Anyone have a good Illinois Department of Transporation contact

[ShawnP]

2 miles into Illinois on monday I ran into a horrible pothole that blew my tire out. I doubt I can get reimbursement but I will try. I have all documenation.

[3467]

I have always been told to contact your insurance company Thye have better luck

[hbelkins]

2 miles into Illinois on monday I ran into a horrible pothole that blew my tire out. I doubt I can get reimbursement but I will try. I have all documenation.

In Kentucky, there is an agency called the Board of Claims that handles matters exactly like this. Part of my job involves taking the information gleaned from engineers who investigate claims exactly like this and composing a response to send to the Board of Claims representative handling the case. Ask your insurance company to initiate a claim with the Illinois agency that is similar to Kentucky's Board of Claims, or search on Illinois' official state government site on how to file a claim against the state.

FWIW, I don't think the state DOTs can be reasonably expected to fix every pothole in such a manner as to prevent every occurrence of this. It's possible the agency had no way of knowing about it if it had just recently developed or had not been reported.

[Scott5114]

If the pothole is severe enough that it has the capacity to blow tires out, I'm pretty sure that it's been growing long enough that the DOT is aware of it and is simply not fixing it.

Depending on the amount of time and money you have on your hands, it's conceivable that you could file a suit against the state, with a claim of gross negligence resulting in property damage. The financial benefit may not be worth the hassle, but if successful, you could send the message to DOTs nationwide that there is a definite chance of consequences befalling them if they don't become more proactive in fixing stuff.

[ShawnP]

It was quiet large and actually did damage to the front struts. However I doubt Illinois will do anything as they are in a financial mess already.

[Scott5114]

Damn, that must have been one big pothole. Yeah, I'd press the claim as far as possible. If it's over $5000 in damages, I'd see about getting a lawyer and suing...