Our Story

Uncover IDOT’s mission and vision, showcasing our passion and commitment for creating a safe and efficient multimodal transportation system for everyone.

It is our mission to provide safe, cost-effective transportation for Illinois in ways that enhance quality of life, promote economic prosperity and demonstrate respect for our environment.

IDOT's roots can be traced back more than a century. For as long as there have been cars, highways and air traffic, there has been an Illinois transportation agency. The rich history of our department spreads across the entire state. From massive bridges spanning the Mississippi and Illinois rivers to winding roads carved into limestone bluffs. From two-lane roads tracing through rural corn and soybean fields to dirt and grass landing strips to the steel and concrete jungle of O’Hare International Airport, and on every mile of interstate and railroad that made Illinois what it is today, the mark of an Illinois transportation agency can be seen and felt.

Over the past century, Illinois businesses, residents and visiting travelers have seen the steady development of one of the largest and most effective multimodal transportation systems in the nation including roads, passenger and freight railroads, transit and commuter services, bikeways, airports, waterways and canals, port districts, and intermodal facilities. During just the past 50 years, Illinois’ geographical location near the center of the nation and the diversity of statewide transportation options have made the Illinois multimodal network a keystone and a vital hub for national and regional travel and freight movement.

Each day, IDOT strives to ensure that destinations are reached in the safest, quickest, easiest and most comfortable and cost-effective manner. We plan, program, design, implement, construct, maintain, respond, repair, rebuild and innovate — it is a cycle.

And though IDOT does this very well, we will strive to do it differently — in a way that is even more proactive and intuitive. In a way that brings the Illinois transportation infrastructure into the 22nd century before we get there, because the next transportation revolution is due now — in the United States and in Illinois. It is IDOT’s vision to transform transportation for tomorrow.

This multimodal transportation vision joins together concepts such as interconnectivity, system preservation, innovation and global competitiveness, allowing them to work together in harmony with each other. It helps connect Illinois’ most rural and remote communities downstate to its urban transportation networks while changing and transforming the quality of life in communities all along the way and creating an inclusive transportation system.

With transforming transportation for tomorrow as the foundation of Illinois’ transportation vision, IDOT is confident that we can create a safe and sustainable system by connecting and integrating even the most individualized communities as one.

Because at IDOT, we believe that through continuous and proper system preservation and utilizing new and sophisticated technologies, Illinois can serve as a more effective platform for economic growth and development.

With this concept in mind, IDOT will strive to strengthen, maintain and expand the Illinois transportation system, all while considering trends in the transportation industry, population, freight demands, mobility needs, safety factors, interconnectivity, business needs and housing development.