Federation of Women Contractors Honors Illinois Tollway with Infrastructure Investment Award
2025-06-11
The Federation of Women Contractors honored the Illinois Tollway with this year’s Infrastructure Investment Award during its 2025 WomenRock Awards Reception, an annual event celebrating women-owned businesses and women executives who are reshaping the future of construction through innovation, partnership and inclusion.
The FWC singled out the Tollway for delivering its Move Illinois Program. The 16-year, $15 billion capital program isn’t just rebuilding and expanding the Tollway system, it’s creating greater economic opportunities for hundreds of small, diverse, women- and veteran-owned firms, as well as thousands of traditionally underrepresented individuals seeking careers in construction.
“The Federation of Women Contractors is proud to honor the Illinois Tollway with the Infrastructure Investment Award for its leadership and measurable impact in reshaping who builds Illinois,” said FWC Executive Director Jaemie Neely. “Through Move Illinois, the Tollway exemplifies how infrastructure investment can be a powerful engine for economic growth, equity and opportunity – opening doors for women-owned businesses, creating access for diverse contractors and investing in a more equitable construction industry.”
“The Illinois Tollway is honored to receive this recognition for Move Illinois from an organization that has been at the forefront of empowering women in construction,” said Illinois Tollway Executive Director Cassaundra Rouse. “Together, we are building more than just roads, we are building economic opportunities through strategic investments in transportation infrastructure.”
The Illinois Tollway’s 16-year, $15 billion capital program, Move Illinois: The Illinois Tollway Driving the Future, is improving mobility, relieving congestion, reducing pollution, creating as many as 165,220 jobs and linking economies throughout the region. The first 13 years of Move Illinois are on schedule and within budget, delivering the new Illinois Route 390 Tollway and a rebuilt and widened Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90) with its new SmartRoad corridor, as well as opening a new interchange connecting the Tri-State Tollway (I-294) to I-57. Progress continues on projects addressing the remaining needs of the existing Tollway system, delivering the new I-490 Tollway Project and reconstructing the Central Tri-State Tollway (I-294).
Through Move Illinois, the Tollway has:
· Committed more than $13.3 billion across nearly 900 construction and professional engineering services contracts
· Invested more than $3.1 billion with small, diverse and veteran-owned firms
· Executed more than 260 Partnering for Growth mentor-protégé agreements generating nearly $200 million for protégé firms
Looking ahead, the Tollway identified some priorities and projects to bridge the gap between Move Illinois and next long-term capital program.
Approved by the Illinois Tollway Board of Directors In December 2024, Bridging the Future is a seven-year, $2 billion plan designed to continue infrastructure improvements, bridging the gap between the agency’s current and next long-term capital program. Based on stakeholder feedback and engagement, Bridging the Future is addressing ongoing modernization initiatives and continuing to support investments in the people and firms working to improve regional mobility.
This work highlights the Tollway’s continued commitment to building a more inclusive and equitable infrastructure industry – one where women-led firms have a seat at the table and the resources to thrive.