Illinoisans Get National Honors

Two Illinoisans recently received honors for their contributions to engineering from the Reston, Va.-based American Society of Civil Engineers.

James Michels, founder and president of Sugar Grove-based Engineering Enterprises Inc., has received the 2004 Edmund Friedman Professional Recognition Award for advancing the science and professionalism of engineering.

He has managed the planning, design and construction of waterworks, waste water systems and transportation projects for 40 years. Michels also serves as a technical advisor to the Illinois Department of Transportation, sponsors a scholarship and has coauthored several books.

John Haltiwanger, emeritus professor of civil engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, was recently named an honorary member of ASCE for contributing to security of the country through research in protective structures.

Both were honored during the ASCE's recent convention in Baltimore.

Toll Gets Kudo For Best Practices

A key component of the Illinois Tollway's reform agenda recently received the toll industry's top award from the Washington, D.C.-based International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association.

The Illinois Tollway received the 2004 IBTTA Toll Excellence Award in the Administration Category, and the authority's reform efforts were singled out from programs from North and South America, Europe and Asia.

The Illinois Tollway was honored for implementing an enhanced Violation Enforcement System that has become a model for the industry. In January 2003, the Tollway began imposing stiff fines on toll scofflaws on behalf of the 97 percent of customers who pay.

The award stated the VES program allowed the Tollway to "reduce toll evasion by a full percentage point, recoup lost revenues and renew public trust and confidence in the Illinois Toll industry."

Database Online of Construction Recyclers

The U.S. General Services Administration has recently updated its online Construction Waste Management Database to assist the building industry in reducing construction and demolition waste.

Recyclers of construction and demolition waste may advertise their services free on this site. Access the database at http://cwm.wbdg.org to include your company's information.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that each year 136 million tons of construction and demolition waste are generated in the United States.

To assist end-users, the database has also been improved to allow searches by state and zip code and by over 15 commonly recycled construction waste materials.

NAWIC Has New Officers

The O'Hare Suburban of Illinois Chapter 194 of the National Association of Women in Construction has announced three new members of its Board of Directors: