New Tollway Chief Steps Down

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Dec 18, 2008 11:20PM

Jeffrey Dailey, the new executive director of the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, has stepped down from his post after a month on the job, possibly stemming from the arrest of Governor Rod Blagojevich. Per the Trib:

In the complaint filed by U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald last week, Blagojevich is alleged to have pressured an unidentified highway contractor to raise $500,000 for his campaign fund before he announced a $1.8 billion tollway construction program.

The tollway executive director is appointed by the governor and the tollway chairman. If Blagojevich were to resign or be removed from office, Dailey might be subject to the state's "revolving door prohibition," said a source familiar with the agency's operations. Illinois ethics law requires state employees to wait a year before going to work for companies they once hired or regulated.

In his resignation letter, Dailey told tollway board Chairman John Mitola he wanted "to have the option of pursuing an engineering or transportation planning position."