Suburban members bring tollway board up to full strength
Two new Illinois tollway directors from the suburbs with legal and transportation backgrounds attended their first meeting Thursday.
Willow Springs Village President Melissa Neddermeyer and executive Mark Wright of Naperville were appointed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker this month.
Neddermeyer, an attorney who runs her own legal practice, previously served as a village trustee before being elected president in 2021.
"She is focused on: increasing investment and infrastructure, and village services to residents; building reserve funding; and reducing village debt," tollway Executive Director Cassaundra Rouse said at Thursday's board meeting.
Wright is CEO and founder of Diverse Facility Solutions, which provides facility management services to airports, and previously worked as director of operations for Midway Airlines' Terminal Consortium. He is a member of Naperville's planning and zoning commission.
"Director Wright is a business leader with extensive experience in the transportation and construction industry," Rouse said.
The tollway board consists of nine members, plus the governor and Illinois Department of Transportation secretary as ex officio members, but had not operated at full strength for more than a year.
Director Stephen Davis of Wheaton resigned effective April 2022, leaving the board with eight members. In March, longtime Director and Western Springs Village President Alice Gallagher died unexpectedly.
Tollway directors receive an annual $31,400 stipend.