|
Illinois State Freight Advisory Council Holds January Meeting
On Wednesday, the Illinois State Freight Advisory Council (ISFAC) held a meeting at the IDOT Hanley building in Springfield. For those unaware, first established in 2013, ISFAC was created to to provide a standing forum for coordination of freight multimodal planning in the State of Illinois in order to enhance the benefits of every mode, improve intermodal connection, and sustain the State’s position as the primary freight hub of the United States. The Chamber has a spot on the Council steering committee.
The meeting started with an in-person address by Secretary Osman. The Secretary was optimistic about the future of project funding for the Department which is currently working on the next multimodal improvement program for FY2024-2029.
A state and federal update was provided by Office of Legislative Affairs Acting Director, Matt McAnarney. He stated that IDOT would have only a minor state legislative agenda this Spring.
Samantha Bingham, the Clean Transportation Program Director for the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) gave a presentation on the City's fleet electrification plans. Bingham said the the City is currently seeking 2023 participants for the "Delivering Zero Emissions Communities Fleet Program" as well as the "Drive Clean Chicago-Drive Clean Truck Program."
The meeting concluded with updates on the 2023 Illinois Statewide Freight Plan and the Illinois Competitive Freight Program. Concerning the State Freight Plan, IDOT we should expect to see a final product this Spring. There were over 30 stakeholder meetings on the freight plan and the Department is now finalizing recommendations and will soon conduct internal IDOT review. After this all occurs, projects will be selected to develop the freight investment plan.
Competitive Freight Program highlights: $200 million in total funding
- Approximately $50 million per year FY2023-2026
- $35 million (70%) per year for Highway Projects
- $15 million (30%) per year for Intermodal (Rail & Water) Projects
- 35 applications were submitted requesting $405 million in project funding (twice as much as available funds)
- Average request is $11.6 million.
- 25 highway and 10 intermodal project applications
- $3.96 billion in total project value on all applications submitted
Competitive Freight Program Timeline:
- Applications were due on December 19, 2022
- ISFAC Review, January 18, 2023
- IDOT Finalize Rankings, February 2023
- Project Announcements, Spring 2023
For those interested, you can find the Chicago Commercial EV Readiness Guidelines presented by Bingham here.
IDOT and CDOT reach agreement to streamline implementation of safety improvements
The Illinois Department of Transportation and the Chicago Department of Transportation have come to a new agreement that will streamline and accelerate the process of delivering proven and scalable safety measures on local roads and state routes within the City of Chicago. The Memorandum of Understanding, signed by Illinois Transportation Secretary Omer Osman and CDOT Commissioner Gia Biagi, establishes preapproval of certain infrastructure designs related to Chicago’s urban street context to improve safety for people walking, biking and driving.
The improved collaboration between CDOT and IDOT ultimately will help to streamline the approval and delivery process for implementing proven safety countermeasures to help address the trend of rising traffic fatalities in Chicago, Illinois and across the country, particularly among bicyclists and pedestrians. The MOU will go into effect immediately and establishes:
- A standardized list of traffic safety infrastructure designs routinely submitted by CDOT that will not be subject to comprehensive IDOT review prior to installation. This will allow the city to design and self-certify curb cuts and other sidewalk improvements to make streets more walkable and accommodating for nonvehicular traffic, establishes 10-foot-wide vehicular lanes as the minimum lane width.
- Clarified “Design Vehicle” standards to emphasize pedestrian safety at intersections. A design vehicle is the largest vehicle that is likely to use the facility with considerable frequency and its selection can significantly impact a road’s design and geometry. By agreeing to a more appropriate design vehicle for urban streets, certain state routes will be able to add safety features, such as curb extensions and bump-outs that shorten crossing distances for pedestrians.
- An IDOT-CDOT working group to help formulate future agreements and enhance existing interagency collaboration.
The MOU applies to the approximately 400 miles of road that are under state jurisdiction in Chicago, excluding expressways. These include some of the most heavily traveled streets in the City.
Legislative Update - Bill Introductions
HB 9, Abandoned Property was introduced. This bill Creates the Blight Mitigation Act. Provides that a property owner that lives within one-fourth of a mile of and on the same street as residential real property that has been abandoned may, after the property has been continuously abandoned for 12 months, petition the court for title to the land. Provides that the court shall order that title to the real property be transferred to the petitioner if the petitioner presents clear and convincing evidence that: (1) the property is abandoned; (2) the owner of the property has been made a party to the action in accordance with the Code of Civil Procedure and court rules; and (3) the property is not: listed for sale on a multiple listing service; being maintained in receivership status; or under contract for sale.
