REPORT DIGEST

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

COMPLIANCE EXAMINATION
FOR THE TWO YEARS ENDED JUNE 30, 2018

Release Date:  July 18, 2019

FINDINGS THIS AUDIT:  10

CATEGORY:  NEW -- REPEAT -- TOTAL
Category 1:  1 -- 0 -- 1
Category 2:  4 -- 5 -- 9
Category 3:  0 -- 0 -- 0
TOTAL:  5 -- 5 -- 10

FINDINGS LAST AUDIT: 9

Category 1: Findings that are material
weaknesses in internal control and/or a
qualification on compliance with State laws
and regulations (material noncompliance).
Category 2: Findings that are significant
deficiencies in internal control and
noncompliance with State laws and
regulations.
Category 3: Findings that have no internal
control issues but are in noncompliance
with State laws and regulations.

State of Illinois, Office of the Auditor
General
FRANK J. MAUTINO, AUDITOR GENERAL

To obtain a copy of the Report contact:
Office of the Auditor General, Iles Park
Plaza, 740 E. Ash Street, Springfield, IL
62703
(217) 782-6046 or TTY (888) 261-2887

This Report Digest and Full Report are also
available on the worldwide web at
www.auditor.illinois.gov

INTRODUCTION

This digest covers our Compliance
Examination of the Department of
Transportation for the two years ended June
30, 2018.  A separate Financial Audit as of
and for the year ended June 30, 2018 was
previously released on March 26, 2019.  In
total, this report contains ten findings,
one of which was also reported in the
Financial Audit.

SYNOPSIS

• (18-2) The Department did not timely
perform inspections of bridges, or perform
required follow-up to ensure bridge
inspections occurred.
• (18-7) The Department did not maintain
adequate controls over locally held funds.
• (18-8) The Department did not adhere to
various reporting requirements established
by State law.

FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

FAILURE TO TIMELY PERFORM BRIDGE
INSPECTIONS

The Department did not timely perform
inspections of bridges, or perform required
follow-up to ensure bridge inspections
occurred.  The Department is responsible
for ensuring that all highway bridges on
public roads in the State are inspected.
The Department conducts various types of
bridge inspections and we examined the
timeliness of routine, special, underwater,
and fracture critical member inspections.

Routine inspections

A routine inspection is a regularly
scheduled inspection consisting of
observation and/or measurements needed to
determine the physical and functional
condition of the bridge, to identify any
changes from initial or previously recorded
conditions, and to ensure that the
structure continues to satisfy present
service requirements.

Using the intervals established by the
Department and allowing for the data entry
period, according to the Department’s
Illinois Structure Information System data,
as of July 1, 2018, 28 bridges were overdue
for a routine inspection (down from 36 as
of April 1, 2016). Of the 28 overdue
inspections:

• Ten bridges (36%) were listed as the
maintenance responsibility of an adjacent
state.

• Five bridges (18%) were rated
structurally deficient.

• Inspections ranged from 1 to 4 years
overdue.

Special Inspections

A special inspection is performed to verify
that deficiencies do not exist and to
monitor a specific structural feature,
deficiency, or condition that must be
monitored more often than inspection
intervals for other inspection types
require. Special inspections may be
prompted by structural damage or
deterioration, conditions affecting the
stability of the structure, or for other
reasons. Some examples of conditions that
might warrant a special inspection are
damage/deterioration to main load-carrying
members, settlement/movement of
substructure units or adjacent embankment,
and structural details with histories of
poor performance. The Department’s
Structural Services manual lists 18
different special inspection code types.
Some bridges have more than one type of
special inspection conducted.

Of the total 26,627 open bridges the
Department is required to inspect or cause
to be inspected (i.e. locals), 1,053 were
slated for a special inspection totaling
1,093 special inspections. Using the
intervals established by the Department and
allowing for the data entry period,
according to the Department’s Illinois
Structure Information System data, as of
July 1, 2018, 27 bridges were overdue for a
special inspection (up from 26 bridges as
of April 1, 2016). Of these 27 bridges with
overdue special inspections:

• Twenty-four bridges (89%) were rated as
structurally deficient.

• Five bridges (19%) had special
inspections which were overdue by more than
two years. Many of the remaining
inspections were overdue less than one
year.

Underwater inspections

An underwater inspection is an inspection
of the underwater portion of a bridge
substructure and the surrounding channel
that cannot be inspected visually at low
water by wading or probing, generally
requiring diving or other appropriate
techniques.

