{"id":38208,"date":"2026-05-15T09:55:43","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T14:55:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/?p=38208"},"modified":"2026-05-15T09:55:43","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T14:55:43","slug":"idot-targets-young-engineering-talent-w-student-loan-assistance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/38208-idot-targets-young-engineering-talent-w-student-loan-assistance\/","title":{"rendered":"IDOT Targets Young Engineering Talent w\/Student Loan Assistance"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"pdfprnt-buttons pdfprnt-buttons-post pdfprnt-top-right\"><a href=\"javascript: window.print()\" class=\"pdfprnt-button pdfprnt-button-print\" target=\"_self\" ><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-content\/plugins\/pdf-print\/images\/print.png\" alt=\"image_print\" title=\"Print Content\" \/><span class=\"pdfprnt-button-title pdfprnt-button-print-title\">Print<\/span><\/a><\/div><p><em>A TRUCK DRIVES ON ILLINOIS ROADS (Medill Illinois News Bureau photo by Jacques Abou-Rizk)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The initiative aims to make IDOT more competitive for employment and tame a national engineer shortage\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By AIDAN KLINEMAN<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Medill Illinois News Bureau<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><a href=\"mailto:news@capitolnewsillinois.com\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">news@capitolnewsillinois.com<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>Article Summary<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Illinois Department of Transportation announced this week it will soon repay up to $60,000 in student loans for up to 50 eligible employees over four years as part of an initiative to attract recently graduated engineers in an increasingly competitive job market.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Higher Education Student Loan Repayment Assistance for Engineers Pilot Program will reimburse engineers up to $15,000 annually after four years of service at the agency.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">State-employed engineers are needed to support the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/capitolnewsillinois.com\/news\/state-lays-out-346b-multi-year-spending-plan-for-roads-bridges-ports-airports-rail-and-transit\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rebuild Illinois Capital Program<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, initially passed in the first year of the Pritzker administration in 2019.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Republicans are also working to assist the creation of new engineers for the state with a scholarship bill proposed by Senate Republican Leader John Curran.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This summary was written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SPRINGFIELD \u2014 The Illinois Department of Transportation announced this week it will soon repay up to $60,000 in student loans for eligible employees over four years as part of an initiative to lure recently graduated engineers in an increasingly competitive job market.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/illinois-department-of-transportation.prezly.com\/new-student-loan-repayment-program-offered-for-idot-engineers\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Higher Education Student Loan Repayment Assistance for Engineers Pilot Program<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> will reimburse 50 Illinois-educated engineers up to $15,000 annually after four years of service at the agency. IDOT hopes to incentivize young talent to remain in the state and the field, citing data from the American Council of Engineering Companies that shows a national shortfall of approximately 20,000 engineers per year due to retirements or departures from the field.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cAt a time when workforce challenges continue to impact the engineering industry and public sector alike, this initiative will help attract and retain the next generation of transportation professionals needed to deliver critical infrastructure projects across Illinois,\u201d Kevin Artl, president and CEO of ACEC Illinois, said in a statement announcing the initiative.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The student loan repayment program is the latest effort by Gov. JB Pritzker and the state to spur economic growth by retaining young talent. In February, the Illinois Retail Merchants Association <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/capitolnewsillinois.com\/news\/illinois-retailers-celebrate-early-successes-of-state-funded-apprenticeship-program\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">launched<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> an apprenticeship program for emerging Illinois retailers, and late last month, Pritzker <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/capitolnewsillinois.com\/news\/ibm-will-bring-innovation-hub-750-new-jobs-to-chicagos-quantum-park\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">announced<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> public and private partnerships with computing giant IBM that will bring 500 apprenticeships to the company\u2019s new innovation hub located in Chicago\u2019s quantum park.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The program is funded by IDOT, with funds allocated as part of the Pritzker administration\u2019s ongoing Rebuild Illinois efforts and paid out as bonuses. Rebuild Illinois has made significant investments in Illinois infrastructure projects since fiscal year 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Massive infrastructure investments augment engineering needs<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">State-employed engineers are needed to support the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/capitolnewsillinois.com\/news\/state-lays-out-346b-multi-year-spending-plan-for-roads-bridges-ports-airports-rail-and-transit\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rebuild Illinois infrastructure program<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, passed in the first year of the Pritzker administration in 2019 and continued since then. The latest <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/capitolnewsillinois.com\/news\/heres-whats-in-illinois-50-6b-six-year-infrastructure-plan\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">six-year plan<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> calls for investing $50.6 billion in infrastructure, including $32.5 billion for transportation projects exclusively: the construction and maintenance of roads, bridges, public transit, freight and passenger rail, aeronautic facilities and ports.