HB 1105, Eminent Domain was introduced. This bill provides that property belonging to a public utility that provides water or sewer service and that is subject to the jurisdiction of the Illinois Commerce Commission may not be taken or damaged by eminent domain without prior approval of the Illinois Commerce Commission. Excludes eminent domain actions commenced prior to the effective date of the amendatory Act.
HB 1110, Digital Drivers License was introduced. This bill defines "digitized driver's license" and provides that a person may drive a motor vehicle if in possession of a digitized driver's license. Provides that a person shall not be issued a citation for driving a motor vehicle without a physical driver's license in his or her possession if the person presents a digitized driver's license to a law enforcement officer in connection with a traffic stop or checkpoint. Provides that the display of a digitized driver's license shall not serve as consent or authorization for a law enforcement officer, or any other person, to search, view, or access any other data or application on the mobile device, and that the fee to install the application to display a digitized driver's license shall not exceed $6.
HB 1165, SW IL Development Authority was introduced. This bill amends the Southwestern Illinois Development Authority Act. Adds Monroe County and Randolph County to the territory of the Southwestern Illinois Development Authority. Makes conforming changes. Allows the Authority to also enter into intergovernmental agreements with Bond, Clinton, Monroe, and Randolph counties, in addition to other entities (currently, the only counties included are Madison and St. Clair counties).
HB 1166, Procurement/Equal Pay Certificate was introduced. This bill amends the Illinois Procurement Code. Provides that each bid or offer submitted on or after the effective date shall include a copy of the bidder's, offeror's, vendor's, or contractor's valid equal pay registration certificate if the bidder, offeror, vendor, or contractor is required to obtain an equal pay registration certificate.
HB 1232, Water Utilities Referendum was introduced. This bill says that in provisions concerning procedures for a large public utility to acquire a water or sewer utility, provides that if the water or sewer utility being acquired is owned by the State or a political subdivision of the State, a referendum will be required to approve the acquisition of the water or sewer utility by the large public utility (rather than only requiring a public meeting and publication of the terms of acquisition in a newspaper of general circulation in the area that the water or sewer utility operates).
HB 1236 Counties Competitive Bidding was introduced. This bill provides that, in determining the lowest responsible bidder, a county board of a county with fewer than 2,000,000 inhabitants shall for certain procurements take into consideration, among other things, the bidder's active participation in an apprenticeship program registered with the United States Department of Labor.
Rulemaking
There was rulemaking of note for this Council in the January 20th edition of the Illinois Register.
DFPR adopted amendments to the Parts titled The Professional Engineering Practice Act of 1989 (68 IAC 1380; 46 Ill Reg 11151) and The Structural Engineering Practice Act of 1989 (68 IAC 1480; 46 Ill Reg 11220), both effective 1/ 5/23, that streamline the application and examination approval process by allowing candidates to directly register for and pass required exams through a national exam entity before applying to DFPR for licensure. Other provisions in both rulemakings clarify acceptable education courses and experience; add sexual harassment prevention training and professional ethics training to CE requirements; align standards for professional conduct to national standards; clarify provisions for limited liability company registration; allow partial carryover of CE to the next renewal period; cap the number of professional development hours that can be earned in a 24-hour period; and update the historical summary of previous requirements. Amendments to Part 1380 also include all Engineering Accreditation Commission/ Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology - approved programs, whether completed in the U.S. or a foreign country, among DFPR’s approved programs.
The Part 1480 rulemaking additionally allows the required 18 hours of structural engineering coursework to be earned in a bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree program (formerly, these hours had to be earned in a bachelor’s degree program); reflects changes to national exams; and repeals an obsolete Section on seismic design. Changes to both rulemakings since 1st Notice include corrections, clarifications and updates requested by stakeholders. Professional and structural engineers and their employers are affected.
Questions/requests for copies of the 5 DFPR rulemakings: Craig Cellini, DFPR, 320 W. Washington St., 2nd Floor, Springfield IL 62786, 217/785- 0813, fax 217/557-4451.
| 
