Tollway reports 2024 revenue above forecast; operating and capital variances highlighted

At the March 20, 2025 meeting of the Finance and Audit Committee of the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, Chief Financial Officer Kathy Williams told directors that 2024 revenue finished above forecast while certain operating and capital expenditures came in below budget.

Williams said year‑to‑date revenue exceeded the forecast by $48 million, or 2.9 percent, driven by higher toll revenue, stronger investment income and a settlement received in December. Toll revenue for the year was $1,439,000,000, up about 0.8 percent versus forecast; passenger car revenue was cited at $697,000,000, a 3.1 percent increase over 2023 but about 4 percent below 2019 levels. Commercial vehicle revenue was reported at $742,000,000, up 5.6 percent from 2023 and 13.3 percent above 2019 levels.

Williams said passenger car revenue outperformed expectations in the fourth quarter — up 4.6 percent from forecast — and attributed some of the gain to milder December weather, citing the authority's traffic engineer, CDM Smith. She said evasion‑recovery and investment income also exceeded forecasts; investment income was about $13 million above budget. The authority received an $8.1 million share in December as part of a larger $33 million state settlement with financial institutions over variable‑rate bond practices.

On expenses, Williams reported operating expenditures were about $30 million (6.7 percent) below budget, crediting reorganization of certain functions, lower equipment maintenance and timing of contracts. Payroll costs were reported as roughly in line with budget overall, but higher wages were driven by severance payouts for SEIU employees and offset by unfilled positions. Contractual services were about $20 million below budget, group insurance and other insurance lines were lower than expected, and equipment maintenance and materials/supplies were also below forecast primarily because of timing differences.

Capital spending was variably timed across projects. Overall capital expenditures were below budget by roughly $13 million (1.3 percent). Williams said reimbursements were slightly above forecast by $8.2 million; the tri‑state program was $58 million higher than forecast because of timing on construction at the I‑290/I‑88 interchange and related widening between Saint Charles Road and North Avenue and between Flat Creek and Cermak Road. Those increases were partially offset by systemwide project underspending of about $33.9 million and lower‑than‑expected spending on the Elgin O'Hare Western Access project (about $38 million under projection), driven by timing of locally led construction, right‑of‑way and utility payments.

Directors asked whether the authority was already seeing savings from its new relationship with the Illinois State Police. Williams said it was too early to quantify savings but that initial information suggests results will be “consistent with what we budgeted for 2025.”

The committee did not take final board‑level action on budgets or spending at the meeting; the presentation was an informational year‑end review and part of regular finance oversight.

The committee approved routine minutes from its Feb. 20, 2025 meeting during the same session.