The new Illinois Tollway chief is out after less than a month on the job.
The new Illinois Tollway chief is out after less than a month on the job. Jeffrey Dailey’s resignation on Wednesday comes at a tumultuous time in state government following last week’s arrest of Gov. Rod Blagojevich on federal corruption charges that included trying to sell President-elect Barack Obama’s vacant seat in the U.S. Senate. Among other things, Blagojevich also is accused of allegedly linking work on a $1.8 billion Chicago-area tollway construction project to political contributions from a contractor. That episode referenced in the criminal complaint happened before Dailey was on the job. Dailey "wants the opportunity to pursue opportunities in the engineering or transportation fields," said Tollway spokeswoman Joelle McGinnis. Dailey’s resignation was effective immediately, McGinnis said. He started work Nov. 19. Dailey came back to Illinois after working for the North Texas Tollway Authority. He had been the Illinois Tollway’s chief engineer from 2004 to 2007. Dailey replaced Brian McPartlin in the tollway’s top job after McPartlin announced his resignation this fall to go to work for a Chicago-based architectural and engineering firm that had tollway contracts. But published reports last week said McPartlin dropped those job plans after Attorney General Lisa Madigan got involved with his request for a waiver to a state ethics law that keeps state officials from immediately going to work for companies that got state business. Dailey was disappointed to leave the tollway but wanted the chance to pursue other jobs, McGinnis said. AP ______ Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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