Illinois Tollway Executive Director Cassaundra Rouse Shines as WTS Woman of the Year
Congratulations to Illinois Tollway Executive Director Cassaundra Rouse for earning the Woman of the Year Award from both the WTS Greater Chicago Chapter and WTS International.
Rouse gains this double distinction by keeping diversity and inclusion at the heart of the Tollway’s long-term strategies and for her leadership in opening doors for women and minorities across the transportation industry.
"Cassaundra Rouse exemplifies the qualities of a forward-thinking and results-oriented leadership that make her worthy of our Woman of the Year Award,” said WTS International Board Chair and Lumenor Consulting Group CEO Bridgette Beato. “Her trailblazing efforts have not only advanced transportation infrastructure but have also inspired innovation, collaboration and progress across the transportation sector.”
Added WTS Greater Chicago President Mary Lou Kutska: “Cassaundra’s leadership is an inspiration to women across the transportation industry. Her commitment to excellence and inclusion has elevated the status and reputation of women leaders in our field and we are proud to honor her achievements.”
Rouse’s influence extends far beyond Illinois. As a board member of the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA), she works alongside global leaders to tackle the transportation industry’s biggest challenges. She also serves as vice chair of the Metropolitan Planning Organization Policy Committee for Northeastern Illinois and supports women in transportation through her roles on the WTS Greater Chicago Chapter advisory board and IBTTA’s Women in Tolling Council.
For Rouse, the Woman of the Year honor reflects a broader mission.
“I’m deeply honored to receive this recognition from WTS, which reflects both the incredible team I work with at the Illinois Tollway and the importance of creating opportunities for others,” says Rouse. “I believe that when we invest in people – whether through mentorship, education or greater access to opportunity – we build stronger communities and a better future for transportation.”
Under Rouse’s leadership, the Tollway isn’t just modernizing critical transportation infrastructure through its capital investments, it’s fueling economic development, creating jobs and driving regional growth.
A passionate advocate for equity, Rouse champions opportunities for small, diverse, women- and veteran-owned firms, as well as underrepresented individuals, to participate in Tollway projects and contracts – further strengthening the region’s economy along the way.
She also invests in the future workforce, expanding internship and outreach programs that introduce high school and college students to careers in transportation. These efforts help build a pipeline of diverse, talented professionals ready to lead the industry forward.
A proud native of Chicago’s Southland, Rouse continues to give back through her volunteer work with Jack and Jill of America and other community organizations.
The WTS Greater Chicago Chapter honored Rouse during an awards ceremony in Chicago on May 1, and WTS International celebrates her achievement during its annual conference in Toronto on May 8.
Failed to "?eval" string with this error:
---begin-message---
Syntax error in ?eval-ed string in line 1, column 53:
Lexical error: encountered "u" (117), after "\"Reaching New Milestones \\".
---end-message---
The failing expression:
==> imageJSON?eval [in template "20157#20197#1153404" at line 152, column 41]
----
FTL stack trace ("~" means nesting-related):
- Failed at: #assign imageStr = imageJSON?eval [in template "20157#20197#1153404" at line 152, column 21]
----
1<#--
2Widget templates can be used to modify the look of a
3specific application.
4
5Please use the left panel to quickly add commonly used variables.
6Autocomplete is also available and can be invoked by typing "${".
