Commending Secretary Omer Osman for 35 Years of Service to the Illinois Department of Transportation

Floor Speech

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Mr. LaHOOD. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor and congratulate Omer Osman on his retirement from the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) after 35 years of service to the people of Illinois.

Secretary Omer Osman was born in Kerma, Sudan, the son of Zumrawi and Fatima Osman. He was the fourth of eleven children, all receiving a college education. Osman received his bachelor's degree in engineering from Southern University followed by his master's degree in engineering from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois.

Beginning as a civil engineering trainee in Peoria, Osman quickly ascended to the position of District Bureau Chief of Operations, followed by Region 5 Engineer, Chief Engineer, Director of Highways, and Deputy Secretary. On June 1, 2019, he was confirmed as the Secretary of the Illinois Department of Transportation, the thirteenth person to hold that title and the first person of color.

In his capacity as Secretary of Transportation, Osman had the responsibility for oversight of 80 airports, an expansive waterway infrastructure, 300,000 miles of roads and bridges, and a railroad system that transports 25 percent of the country's freight passing through Illinois.

Secretary Osman is credited by the Administration with increasing diversiety at all levels of the Department of Transportation, as well as improving access to department partnerships for minority and female owned businesses.

Secretary Osman's accomplishments during his tenure leading the Illinois Department of Transportation include, but are not limited to, the new Mississippi River Bridge and Route 24 widening, relocation of Illinois Route 3 in East St. Louis, the Interstate 74 Mississippi River Bridge in the Quad Cities, the interstate 74/155 interchange reconstruction in Morton, the Interstate 74 Murray Baker Bridge, the Illinois Route 13 expansion between Carbondale and Interstate 57 in Marion, and the rehabilitation of the US 150 Illinois River Bridge in Peoria.

Secretary Omer Osman will forever be known as one of Peoria's greatest public servants. It is my privilege to congratulate him on his retirement and we wish him, his wife Dr. Magda Osman, sons Khalid and Waleed, and daughter Nadeen the best in the future.

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