Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – Improving both infrastructure and recruiting are among the goals for an engineering trade group which sent its members to the state Capitol.

The state’s capital construction program, said American Council of Engineering Companies of Illinois president and CEO Kevin Artl, means big numbers.

“Since the passage of Rebuild Illinois in 2019, nearly $20.8 billion of improvements have been made statewide to 21,309 lane miles of highway, 815 bridges, and 1,181 additional safety improvements ranging from routine maintenance projects and minor resurfacing to expensive interstate and bridge reconstructions,” said Artl.

The legislative wish list includes scholarship programs and incentives for employers to hire new graduates.

“There are many openings in the industry without qualified engineers to fill them,” said Laura McGovern, chair-elect of ACEC Illinois. “We support more than 182,000 jobs statewide.”