Tollway rate-hike critic could be on way out

The one Illinois tollway director who opposed increasing rates may be out of a job soon.

Gov. Pat Quinn faces a looming deadline next week to fill dozens of expired positions on state boards and commissions, including the tollway board. With the exception of Chair Paula Wolff, the terms are up for every board director on the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, which made history in August when it nearly doubled rates to pay for a $12 billion, 15-year construction program.

Bill Morris, of Grayslake, was the only director who voted against the toll hike, and several officials close to the tollway say they’ve been told it’s likely he will not be reappointed.

Tollway directors agreed to raise tolls by 35 to 45 cents at most plazas effective Jan. 1. Morris proposed a more modest toll increase to fund a more gradual construction plan and disagreed with administrators’ estimates for interest rates on loans and construction costs.

“There’s way too many assumptions, and we have to crawl before we run,” Morris said in August.

Morris said Thursday he had not heard from Quinn and could not comment on the issue. Officials with Quinn’s office were unable to confirm details of tollway appointments.

Next week, the so-called “fumigation” law goes into effect, which could kick hundreds of state board and commission members out of their jobs. The law was enacted in response to the fact that dozens of directors — many of them appointed by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich — continue to serve on boards and commissions and get paid even though their terms are over.

The new policy essentially fires directors with expired terms as of Tuesday unless they are renamed by Quinn before the deadline. Appointments will also require Senate confirmation.