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Illinois DOT to hire 150 temporary workers to handle stimulus road deadlines

SPRINGFIELD, Ill.  — The Illinois Department of Transportation will hire about 150 temporary employees to meet the federal government's speedy deadline for getting road projects started under Washington's economic stimulus plan.

Transportation officials said after a Senate committee hearing Thursday night that they need to find about $1.7 million to temporarily hire 19 professionals such as engineers and 128 clerical staff members.

But in a rare committee hearing of two Senate Appropriations committees, Gov. Pat Quinn's new chief operating officer said the administration is ready to meet challenges posed by the $8.8 billion the state expects from the legislation President Barack Obama signed this week.

"We're going to do whatever we can to make sure we have those people in place to move forward," Jack Lavin said.

Illinois' share of the federal money is coincidentally just about the amount of the state's projected budget deficit during the next two years. But it's not as simple as using the money to fill the hole, officials said.

There's about $2 billion for construction projects, including an estimated $936 million for roads and bridges. In addition to hiring the temporary workers, IDOT will need to turn to consultants for as much as $30 million to oversee the projects during the next year, said Christine Reed, the agency's director of highways and chief engineer.

Stimulus money can't be used to hire staff, so the administration must find it amid a multibillion-dollar deficit for the workers.

"That's the hard part," Reed said.

The Associated Press reported last week that the Federal Highway Administration warned that IDOT might have too few employees to handle the new load of projects. The agency's payroll fell by 1,500 during the past six years.

Reed said IDOT continues to work with the Highway Administration to meet its guidelines.

Lawmakers grilled Lavin on how the money will be divvied up, whether Congress has mandated any projects — Lavin said "no" — and ensuring there's proper oversight in a state riled for years by political corruption and favor-trading.

"It would be painful to have to give money back," said Sen. Jeff Schoenberg, D-Evanston, arguing for making sure there are enough auditors watching over shoulders.

Federal officials estimate Illinois could see 150,000 jobs from the plan, but Lavin said the administration hadn't tried to calculate a number. IDOT's share could create more than 20,000 jobs, Transportation Secretary Milton Sees said.

Earlier, one of the appropriations committee's chairman, Democrat Donne Trotter of Chicago, similarly tried to keep expectations down, warning against hoping for a miracle fix.

"It's a stimulus package, not a Viagra package," Trotter said.

Associated Press Writer Andrea Zelinski contributed to this report.

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