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is not the first time IDOT has targeted young engineering talent. Last year, the agency implemented an \u201cIntern to Hire\u201d program meant to attract college students to civil engineering internships with the department by providing direct pathways to full-time employment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The need to fill engineering positions at IDOT is also driven, in part, by federal legislation encouraging new projects. In 2021, President Joe Biden signed the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which allocated over $17 billion to Illinois public works projects over five years.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe have more projects than ever at IDOT right now, thanks to the capital program and funding at the federal level,\u201d Guy Tridgell, director of communications for IDOT, said. \u201cAnd we need engineers to do that work.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to IDOT data, the state has invested over $24 billion in Illinois highway projects through Rebuild Illinois since the 2020 fiscal year. The state hopes young engineers will take advantage of these new jobs incentives and meet the demand for continued infrastructure investment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Public sector recruitment for the long term<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In addition to helping accomplish what Rebuild Illinois set out to do, Tridgell hopes the student loan repayment incentives will inspire young engineers to pursue long-term careers in public service.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe\u2019re aggressively taking a look at a variety of strategies to get young engineers, in particular, to come and work for the state,\u201d Tridgell said. \u201cIt\u2019s a good career \u2014 you learn a lot about the profession and you can make a real difference in your community.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sen. Ram Villivalam, D-Chicago, initially sponsored legislation calling for the program. He said he hoped the incentives would encourage students to pursue engineering careers with reduced financial pressure.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe know that access to higher education is challenging,\u201d Villivalam told Capitol News Illinois. \u201cSo making sure that young students and folks looking at different career opportunities understand that there are tools available to them to make it more affordable, make it more accessible to pursue a career in engineering.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Republican Leader proposes scholarships amid delay<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In addition to the Pritzker administration&#8217;s IDOT loan repayment program, Republicans are also working to assist the creation of new engineers for the state.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Senate Republican Leader John Curran, R-Downers Grove, is a lead sponsor of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ilga.gov\/Legislation\/BillStatus?DocNum=3855&amp;GAID=18&amp;DocTypeID=SB&amp;SessionID=114&amp;GA=104\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Senate Bill 3855<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which would create scholarship and living stipend incentives for engineering students attending Illinois public universities at the front end of their higher education careers. Curran supports the student loan repayments in addition to his own proposal, but noted that the repayments have been delayed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI\u2019m glad they\u2019re moving forward with it. It\u2019s well past time,\u201d Curran told Capitol News Illinois. \u201cWe are behind on capital.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Similar to the student repayment plan, Curran\u2019s scholarship bill requires eligible students to commit to working for IDOT for at least three years. He argues that scholarships would unlock more opportunities for students and help assuage financial concerns that arise from college decisions sooner.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt is a way to help not only lock them in early, but also a pathway to pay for school,\u201d Curran said. \u201cIt\u2019s a win-win.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Curran\u2019s bill was assigned to committee and is currently awaiting a hearing, with a deadline of Friday.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Aidan Klineman is an undergraduate student in journalism with Northwestern University\u2019s Medill School of Journalism, Media and Integrated Marketing Communications, and is a fellow in its Medill Illinois News Bureau working in partnership with Capitol News Illinois.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/capitolnewsillinois.com\/\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Capitol News Illinois<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A TRUCK DRIVES ON ILLINOIS ROADS (Medill Illinois News Bureau photo by Jacques Abou-Rizk) The initiative aims to make IDOT more competitive for employment and tame a national engineer shortage\u00a0 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":38212,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>IDOT Targets Young Engineering Talent w\/Student Loan Assistance - Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/38208-idot-targets-young-engineering-talent-w-student-loan-assistance\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"IDOT Targets Young Engineering Talent w\/Student Loan Assistance - Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/38208-idot-targets-young-engineering-talent-w-student-loan-assistance\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-15T14:55:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/260302-Truck-JA.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1066\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Greg Sapp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Greg Sapp\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/local-news\\\/38208-idot-targets-young-engineering-talent-w-student-loan-assistance\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/local-news\\\/38208-idot-targets-young-engineering-talent-w-student-loan-assistance\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Greg Sapp\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ea4a7a4f3418a551e6319888ef00a8f1\"},\"headline\":\"IDOT Targets Young Engineering Talent w\\\/Student Loan Assistance\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-15T14:55:43+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/local-news\\\/38208-idot-targets-young-engineering-talent-w-student-loan-assistance\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1110,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/local-news\\\/38208-idot-targets-young-engineering-talent-w-student-loan-assistance\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/260302-Truck-JA.