Jack Schmitt began his engineering experience in the U.S. Army as an artillery surveyor, providing coordinate and elevation control at the division artillery level. Upon completion of his military service, Mr. Schmitt earned his B.S.C.E. from Illinois Institute of Technology in 1973. He was fortunate enough to spend summers on survey crews and winters doing design work. He also served on construction assignments as assistant resident and resident engineer on several federally-funded projects for which he provided design.
After receiving his P.E., he joined the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority and served in a variety of positions in the Design Department. At the end of his nine-year tenure there he held the title of Engineer of Design, and had reviewed the plans for over 350 projects including the construction of I-355, the North-South Toll-Way — a 17-mile expressway with a multibillion dollar budget.
For the next 17 years, Mr. Schmitt served in various roles such as Operations Manager, Director of Engineering, Chief Civil Engineer and Senior Project Manager with a number of firms. His primary duties always revolved around his talent for plan review, so that he was able to retain a hands-on role in numerous roadway projects at the municipal, county and state transportation levels.
In addition to an active participation in the field of roadway design, Mr. Schmitt was a member of the faculty of Midwest College of Engineering in Lombard, Illinois, and he has served for the past 22 years as an instructor for the Illinois Society of Professional Engineers Review Series, a refresher course for candidates taking the state licensing exam.
Jack is the author of the book
Plans, Special Provisions and Contract Plan Reviews available at
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