7-->
8
9<style>
10 img {
11 max-width: 100%;
12 width: auto\9;
13 height: auto;
14 vertical-align: middle;
15 border: 0;
16 -ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic;
17 }
18
19 .image-large{
20 width: 100%
21 }
22
23 .image-medium{
24 padding-top: 10px;
25 max-height: 100%;
26 }
27
28 .image-small{
29 display: block;
30 width: 100%;
31 height: 0px;
32 background-size: cover;
33 background-position: center;
34 background-repeat: no-repeat;
35 padding-bottom:100%;
36 }
37
38 .separator {
39 border-top: 1px dotted #bfbfbf !important;
40 }
41
42 /* Avoid buttons being croped in small devices*/
43 .taglib-page-iterator .lfr-pagination-buttons>li>a{
44 width: auto !important;
45 }
46
47 @media screen and (max-width: 750px) {
48 .navbar-search.pull-right{
49 max-width: 100%;
50 }
51 }
52
53 @media screen and (max-width: 979px){
54 .form-search .btn[type="submit"]{
55 display: block !important;
56 position: inherit !important;
57 margin-top: 10px !important;
58
59 -webkit-border-radius: 14px 14px 14px 14px !important;
60 -moz-border-radius: 14px 14px 14px 14px !important;
61 border-radius: 14px 14px 14px 14px !important;
62 }
63
64 .navbar-search.pull-right{
65 max-width: 90%;
66 }
67 }
68
69 .entry-content {
70 margin-bottom: 0px;
71 }
72 .entry-body p {
73 line-height: 18px;
74 margin-bottom: 10px;
75 }
76
77 .entry-date {
78 color: #999;
79 }
80 .entry-footer:after {
81 display: inline;
82 content: initial;
83 }
84
85 .pagination-bar {
86 align-items: center;
87 display: flex;
88 flex-wrap: wrap;
89 clear: both;
90 height: auto;
91 width: auto;
92 }
93
94 .pagination-bar .pagination .page-item .page-link{
95 color: #009c34;
96 }
97 .pagination-bar .pagination .page-item .page-link:hover {
98 color: #0B3D16;
99 text-decoration: none;
100 }
101 .pagination-bar .pagination .page-item .page-link:focus {
102 box-shadow: 0 0 0 0.2rem #28a7453d;
103 }
104 .pagination-bar .pagination .page-item.disabled .page-link {
105 color: #6c757d;
106 }
107 .page-link:active, .page-link.active, .nav-underline .tab.active a.page-link {
108 background-color: #009c34;
109 border-color: #009c34;
110 }
111 .entry-title h2 {
112 margin-right: 0px;
113 }
114 .page-item.active .page-link, .nav-underline .tab.active a.page-item .page-link, .page-item.show .page-link {
115 background-color: #009c34;
116 border-color: #009c34;
117 color: #FFF !important;
118 cursor: default;
119 z-index: 3;
120 }
121 .twitter-share-button.twitter-share-button-rendered.twitter-tweet-button {
122 width: initial !important;
123 }
124
125</style>
126
127
128 <#if entries?has_content>
129
130 <h3 style="color:black !important;">PREVIOUS POSTS</h3>
131
132 <#list entries as curEntry>
133 <#-- -- > ${curEntry?index} -->
134 <div class="entry col-md-12" style="padding-bottom: 10px;">
135 <div class="" style="padding-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px;">
136 <#assign
137 assetRenderer = curEntry.getAssetRenderer()
138 journalArticle = assetRenderer.getAssetObject()
139 doc = saxReaderUtil.read(journalArticle.getContentByLocale("en_US"))
140 rootElement = doc.getRootElement()
141 dynamicElements = rootElement.elements()
142 />
143
144
145
146
147 <#list dynamicElements>
148 <#items as dynamicElement>
149
150 <#if "BigImage" == dynamicElement.attributeValue("name") >
151 <#assign imageJSON = dynamicElement.element("dynamic-content").getText()>
152 <#assign imageStr = imageJSON?eval>
153 <#assign imageURL = "/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=" + imageStr.uuid+ "&groupId=" + imageStr.groupId/>
154
155
156 <div class="col-md-4 col-sm-12" style="padding-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px;">
157
158
159 <div class="image-small" style="background-image: url("${imageURL}")">
160
161 </div>
162 </div>
163
164
165
166 </#if>
167
168
169
170
171 <#if "Title" == dynamicElement.attributeValue("name") >
172 <#assign title = dynamicElement.element("dynamic-content").getText()>
173 <div class="col-md-8 col-sm-12">
174
175 <div class="entry-content">
176 <div class="entry-title">
177 <h2><a href="${themeDisplay.getPortalURL()+"/-/"+assetRenderer.getUrlTitle()}" style="color: #009c34">${title} </a></h2>
178 </div>
179 </div>
180
181
182
183 </#if>
184
185 <#if "DisplayDate" == dynamicElement.attributeValue("name") >
186 <#assign displayDate = dynamicElement.element("dynamic-content").getText()>
187
188
189 <div class="entry-footer">
190 <span class="entry-date">
191 <span class=" lfr-portal-tooltip" title="Date">
192 <img id="mefv__column1__1" src="https://www.illinoistollway.com/o/istha-public/images/common/date.png" alt="Date" title="Date">
193 <span class="taglib-text hide-accessible">Date</span>
194 </span>
195 ${displayDate}
196 </span>
197 </div>
198
199 </div>
200 </#if>
201
202 </#items>
203 <div class="col-md-12 col-sm-12">
204 <div class="separator"><!-- --></div>
205 </div>
206 </#list>
207 </div>
208 </div>
209 </#list>
210</#if>