Governor Formalizes IDOT's Role as State Safety Oversight Agency

SPRINGFIELD - Governor Bruce Rauner today signed Executive Order 16-07 formalizing the Illinois Department of Transportation's (IDOT) role as the State Safety Oversight (SSO) Agency for Illinois public transit to codify previous designations.

Federal law requires each state to designate a SSO agency. Currently, the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) and the St. Clair County Transit District (SCCTD) have acted as the safety organizations for their geographic areas, however, neither is able to act as the statewide agency.

Existing state law grants IDOT authorization to improve transport safety statewide, and the previous administration designated Illinois as the SSO agency in 2014. The federal government, however, requested administrative action or legislation to formally assume the role of the SSO agency in Illinois. Under the Executive Order, the designation of IDOT as the SSO Agency for northeast Illinois will take effect on July 1, 2016, and for the Metro East area on January 1, 2017.

If no action is taken by July 1, 2016, Illinois could be at risk of losing nearly $4 million in federal funds for safety oversight or applying for future federal transit safety funds. The Senate passed legislation to codify IDOT's role as the SSO agency unanimously, but the House of Representatives failed to act by the federal deadline. The Executive Order and intergovernmental agreements between IDOT, the RTA, and the SCCTD will satisfy federal requirements in the absence of legislation.