[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 116 (Thursday, September 15, 2005)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page E1870] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] RETIREMENT OF VICTOR A. MODEER ______ HON. JERRY F. COSTELLO of illinois in the house of representatives Thursday, September 15, 2005 Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor Vic Modeer upon his retirement from the Illinois Department of Transportation, IDOT. For the past 20 years, Vic Modeer has served with utmost distinction at the IDOT. After graduating from the Louisiana State University and receiving a masters in civil engineering from Purdue University, Vic worked in the private sector for a contractor and consultants prior to his employment at IDOT. Once at IDOT, he worked his way up from various positions within the Division of Highways to eventually become the director of Highways and chief engineer. IDOT's Division of Highways is a vast organization with over 5,000 employees, a $490 million operating budget, and a $4.5 billion construction budget. While serving as the district engineer and as director of Highways, Vic was instrumental in overseeing many important highway projects in my congressional district and across the entire State of Illinois. As director of Highways, he helped lead IDOT to be the first State department of transportation in the Nation to meet and become certified under the process and quality management standards of the International Organization of Standardization, ISO 9001:2000. This is indicative of the dedication Vic and his staff have shown for professionalism, product quality, public accountability, and customer satisfaction. Vic met the challenges of budget constraints and significant staff reductions during his tenure as director with a typical can-do attitude. He reorganized the division, improved communications, engineered process efficiencies to make up for lost work force, and employed innovative management and training methods to maintain productivity and continue delivering the highway program as promised, with no reduction in service, despite the loss of nearly 20 percent of his staff to early retirement and other attrition between 2002 and 2005. Mr. Modeer's participation in numerous professional organizations, including the AASHTO Standing Committee on Highways and the Task Force with Transportation Security, his service as a Navy veteran from Desert Storm serving in Saudi Arabia with the Seabees as an officer in the U.S. Navy Civil Engineer Corps, his long list of publicized articles regarding geotechnical engineering as well as teaching numerous engineering classes at Louisiana State University and Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville exemplify the strength of his leadership. Mr. Speaker, I know my colleagues join me in offering congratulations and gratitude for his long and successful career at the IDOT. Vic Modeer's meritorious service to Illinois and to our country will have a lasting legacy not only in steel and concrete, but his true legacy will be with the people who served with him and the lives he has helped and touched. I wish him well and hope he continues to achieve happiness, health and success in his future endeavors. ____________________