Two local leaders named to state tollway board

New appointments to the Illinois Toll Highway Authority board include a local business leader and local labor leader.

Chicagoland Speedway President Scott Paddock and Gary Perinar, executive secretary-treasurer for the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters, now are on the board that oversees the state tollway system.

Their appointments come at a time when there have been some calls to turn the local stretch of Interstate 80 into a tollway to provide funding for bridge and road upgrades.

Neither Paddock nor Perinar could be reached for comment Friday.

John Greuling, president and chief executive officer for the Will County Center for Economic Development, said the appointment of Paddock is “tremendous for Will County.”

Greuling has worked with Paddock, who is a former chairman of the CED board and a member of the I-80 Coalition that was formed last year under CED leadership. The coalition was created to advocate for more funding to improve I-80.

“I think he’ll be a great addition to the tollway board with his background and his experience,” Greuling said. “He knows the issues in Will County.”

Perinar, in addition to his executive position with the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters, is a 40-year member of Carpenters Local 174 based in Joliet. He also is third-generation business representative with the union, according to the news release announcing the appointments.

“Our new leadership will uphold the highest ethical standards, deliver the value to taxpayers and serve Illinoisans in every corner of our state,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said in the release. “I’m proud to usher in a new wave of transparency and accountability at this critical agency.”

Perinar is one of two union leaders named to the seven-member board.

The other is Jim Sweeney, president-business manager of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150.

Local 150 has been advocating for improvements in the state highway system through its Fight Back Fund.

The union recently bought electronic billboard space in Joliet to send a message to motorists cautioning them as they approach the I-80 bridge over the Des Plaines River. The messages were set up after bridge became the subject of recent news stories because of inspection reports noting its deteriorated condition.