IDOT spends $10 Million for Land, Appraisal, Engineering & Testing Fees

The Illinois Department of Transportation spent over $10 million for land, appraisal, engineering & testing fees for highways and aeronautics in 2009.

by Amanda Griffin-Johnson

Using our transparency website, IllinoisOpenGov.org, I found that by the time of our Freedom of Information Act request in 2009, the Department of Transportation had spent $10,761,211.74 on “land, appraisal, engineering & testing fees.” Of that total, $7,653,106.80 was for highways and $3,108,104.94 was for aeronautics.

There were 325 vendors listed for these expenses, and payments ranged from $4 to almost $3 million. Fifteen vendors received more than $100,000 in 2009. The three vendors that received the most were Hanson Professional Services Inc ($2,903,545.96), Wheatland Title Companies Inc ($1,151,953.51), and Bernardin Lochmueller & Assoc ($1,062,310.00).

To find these expenditures on the IllinoisOpenGov site, go to “Checks to Businesses & People” and scroll down “Category of Spending” to “Land Appraisal Engineering & Testing Fees Aeronautics” and “Land, Appraisal, Engineering&Testing Fees-Highways.”