llinois Department of Transportation workers are under scrutiny after a Greene County man says he caught crews dumping deer carcasses near Apple Creek late last month.
Robert Schollmeier of rural Greene County posted photos to Facebook on February 22nd showing IDOT trucks on the Belltown Bridge in the Apple Creek bottoms appearing to dump deer carcasses over the side of the bridge two days earlier. Schollmeier says he had suspected similar activity had happened before, which prompted him to document the scene.
According to Schollmeier, some of the deer remains — along with a rubber glove — ended up in the water below. He told River County News that he contacted the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Illinois State Police, the Illinois Conservation Police, and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency about the incident.
By February 24th, Schollmeier says the pile had been cleaned up.
IDOT officials confirmed they were made aware of the complaint and issued a statement to River County News saying maintenance crews had been temporarily keeping roadkill in the location until it could be incinerated, citing an abundance of deer carcasses this spring. The department says the animals have since been removed for proper disposal and staff have been instructed not to use that location again. The agency also apologized for any concern caused.
Schollmeier questions whether there will be any repercussions or whether the practice will simply move to a less visible location. As of now, none of the other agencies contacted have issued public statements.