CHICAGO – A recent shakeup of administrative powers at the Illinois Tollway Authority will be the subject of an Illinois Senate Transportation Committee hearing Tuesday.

“With purpose of ensuring the responsible stewardship of tax dollars that are collected and administered at the Illinois Tollway, we are committed to shedding transparency on the organizational changes that were recently made,” said Senator Ram Villivalam, a Chicago Democrat who chairs the committee.

In October, the Tollway board voted to give the board chairman additional, direct oversight of some agency departments that had previously fallen under the tollway’s executive director. Board members have said the move was in the best interest of the Tollway.

The hearing is an opportunity to explore the change in greater detail.

“We will have a robust and comprehensive discussion on the organizational structure change that was made and look to other states for best practices,” Villivalam said.

“The tollway has an annual budget of millions of dollars and serves over 1.6 million commuters a day. We want to ensure it is operating as efficiently and effectively as possible. Consumers need to know the tollway administration is spending their dollars wisely,” said Senator Laura Murphy, a Des Plaines Democrats and fellow Transportation Committee member.

The hearing will take place at 10 a.m. Tuesday in the Michael A. Bilandic Building, 160 N. LaSalle St., Chicago. This is a subject matter hearing on the Tollway administrative changes.

WHO: State Senators Ram Villivalam, Laura Murphy, Illinois Tollway Authority
WHAT: Subject Matter Hearing on the Organizational Structure of the Illinois Tollway
WHEN: 10 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021
WHERE: Michael A. Bilandic Building, 160 N. LaSalle St., Chicago or Virtual Room 1 on www.ilga.gov