Illinois Tollway seeks to add employees with disabilities

The Illinois Tollway Advance Customer Service Call Center is growing, and it's looking to add more people with disabilities and veterans to their workforce.

"We respond to as many as 10,000 customer inquiries every day either through phone or mail or email," said Kristi LaFleur, executive director of the Illinois Tollway.

"I-Pass is growing in popularity, 87 percent of our drivers now use I-Pass to drive on our roads, and that number increases every year, which is great for us," LaFleur said. "But it does present some challenges, because those customers need sometimes to call in and get information about their accounts, and this is where they do it."

Terry Longo is the COO for the Chicago Lighthouse, which currently has 300 employees.

"We're responsible for staffing - there are full and part time jobs here," Longo said. "Monday through Friday we operate for 16 hours a day from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., and on the weekends we operate from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m."

All employees have to go through a four to six week training program.

"The Chicago Lighthouse has really done a phenomenal job of making sure that we are getting a higher and higher percentage of people with disabilities and veterans working here at this facility, which was our goal," Longo said.

Megan Craig has been working as a call center agent for one year.

"I get to converse with people," Craig said. "I enjoy that and I also like the problem solving skills that I get to learn, so helping people resolve situations that would initially seem difficult."

"We've gotten tremendously positive customer feedback," LaFleur said. "The professionalism of the people working here and just their knowledge of the tollway is great."

If you are interested in learning more about employment opportunities with the Illinois Tollway Advanced Customer Service Call Center, visit www.chicagolighthouse.org.