Of the total 26,627 open bridges that the
Department is required to inspect or cause
to be inspected, 477 (2%) were slated for
an underwater inspection. Using the
intervals established by the Department and
allowing for the data entry period,
according to the Department’s Illinois
Structure Information System data, as of
July 1, 2018, 7 bridges (1%) were overdue
for an underwater inspection (down from 11
as of April 1, 2016), all of which were
local and, specifically, the maintenance
responsibility of an adjacent state. The
inspections were between five and 19 years
overdue. Two of the bridges, which the data
showed as 17 years overdue for an
inspection, were rated as structurally
deficient.

Fracture Critical Inspections

A Fracture Critical inspection is a hands-
on inspection of one fracture critical
member or multiple member components that
may include visual and other nondestructive
evaluation. These inspections are performed
on steel bridge tension members and tension
components of members whose failure could
be expected to result in the collapse of
the bridge or a portion of the bridge.

Of the total 26,627 open bridges that the
Department is required to inspect or cause
to be inspected, 507 (2%) were slated for a
Fracture Critical inspection for a total of
1,209 inspections.

Using the intervals established by the
Department and allowing for the data entry
period, according to the Department’s
Illinois Structure Information System data,
as of July 1, 2018, 11 bridges (2%) were
overdue for a fracture critical inspection
(increase from 9 as of April 1, 2016),
consisting of 25 total components. Two of
the local bridges, consisting of four total
components, were over 21 years overdue. One
of these bridges was rated structurally
deficient.  (Finding 2, pages 17-20)

We recommended the Department ensure bridge
inspections are conducted and documentation
is maintained to substantiate the
inspections are completed within allowable
intervals established by Federal
regulations and Department policy.  We also
recommended the Department follow-up with
adjoining states where they have not
received reports to determine why an
inspection has not been completed or obtain
the reports and ensure the Illinois
Structure Information System data is
updated.

Department officials agreed with the
finding and stated they recognize that
while they have made significant strides
with the bridge inspection delinquencies
over the last several years they still have
more work to do and will continue to stress
the importance of timely inspections
particularly to the local agencies.

INADEQUATE CONTROLS OVER LOCALLY HELD FUNDS

The Department did not maintain adequate
controls over locally held funds.

One of the Department’s locally held funds,
the IDOT Capital Projects Fund (Fund 1494),
reports the payment of annual
administrative fees and expenses for the
District 1 headquarters building. The
Department reported $2,420,000 and
$2,417,000 as transfers into Fund 1494
during fiscal years 2017 and 2018,
respectively. These transfers represent
amounts the Department paid to DCMS, which
DCMS then remitted to the Trustee. The
Trustee then transferred the funds to a
bank account controlled by the management
company in accordance with the service
agreement enacted when the COP was
originated. The Department reported
expenditures totaling approximately
$1,924,000 and $2,074,000 during fiscal
year 2017 and 2018, respectively, for Fund
1494. The expenditures reported in Fund
1494 represent payments made by the
management company to vendors for the
operation and maintenance of the District 1
headquarters building.

During our review of the locally held fund
reports, we noted the following:

• The bank account, administered by the
management company, was opened in a prior
period with a State of Illinois Taxpayer
Identification Number by management company
employees, and none of the authorized
signors on the account during the
examination period were employees of the
State.

• Cash deposits as of June 30, 2018, within
the aforementioned bank account totaled
$1,674,715, of which $1,424,715 exceeded
the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
(FDIC) coverage and were uncollateralized.

• Department officials did not review or
approve disbursements prior to the payments
being processed. (Finding 7, pages 31-32)

We recommended the Department review its
procedures over locally held funds and make
the necessary changes to ensure
expenditures are reviewed and approved
prior to disbursement and sufficient
collateral for bank deposits is maintained.

Department officials agreed with the
finding and stated the Agency will give
careful consideration to the use and
monitoring of locally held funds in the
future.

NONCOMPLIANCE WITH REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
OF THE ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF
TRANSPORTATION LAW

The Department did not adhere with various
reporting requirements established by State
law.

During our testing, we noted the following:

• The Department failed to publish its
master plan due on December 31, 2017.
Department officials stated the report was
not able to be completed due to competing
priorities pertaining to new federal
regulations and reporting required by
federal regulations. As of the end of our
fieldwork date, the Department still had
not filed the report.

• The Department failed to publish the
Multimodal Multi-year Improvement Program
report during fiscal years 2017 and 2018.
The Illinois FY 2019-2024 Proposed
Multimodal Multi-Year Improvement Program
report, due on April 4, 2018, was filed
with the General Assembly on October 16,
2018, 195 days late.