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Local News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/local-news\\\/38208-idot-targets-young-engineering-talent-w-student-loan-assistance\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/local-news\\\/38208-idot-targets-young-engineering-talent-w-student-loan-assistance\\\/\",\"name\":\"IDOT Targets Young Engineering Talent w\\\/Student Loan Assistance - Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/local-news\\\/38208-idot-targets-young-engineering-talent-w-student-loan-assistance\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/local-news\\\/38208-idot-targets-young-engineering-talent-w-student-loan-assistance\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/260302-Truck-JA.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-15T14:55:43+00:00\",\"description\":\"Effingham's News and Sports Leader\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/local-news\\\/38208-idot-targets-young-engineering-talent-w-student-loan-assistance\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/local-news\\\/38208-idot-targets-young-engineering-talent-w-student-loan-assistance\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/local-news\\\/38208-idot-targets-young-engineering-talent-w-student-loan-assistance\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/260302-Truck-JA.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/260302-Truck-JA.jpg\",\"width\":1600,\"height\":1066},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/local-news\\\/38208-idot-targets-young-engineering-talent-w-student-loan-assistance\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"IDOT Targets Young Engineering Talent w\\\/Student Loan Assistance\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/premier-logo-v1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/premier-logo-v1.png\",\"width\":272,\"height\":69,\"caption\":\"Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ea4a7a4f3418a551e6319888ef00a8f1\",\"name\":\"Greg Sapp\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/author\\\/greg_sapp\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"IDOT Targets Young Engineering Talent w\/Student Loan Assistance - Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3","description":"Effingham's News and Sports Leader","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/38208-idot-targets-young-engineering-talent-w-student-loan-assistance\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"IDOT Targets Young Engineering Talent w\/Student Loan Assistance - Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3","og_description":"Effingham's News and Sports Leader","og_url":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/38208-idot-targets-young-engineering-talent-w-student-loan-assistance\/","og_site_name":"Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3","article_published_time":"2026-05-15T14:55:43+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1600,"height":1066,"url":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/260302-Truck-JA.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Greg Sapp","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Greg Sapp","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/38208-idot-targets-young-engineering-talent-w-student-loan-assistance\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/38208-idot-targets-young-engineering-talent-w-student-loan-assistance\/"},"author":{"name":"Greg Sapp","@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/ea4a7a4f3418a551e6319888ef00a8f1"},"headline":"IDOT Targets Young Engineering Talent w\/Student Loan Assistance","datePublished":"2026-05-15T14:55:43+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/38208-idot-targets-young-engineering-talent-w-student-loan-assistance\/"},"wordCount":1110,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/38208-idot-targets-young-engineering-talent-w-student-loan-assistance\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/260302-Truck-JA.jpg","articleSection":["Local News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/38208-idot-targets-young-engineering-talent-w-student-loan-assistance\/","url":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/38208-idot-targets-young-engineering-talent-w-student-loan-assistance\/","name":"IDOT Targets Young Engineering Talent w\/Student Loan Assistance - Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/38208-idot-targets-young-engineering-talent-w-student-loan-assistance\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/38208-idot-targets-young-engineering-talent-w-student-loan-assistance\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/260302-Truck-JA.jpg","datePublished":"2026-05-15T14:55:43+00:00","description":"Effingham's News and Sports Leader","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/38208-idot-targets-young-engineering-talent-w-student-loan-assistance\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/38208-idot-targets-young-engineering-talent-w-student-loan-assistance\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/38208-idot-targets-young-engineering-talent-w-student-loan-assistance\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/260302-Truck-JA.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/260302-Truck-JA.jpg","width":1600,"height":1066},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/38208-idot-targets-young-engineering-talent-w-student-loan-assistance\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"IDOT Targets Young Engineering Talent w\/Student Loan Assistance"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/","name":"Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/#organization","name":"Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3","url":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/premier-logo-v1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/premier-logo-v1.png","width":272,"height":69,"caption":"Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/ea4a7a4f3418a551e6319888ef00a8f1","name":"Greg Sapp","url":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/author\/greg_sapp\/"}]}},"modified_by":"Greg Sapp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38208"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38208\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38215,"href":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38208\/revisions\/38215"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}