ILITE Section Sponsorship Program 2020

The Illinois Section of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ILITE) is excited to once again offer an opportunity to sponsor the section for 2020. Through our sponsorship program we offer unique opportunities which will benefit your organization and help further ITE's goals for 2020. We're reaching out to you to ask that your organization partner with Illinois ITE in advancing these goals.

In 2019, ILITE completed another successful year with the section sponsorship program, and expanded to many new corporate partners! Corporate sponsorship continues to be paramount in ensuring that meaningful programs and the scholarship program can continue. ILITE prides itself on its ability to provide scholarships to students pursuing studies in the transportation field, and with the help of our corporate sponsors, our student scholarships continue to thrive.

ITE has long striven to be an organization which promotes leadership, networking, and education. Each year, our officers and committee volunteers spend countless hours to unite members of your organization with engineers and other transportation professionals in the spirit of these objectives.

Furthermore, by the end of this year, ILITE will have provided for its network of transportation professionals:

  • 3 technical luncheons

  • 6 discussion-based webinars

  • 3 social events

  • Annual golf outing (joint event with WTS)

  • Annual banquet

  • Student Day career fair and networking event

The sponsorship summary and form detailing benefits associated with the different levels of financial support can be found here. To ensure you receive all listed benefits for 2020, we request that you send in your completed form by Friday, December 27, 2019. Additionally, in the event that levels of sponsorship fill up, we will determine order by date of response with completed form.

We hope that you will consider joining the ILITE team in 2020. If you have any questions, please contact the ILITE Sponsorship Chair, Bryce Wegner, at 847-407-5260 or IllinoisITE+sponsorship@gmail.com.

ITE/WTS/ITS Autonomous Vehicle Luncheon

The Illinois Section of ITE was proud to co-host a luncheon panel event with ITS Midwest and WTS Greater Chicago Chapter on June 27th.  The panel, moderated by Ann Schlenker of Argonne National Laboratory's Center for Transportation Research, focused on the opportunities and barriers for the future deployment of autonomous vehicles, particularly in Illinois.  The panel included:

  • Rep. Michael Zalewski: Illinois State Representative from the 23rd District

  • Jerry Quandt: Executive Director from the Illinois Autonomous Vehicles Association

  • Aimee Lee: Senior Manager of Strategic Planning from the Illinois Tollway

  • Terry Heffron: ITS Unit Manager from IDOT’s ITS Program Office

Our speakers discussed priorities, leadership opportunities, and the challenges ahead in terms of AV deployment.  Representative Zalewski, who has sponsored two AV bills in the Illinois assembly, provided key insights as to how the Illinois legislature is working to tackle this constantly changing topic.  Jerry, who has led ILAVA for its 18-month existence, described his organization's role in facilitating the conversations between the private vehicle manufacturing industry, the public sector (DOTs), and the legislative arm of government.  Aimee and Terry both dove into what their agencies are doing to prepare, and what other agencies can look for as AV technologies and policies move forward.

In the years ahead, there are many questions which still need to be answered:

  1. What will the vehicle ownership model look like when AV technology becomes more mainstream?

  2. What kind of disruption will AV technology have on freight and mass transit?

  3. What role does government play as things move forward? How much do states take on versus the federal government?

  4. Will AV technologies deploy in an equitable fashion?

Thank you so much to our moderator, Ann, our panel, and our 100+ attendees for making this event such a success!