Cook-Illinois subsidiary celebrates 50 years
Cook-Illinois Corp.’s oldest subsidiary, Illinois School Bus, is celebrating 50 years in business.
CRESTWOOD, Ill. — Cook-Illinois Corp.’s oldest subsidiary, Illinois School Bus, is celebrating 50 years in business today.
The company employs almost 200 people and transports more than 12,000 students daily with its fleet of 165 buses.
Drivers were honored Tuesday at a special luncheon, and an event today will include school officials, politicians and retired drivers.
Cook-Illinois Corp. owner John Benish emphasizes the family-oriented nature of the company and its subsidiaries. Illinois School Bus was founded by Jackie Stahl and her husband, Lee. Benish and business partner Lee Stahl Jr. bought the company from the Stahls in 1961.
Today, Cook-Illinois has a total of 11 subsidiaries and 2,300 employees, operates 1,850 buses and transports students from more than 200 school districts.
In other news, Cook-Illinois recently rolled out the state's first hybrid school bus from IC Bus. Cook-Illinois subsidiary Kickert School Bus Line began running the plug-in hybrid in the Chicago area last month.
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