• The Department delivered its Highway
Improvement Program report to the General
Assembly on May 26 (51 days late) and May
29 (55 days late) during fiscal years 2017
and 2018, respectively.

• The Department delivered its “For the
Record – 2016” report to the General
Assembly on December 9, 2016 (39 days
late).    (Finding 8, pages 33-34)

We recommended the Department implement a
control structure which includes procedures
to ensure compliance with statutory
reporting requirements.

Department officials agreed with the
finding and stated the ultimate approval to
send these reports to the legislature is
from the Governor’s office which sometimes
results in missing the deadline.

OTHER FINDINGS

The remaining findings pertain to
inadequate controls over financial
reporting, employee overtime, State
vehicles, accounts receivable, the failure
to control outdoor advertising, weakness
with payment card industry data security
standards, and change management process.

AUDITOR’S OPINION

The financial audit of the Department as of
and for the year ended June 30, 2018 was
previously released. The auditors stated
the Department’s financial statements as of
and for the year ended June 30, 2018, were
fairly stated in all material respects.

ACCOUNTANT’S OPINION

The accountants conducted a compliance
examination of the Department for the two
years ended June 30, 2018, as required by
the Illinois State Auditing Act.  The
accountants stated the Department complied,
in all material respects, with the
requirements described in the report.

This financial audit and compliance
examination was conducted by Clifton Larson
Allen LLP.

JANE CLARK
Division Director

This report is transmitted in accordance
with Section 3-14 of the Illinois State
Auditing Act.

FRANK J. MAUTINO
Auditor General

FJM:PH

DIGEST FOOTNOTES

#1 – FAILURE TO TIMELY PERFORM BRIDGE
INSPECTIONS

2016:   The Department agrees with the
finding.

Routine Inspections
The Department will continue to stress the
importance of timely inspections
particularly to the local agencies. Monthly
reports are sent to the owners of the
structures to indicate when structures are
coming due for inspection, or are currently
delinquent for their last inspection. The
web based Inspection Date Notification
System is now available to allow the local
agencies to enter the date of their last
inspection in order for potential
delinquencies to be better tracked. An on-
call consultant has been retained by the
Department to allow bridges to be inspected
if a structure delinquency enters the third
month after the inspection was due. Bridge
inspection delinquencies are now at a
historical low of 2.9%. Additionally,
conversations have occurred with the
Federal Highway Administration about the
possibility of having the inspecting agency
identified in the border bridge agreements
be the one to submit inventory and
inspection information into the National
Bridge Inventory. This would eliminate many
problems with data inconsistencies between
the two States. To date, the Department has
not received approval to remove our
reporting requirements for these “Border
Bridges” that we do not inspect.

Special Inspections

The Department’s web based Inspection Date
Notification System is now available to
allow the local agencies to enter the date
of their last special inspection in order
for potential delinquencies to be better
tracked. An on-call consultant has been
retained by the Department to allow bridges
to be inspected if a structure delinquency
enters the third month after the inspection
was due.

Underwater Inspections
The Department has had conversations with
the Federal Highway Administration about
the possibility of having the inspecting
agency, for bridges that cross State lines,
as the only one to submit inventory and
inspection information into the National
Bridge Inventory. This would eliminate many
problems with data inconsistencies between
the two States. To date, the Department has
not received approval to remove our
reporting requirements for these “Border
Bridges” that we do not inspect. The
Department will continue to pursue
obtaining a copy of the official bridge
inspection reports performed by the
adjoining State and to ensure that they are
entered into the Illinois Structure
Information System.

Fracture Critical Inspections

The Department will continue to stress the
importance of fracture critical inspections
to local agencies and remind them monthly,
via e-mail, to ensure that inspections and
data entry are accomplished within the
required timeframes. The web based
Inspection Data Notification System is now
available to allow the local agencies to
enter the date of their last fracture
critical inspection so that potential
delinquencies can be better tracked. An on-
call consultant has been retained by the
Department to allow bridges to be inspected
if a structure delinquency enters the third
month after the inspection was due. The
Department has had conversations with the
Federal Highway Administration about the
possibility of having the inspecting
agency, for bridges that cross State lines,
as the only one to submit inventory and
inspection information into the National
Bridge Inventory. This would eliminate many
problems with data inconsistencies between
the two States. To date, the Department has
not received approval to remove our
reporting requirements for these “Border
Bridges” that we do not inspect.