State making it easier to travel

With the annual summer road trip to explore America comes another tradition -- stopping at toll booths in various states to pay the piper.

But that practice could be on its way out.

Illinois State Toll Highway Authority leaders Thursday agreed to join an organization that's aiming for a streamlined approach to collecting tolls across the nation and in Canada.

The Alliance for Toll Interoperability numbers 27 member agencies in the United States.

The goal is to create a system of electronic toll collection that enables vacationers and business travelers to go from state to state and in Canada without stopping to pay at booths.

The organization is less than a year old but by signing up now, it gives the agency a chance to get in on the ground floor, officials said.

"We believe we can benefit," Executive Director Brian McPartlin said. "It gives us more contact with southern and western states.

There is no cost to join the group.

The tollway already belongs to the E-ZPass Interagency Group that includes 24 members from 13 states such as Indiana, Massachusetts, Maine, New York, Delaware, Maryland, New Hampshire and New Jersey.

Tollway systems that are members of the Alliance for Toll Interoperability come from states including Oklahoma, Texas, North Carolina, Maine, California, Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina, Kansas, Virginia.