PEORIA MAGAZINE October 2022

Omer Osman at a 2019 press conference announcing the Rebuild Illinois capital plan. Gov. J.B. Pritzker stands behind him

Carbondale,” he said. As a guiding principle, “department wise, our number one mission is preserving the infrastructure that we have today,” said Osman, adding that data – “specific input safety-wise, traffic-wise, investment wise” — drives the department’s decision-making like never before.While there are regional considerations, “at the end of the day … what’s in the best interests of the entire state of Illinois?” Meanwhile, IDOT is whittling down the state’s backlog of projects, some of which have been waiting on funding for decades. There also is a newemphasis on multi-modal transportation that allows access to hikers and bikers, such as the protected path that will accompany Peo ria’s eastbound McClugage Bridge span. That’s not to say Osman isn’t partial to some projects. In the Peoria area specifically, community leaders are pushing for passenger rail. That has a formidable price tag, into the billions, whichOsman defends as an investment of statewide impact that benefits not just Peoria but many communities between here and Chicago, with improvement/ replacement of 700 to 800 miles of track that will aid not just passenger but freight rail for decades to come, “kind of like redoing 55 from Bloomington all the way to Chicago.” Meanwhile, “Route 29 was my baby. I want Route 29 to be fixed through Peoria Heights/Peoria”, he said, with U.S. 24 due for a long-awaited widening to four lanes. UNEXPECTED CHALLENGES “When I took over, the number one pri ority was coming upwith an infrastruc ture bill,” said Osman, who helped Gov. Pritzker provide accurate information to lawmakers and communicate priorities. Then came COVID, and negotiating with the unprecedented nature of all that. “I’ll never forget March 17 (2020),” he said. “I had to send everybody home.” Work on some projects came to a halt, deadlines were missed, but it was critical that commerce continue, ensuring that the goods that make society function could be safely and efficiently delivered – to hospitals, to grocery stores, etc. – with IDOT wholly committed to making that happen, in part by keeping the state’s 42 rest areas open 24-7 for tired truckers. Keeping up with technology and innovation, recruiting top talent, and diversifying the staff at IDOT remain top-of-the-list missions, said Osman. Illinoisans see the final product. What the public doesn’t see is the core planning, design and problem-solving that go on behind the scenes to bring everything together. “Not being cheesy, the absolute dedication of department employees is top-notch,” he said. The ultimate goal? “I want the state to still be identified as the true transportation hub of the nation, and we are,” he said. PERSONAL/PROFESSIONAL Magda is Osman’s wife of 24 years, a medical doctor and mom to the couple’s three children ages 15 to 20 — sons Khalid and Waleed and daughter Nadeen. “My backbone … is my wife, no question,” he said.

The Osman family

Osmancounts as professionalmentors Risinger and former IDOT bosses and colleagues Joe Crowe, AnnetteMills and Jim Easterly. He has big, nice offices in Springfield and Chicago but continues to sleep at home in Peoria, much of the time. “I’m going to do this as long as the governor wants me,” Osman said. “This governor has been an infrastructure governor …He literally gaveme billions of dollars to play with … This is fun.” What wouldOsman’s young Sudanese self think of his accomplishments today? “Where I grewup…weareanextremely proud people, culturally. We believe in self-reliance. We believe in pushing the limits,” he said. Whatever recognition he gets back in his homeland reflects well on “your family … your region ... your values. “Toseeasmileononeofmycountrymen that I made it to the top – ‘This is Omer, the son of so and so’ – that my dad did a good job raising me … That means the world to me.”

Mike Bailey is editor in chief of Peoria Magazine

28 OCTOBER 2022 PEORIA MAGAZINE