Highway Commission. By 1999, Governor George Ryan began to publicly discuss the closure of ISTHA and the abolition of toll collection in Illinois, but the plans were eclipsed by Ryan's increasing scandals. After Ryan declined to run for re-election and his successor, Governor Rod Blagojevich, had been elected (but had not yet taken office), the ISTHA board publicly suggested a sudden hike in toll rates that the new Governor could simply blame on his outgoing predecessor. The previous adjustment to Illinois toll rates had taken place in 1983. ISTHA would have been able to raise rates without approval of the Illinois General Assembly because of its quasi-independent nature. However, a rate hike did not go into effect at that time. Ultimately, the toll rates for I-Pass users remained at 1983 prices while the toll rate for cash payers doubled. Practically, the I-Pass system and open road tolling appears to have removed the annoying aspect of toll collection which motivated many toll opponents, and subsequently the calls to ending the tolls have quieted. The Sierra Club criticized the capital projects as adding to urban sprawl while hurting air quality. In response, the expense of implementing Open Road Tolling has justified by claiming it significantly decreases the amount of pollution from vehicle exhaust that enters the air. This is because the old barrier style tollbooths adds to the amount of time that certain vehicles spend on the roadway by requiring them to slow down, stop, and sometimes idle for several minutes while waiting to pay their tolls. The introduction of the I-Pass system has greatly alleviated this problem since all vehicles with an I-Pass or E-Zpass can continue to travel at normal highway speeds through the toll plazas. In 2003, during Governor George Ryan's administration, ISTHA entered into a public-private partnership with Wilton Partners to renovate the oasis rest stops in exchange for a 25-year lease. That lease has been the subject of various investigations, including the political connections between food vendors in the oases with former Governor Blagojevich. Ultimately, Wilton Partners' lender foreclosed on the Oases. ISTHA experienced high leadership turnover amid controversy. On November 19, 2008, Jeffrey Dailey began serving as Executive Director of ISTHA. On December 9, 2008, Governor Blagojevich was arrested on corruption charges including allegations that he solicited campaign donations from Tollway construction contractors. On December 18, Dalley resigned claiming that Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan would