Tollway won't let ExxonMobil off the hook

ExxonMobil is still in the driver's seat when it comes to operating gas stations and On The Run shops at the seven Illinois tollway oases.

Illinois State Toll Highway Authority leaders Wednesday denied a request by ExxonMobil to essentially transfer the lease for its service stations and mini-marts to Lincolnshire-based Combined Oil Co.

Combined Oil, a fuel distributor that also operates 39 gas stations through a related company, wasn't ready for the job, Acting Executive Director Michael King and Finance Chief Michael Colsch told ExxonMobil.

"Combined does not possess adequate financial resources with which to address the other contingencies and financial stresses that it will likely face," the two wrote in a letter.

ExxonMobil spokesman Kevin Allexon said the company is working with the tollway "to better understand the reasons for their denial."

Combined Oil executive Menjinder "Mac" Bhambra said he wasn't disappointed and his company would carry on. "It's in the hands of Mobil now," he said. "They don't want to let ExxonMobil off the hook."

The decision comes as the tollway's former oases manager Wilton Partners, which operated the restaurants inside the distinctive glass oases, faces foreclosure proceedings.

Tollway officials said they were concerned Combined Oil lacked the deep pockets to handle cleanup and liability for current and future environmental contamination problems at the gas stations. In addition, there was insufficient details about who would actually run the fuel stations, mini-marts and car washes, they noted.