"Expensive winter" in Illinois

:: TheSouthern.com - Southern Illinois' Homepage ::

The freezing cold weather of the winter months is a main factor in why some roadkill will have to bake in the summer sun.

The Illinois Department of Transportation will limit the amount of dead animals it removes from the side of highways because of an expensive winter, District 9 operating engineer Kevin Grammer said.

The department had $40 million budgeted for snow and ice removal for the winter and ended up spending $86 million because of weather that coated the region in ice. With rising fuel costs, Grammer said the budget shortfalls are forcing IDOT to limit the number of carcasses it picks up.