Tollway honing in on fines and snacks

The Illinois tollway's new leader is asking her board to focus on a couple of concerns that directly affect motorists - violation notifications and the oases.

"These are two issues I feel need more attention," Illinois State Toll Highway Authority Chairman Paula Wolff said.

Wolff is establishing two informal committees that will hold open meetings to follow progress on the uneasy state of the tollway's seven oases and fallout from a 13-month delay in sending out violation notices.

The agency's former oases operator Wilton Partners is in foreclosure proceedings with its lenders. Most recently a federal judge appointed a new company, U.S. Equities, to run the oases, which are owned by the tollway.

Wilton, a politically connected firm that made substantial donations to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, fell behind in payments to its lender and the tollway. It's the subject of hearings by state senators, which will resume next month.

The seven buildings have a large number of vacant retail spaces, which has raised concerns.

Given that the board will be making significant legal, financial and operations decisions about the oases in the near future, it's important to be fully briefed on their status, Wolff said.

The tollway also has been under fire for a lapse in violation notice mailings that occurred from July 2006 to August 2007 while switching contractors. A series by the Daily Herald found the glitch caused fines to escalate dramatically, leaving drivers with thousands of dollars in penalties.

The agency has worked to clear up the backlog, but Wolff said it was important to understand the process "from the time someone does not pay a toll to the time it's taken off the books."

"We can do a lot better," said Wolff, who was appointed to the tollway in August. "We have to make sure we collect the money but we have to make sure the system is fair and just."

The announcement came during an audit committee meeting. The agency was scolded in a recent Illinois auditor general's report for accounting errors involving more than $150 million.

Tollway staff said they were working to address any issues. "There were no findings where any money was missing," said Linda Abernethy, a partner with McGladrey & Pullen, which prepared the report for the auditor general.