Open Illinois.org

Using information for our transparency website, IllinosOpenGov.org, I found that in 2009, the Department of Transportation spent $4,258,997.92 on attorneys and related legal fees.  The biggest recipients of these funds were Holland & Knight LLP, which got $562,334.95; Freeborn and Peters LLP, $354,851.97; and Burke Burns Ellison & Pinelli, which received $230,307.89 from the Department of Transportation.  All told, twelve firms received more then $100,000 each in 2009, for a total of $2,594,344.09 in payments from the state.

The majority of this spending ($2,812,752.08) was for “Attorney Fees-Highway & Related Construction.”  The remaining payments were for general attorney and legal fees.

The Office of the Comptroller also provides a list of all the contracts Illinois has paid or holds with law firms.

You can find this information by going to IllinoisOpenGov.org, clicking on the “Checks to Businesses & People” section and searching for “Attorney Fees-Highway & Related Construction,” “Attorney Fees- Grants and Awards,” “Combined Settlement/Attorney Payments,” and “Legal Fees” in the “category of spending” section.