On June 9th, IL-ITE hosted a luncheon featuring Holly Bieneman from the Illinois Department of Transportation. The luncheon was held at Francesca's on Chestnut in downtown Chicago in the Mag Mile area, and consisted of networking, a presentation from Holly, and some excellent Italian comfort food.

Holly is the Director of the Office of Planning and Programming at the Illinois Department of Transportation, and she led a discussion on upcoming developments on the planning front. Topics included the future of EV infrastructure systems on our roadways, revenue streams in a changing funding model, governmental staffing in a post-covid world, and more. The luncheon was open to questions, and there were no shortage of them!

We thank Holly for presenting to our section, and thank everyone who attended for making a pleasant and informative luncheon on a sunny Thursday afternoon.

On May 28th, IL-ITE participated in Engineering Fest at the Chicago Architecture Center. The event was focused on teaching STEM principles to students from ages 8-14, and had as many as 110 kids pass through the exhibits. The theme was “Access to Experts” and featured volunteers from the design and engineering fields. Activities included bridge building, LEGO construction, structures lab, photo booth, simulated traffic signal (wherein participants learned the how a traffic controller thinks and operates), and more.

IL-ITE had members representing the Section as volunteers (Josh Harris and Tyler Krage), and were able to talk with students about what their days look like, how they got there, and some cool things that they get to work on. IL-ITE was pleased to be a part of this event, and we look forward to participating in the event next year to help inspire the next generation of transportation professionals.