Editorial's comments on tollway were premature

For the first time in its history, the Illinois Tollway is conducting an analysis, open to the public and media, of its internal policies and procedures and how they compare to the best business practices of other transportation agencies. The goal of this process is to enhance our operations, improve transparency and find more efficient and effective ways to get the job done.

Unfortunately, just two hearings into the process, the Daily Herald's Aug. 28 editorial leads readers to believe that we consider the matter done and we have glossed over key issues without offering any reforms. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The tollway has scheduled a minimum of four hearings, featuring state and national experts, to officer advice and opinion on current tollway policy and considerations for changes. The meetings are intended to review the procurement process, conflict-of-interest and hiring policies with the opportunity for directors to discuss other internal processes and will culminate with a report and recommendations presented publicly.

All of these discussions are open to the public, webcast live and also recorded and available for review on the tollway's website.

We are undertaking this thorough review of processes with input and advisement from industry experts and we fully anticipate it will lead to improvements that will be made at the tollway internally and at the legislative level.

The Illinois Tollway's board of directors and executive leadership team is dedicated to demonstrating safeguards and mechanisms to ensure transparency and protection against potential conflicts of interest work. Illinois commuters can continue to trust that the Illinois Tollway will operate in an efficient, effective and transparent manner to deliver projects on time and on budget.

Elizabeth Gorman, Executive Director

Illinois Tollway