ILLBA’s Board of Directors
The Illinois Limousine & Bus Association (ILLBA) held their two-day Great Lakes Transportation Show on May 11-12. The annual event—held this year at Itasca Country Club in Itasca, Ill.—attracted operators from across the Midwest and as far away as Florida. CD President Chris Weiss was among the featured speakers at the show.
Day one’s focus was networking and camaraderie as the association held an evening welcome reception for the attendees.
“This was a great opportunity for ILLBA members to get reacquainted and meet new faces,” says ILLBA Executive Director Paula DeBiasi of Chicago CoachWorks.
L to R: CD President Chris Weiss, Jim Miller of A-1 Airport Limousine Service, and ILLBA President Kaya Armagan of Flash Limousine & Buses
Day two was devoted to educational and informational programming, courtesy of guest speakers and presenters from across the spectrum of the industry. After breakfast, which provided further networking opportunities, ILLBA President Kaya Armagan of Flash Limousine & Buses welcomed attendees and thanked them for coming. The first session, courtesy of speaker Jodie Lethgo of Conversion Agency, covered the basics of AI and how technology can work for ground transportation businesses. Next was a panel devoted to navigating passenger rates, featuring Thomas Halsnik of Walsh Transportation, Stefan Kisiov of K&G Coachline, and Vince Saisi of EmpireCLS.
L to R: Weiss, ILLBA Director James Jordan of Lux Tux Transportation, and Mike Blackburn of Limo Anywhere
Following an overview of NLA updates, Weiss provided details of the upcoming CD/NLA events, including the Executive Retreat in Miami on June 14-17 and the Fall Show in National Harbor just outside of D.C. on October 25-27.
The morning concluded with a discussion on building a culture of safe driving, moderated by ILLBA Past President/Advisor Art Rento of Pontarelli Companies. Pulling from his decades of experience, Rento fired off questions to the attendees about their safety practices and offered recommendations on how to improve their programs.
Weiss with ILLBA Executive Director Paula DeBiasi of Chicago CoachWorks
The afternoon lunch break afforded ILLBA members the opportunity to meet with vendor sponsors and get up close and personal with fleet offerings in the venue’s parking lot. Then, representatives from City of Chicago were welcomed by the association, including Tom Statsny of the Department of Aviation, who provided a timeline of construction projects at O’Hare Airport. Next, Rupal Bapat of the city’s office of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection offered updates on livery licenses.
DeBiasi then discussed future plans for the association, including news about ILLBA’s upcoming 40th anniversary.
“This is an exciting time for ILLBA. As we look towards our 40th anniversary, we were thrilled to have new operators and vendors sign up and come on board at the show, as well,” says DeBiasi.
The sessions concluded with an open discussion between two industry heavyweights: Rento and George Jacobs of Windy City Limousine & Bus. The ground transportation veterans shared their views on the future of the industry, including talk about autonomous vehicles. Finally, the day ended with a series of raffles, which included a CD/NLA Fall Show pass, gift cards from Limo Anywhere and Chicago CoachWorks, branded goodies from MCI, and a baseball night out from Signature Transportation Group. Kathy Kahne of Windy City Limousine & Bus was the lucky winner of the CD/NLA pass.
Visit illba.org for more information.
[05.19.26]
