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IDOT Blog – Monday, September 29, 2025
Employee Spotlight: Bureau Chief of State Affairs Kaitlyn Mitchum
Bureau Chief of State Affairs Kaitlyn Mitchum has been with the department since January 2024. Each day she learns from experts on the IDOT team as she works with the General Assembly.
Here are some of her thoughts about her job and life outside of IDOT.
Tell me about your current job?
I liaise with the legislative branch on behalf of the agency by working closely with members of the General Assembly, lobbyists and stakeholders on negotiating bills, testifying in committee, tracking bills and researching policies as necessary.
Most important impact of your work?
Protection of investment in the state’s transportation system.
Favorite part of the job?
Working with legislators and advocates with the common goal of improving transportation policy in the state of Illinois.
Anything to tell us about your office?
The Office of Legislative Affairs is important because we help navigate important legislation through the legislative process as a whole, from collecting and creating legislative proposals and negotiating to finding a House and Senate sponsor, to testifying in committee, to watching floor debate and providing talking points and scripts for members, to tracking the bill all the way up to the governor’s office for signature, and then coming back to the department for implementation.
What prepared you for your current role?
I spent time in the Illinois House of Representatives on the Speaker’s staff in the Research and Appropriations Department working on labor and transportation policy and as the lead capital budget analyst.
What do you like to do outside the office?
I love to travel. I lived and went to school in Denmark for a year as a foreign exchange student through Rotary International as a senior in high school.