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About the ITE Illinois Section
The Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) is an international
professional society of more than 11,000 transportation engineers,
planners, and others responsible for the safe and efficient
movement of people and goods on our streets, highways, and
transit systems. Since its founding in 1930, the Institute
has been providing transportation professionals with programs
and resources to help them meet those responsibilities. Institute
programs and resources include professional development seminars;
technical reports; a monthly journal; local, regional, and
international meetings; and other forums for the exchange
of opinions, ideas, techniques, and research.
ITE members are from both the public and the
private sector. They are employees of government agencies,
regional planning offices, consulting firms, educational institutions,
product manufacturers, and other transportation related organizations.
If you're engaged in planning, designing, operating, managing,
or maintaining surface transportation systems, ITE can meet
your needs for on-going professional development. Through
its monthly journal and its technical reports, you'll be kept
apprised of the latest developments, research, applications,
and innovations in the field. It's annual meetings, conferences,
and topical seminars offer top-notch technical presentations,
along with social gatherings intended to foster informal sharing
of ideas and opinions with your peers. The many committees
of ITE's Technical Council provide you the opportunity to
participate in shaping policies, recommended practices, and
standards.
ITE is divided into ten Districts worldwide to
better serve its members. The Illinois Section is part of
District IV, which encompasses eleven states in the Midwest.
The District IV Board includes representatives from all four
Sections and typically holds its annual meeting each June
to discuss District and Section activities. Within District
IV, there are four sections:
In 1944 the Institute of Traffic Engineers membership
roster listed 297 active members of which approximately 10%
resided in Illinois. The membership was well represented in
the armed forces totaling 97 or approximately one-third.
Membership growth developed steadily through the
forties and eventually efforts by ITE to place traffic engineering
administrations into engineering departments were successful.
As vehicle registration soared traffic problems became complex
and the traffic engineering profession gained recognition
as an important function of transportation.
The City of Chicago had already established itself
as a pioneer in traffic engineering with a separate department
within the public works administration. In addition, it maintained
a large traffic engineering department within the Chicago
Park District that had jurisdiction over the many miles of
boulevards including the north and south Outer Drive. When
the Park District Police and Engineering Departments merged
with the City of Chicago, it created the largest traffic engineering
administration in the United States under the direction of
Leslie J. Sorenson, one of the pioneer members of ITE.
As the ITE membership grew, it was apparent that
the national organization should form local chapters. The
Washington, D.C. Chapter was one of the first to seek admission
as a District Chapter. In 1947, the Chicago area membership
represented approximately 10% of the national, and the plan
for a district began to develop. At the invitation of Matt
Sielski, a group of traffic engineers met on the 38th floor
of the Opera Building in the Electrical Club to discuss the
organization of a district chapter. The luncheon was sponsored
by William Abbott, representative of Automatic Signal Corporation.
Among those in attendance were Richard Fend, William McConochie,
Ralph Gross, William Marston, Matt Sielski, and Ralph Michel.
At this meeting it was proposed that the district be identified
as the Midwest Section and it membership to include the following
states: Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska,
Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota and Indiana. Approximately
70 active members resided in the ten-state area. At the meeting
Matt Sielski was chosen as Acting President pending the first
meeting of the Section.
The first meeting of the Midwest Section was
held at the Engineers Club on April 17, 1947. The dinner meeting
was well attended and included members from Wisconsin, downstate
Illinois, Indiana and Missouri. At that meeting Vic Hofer
was elected President, Stan Baker, Vice President and Matt
Sielski, Secretary-Treasurer. At this meeting the By-Laws
were approved and submitted to the Board of Directors, which
subsequently approved them on June 19, 1947.
Subsequent dinner meetings were held bi-monthly
at the Engineers Club. All were well attended. As the membership
of ITE grew, it became apparent that the Midwest Section included
too large a geographical area and consequently the section
was eventually dissolved into other groups such as the Indiana
Section and the Movite Section.
In 1961 the Midwest Section membership was reduced
to Illinois and Wisconsin. Its roster included a total of
150 active members. In the subsequent year, the Illinois Section
was formed to include only members residing in Illinois. From
the 1960's to the 2000's, the membership has continued to
grow. In 2002, the membership of the Illinois Section exceeded
350, with over 11 Board positions and 18 committees.
The activities of the Illinois Section are a result
of its various committees. These committees involve technical/social
programs, student activities, legislative affairs, professional
development and communications to the membership. The committees
provide the members the opportunity for professional growth
while also assisting the Section in its activities. The ILITE
Committees are divided into five groups:
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