you?) but there will be lots of opposition to applying a toll to what was once a free ride (other than paying your normal gas tax at the pump). BTW, Randy Blankenhorn is in favor of “congestion pricing” where the toll goes up during rush hour.
Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Friday, Feb 13, 15 @ 11:39 am
VMan, I’m not much up on the Illiana, but I don’t think you’d hear too many people in Chicago or the suburbs complaining about diverting east-west interstate traffic south of Cook.
I haven’t heard anything like that, anyway. As a frequent Chicago-Michigan driver, I would welcome any diversion south of the lake chokepoint, especially in summer. Friday afternoon getaways and Sunday night returns from summer homes are brutal.
Comment by Wordslinger Friday, Feb 13, 15 @ 12:01 pm
I recall several legislators who had DUIs in the last few years, all of them in the House and all Republicans as it turns out. Two are still serving. Consequently, I would hope there is no hypocrisy on this. If a single DUI did not disqualify a legislator, it should not disqualify a state administrator either.
Comment by anon Friday, Feb 13, 15 @ 12:55 pm
Thanks 6 DOS. There’s stuff to think about there.
Comment by A guy Friday, Feb 13, 15 @ 1:04 pm
I think everyone is missing the point on the DUI revelation. Do I care if the guy gets a DUI? No. Do I care if the guy who oversees millions of dollars in safe driving/anti-DUI messaging got a DUI? Yes.
It’s akin to the DCFS Director who didn’t pay child support. Granted, not as severe, but in the same ballpark. I’m not judging the Mr. Blankenhorn, but the optics are bad.
Comment by Anon Friday, Feb 13, 15 @ 1:21 pm
Regarding, Blankenhorn, I’m with Rich Miller. Dredging up a decade-old DUI is a bit desperate in my book…
Comment by Black Ivy Friday, Feb 13, 15 @ 1:27 pm
Two relevant points:
1. The new Mississippi River Bridge - which is weirdly named the Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge - set a precedence for Illinois to pay the lion’s share of any multi-state work that must be done. That negotiation was an embarrassment. At least the feds picked up a decent chunk of the cost. This bears remembering when it comes time - if it ever comes time - to implement the Illiana project.
2. Public-private transportation partnerships will likely become the new norm. The last major federal transportation spending bill was SAFETEA-LU in 2005. That was literally a decade ago. Since then? Very little. Everything is done in a piecemeal approach - just look at high-speed rail. That may be Illiana’s eventual saving grace.
Comment by Team Sleep Friday, Feb 13, 15 @ 1:33 pm
Try working for and RESPECTING these type of “leaders” after their charged behavior.
Comment by Gone, but not forgotten Friday, Feb 13, 15 @ 1:34 pm
It’s great to see that Governor Rauner believes convicted criminals should be given a chance at state employment when they have rehabilitated themselves. Of course, hiring criminals is in stark contrast to candidate Rauner’s words during the campaign.
Comment by Precinct Captain Friday, Feb 13, 15 @ 1:43 pm
VMan, I am with you on rethinking Illiana and Peotone. But a couple of points:
1) The Illiana is not privately financed. No private contractor would build it without a large upfront investment by the State (>$400 million) and guaranteed annual payments for three decades after that. CMAP staff predicted a State subsidy up to $1.1 billion - a big part of why they opposed it.
2) The Illiana would not divert interstate traffic from the Chicago area. IDOT’s own numbers show Illiana traffic even in 2040 would be a tiny fraction of what’s on Chicago interstates–and IDOT assumed a new airport being built in Peotone.
These projects are opposed not because they’d be too successful but because they’d be a complete waste of transportation money.
Comment by roads scholar Friday, Feb 13, 15 @ 1:50 pm
“Illiana is being privately financed. It is not state funded.”
Um, a state guaranty is most certainly “state funding”. Take your Newspeak and sell it to Oceania.
Comment by Chris Friday, Feb 13, 15 @ 1:51 pm
These projects are opposed not because they’d be too successful but because they’d be a complete waste of transportation money.
Hmm…one person’s “complete waste” is another’s “desperately needed” project. On a scale of 1 to 10, neither project is a “10″ like Dan Ryan, BNSF Metra or ORD, but they’d probably perform moderately well…some trucks would gladly pay the Illiana toll, and Peotone would probably attract some cargo air in a market that is ripe for expansion in Chicago. Worth the money? Again, depends on who you ask, but Illinois is not exactly flush with cash right now for the state’s start up costs that will be needed, no matter if the private sector gets involved. As far as expenditures go, most everything that would move the needle in Chicagoland would cost far more than either of these projects.
Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Friday, Feb 13, 15 @ 2:12 pm
I don’t have an opinion on Illiana, but I do know that Blankenhorn will be a good Secretary of Transportation — much better than they have had out there for a long time. The old DUI is complete non-issue. You don’t need to be a C.E. to run IDOT — you need to hire good CE.s to be around you and pay attention to them.
Comment by kimocat Friday, Feb 13, 15 @ 2:34 pm
I worked with Randy when he was at IDOT before. He is very well qualified to be Secretary. He is experienced, talented and a good manager. He was highly respected by his staff and treated them very well. He has plenty of very experienced engineers around him.
Comment by Stay Tuned Friday, Feb 13, 15 @ 3:04 pm
The growing importance of Illinois as a logistical hub cannot be overstated. And if you spend any time on the Stevenson going to Chicago or Springfield, you’ve experienced the heavy, heavy traffic congestion, mostly trucks, around where the Illiana expressway is proposed. The Illiana would relieve much of the east-west traffic pressure in that area as well as connect up to new complexes of warehouses and logistics centers in that region.
Comment by Newsclown Friday, Feb 13, 15 @ 3:26 pm