Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Representative Ray LaHood, an Illinois Republican known for his willingness to criticize his own party and to work with Democrats, is likely to be named by President-elect Barack Obama as his choice for transportation secretary, according to a person familiar with the selection.

LaHood, 63, whose district includes the headquarters of Peoria, Illinois-based Caterpillar Inc., has known Obama for more than a decade and is close to Rahm Emanuel, the Illinois congressman designated by the president-elect as White House chief of staff. He is retiring from Congress this year after serving seven terms.

The announcement may come as soon as Friday, said the person, who spoke condition of anonymity.

Obama has moved more quickly than any recent president-elect to fill out his Cabinet, with only his choices for secretaries of Transportation and Labor yet to be named. He has promised to appoint Republicans for his administration and LaHood would be the second. Obama has asked the current Defense secretary, Robert Gates, a Republican, to stay on in that role.

“When you look at our entire White House staff and Cabinet and various appointments, I think people will feel that we followed through on our commitment to make sure that this is not only an administration that is diverse ethnically but it’s also diverse politically,” Obama said at a Dec. 16 news conference.

Transportation Department

The Transportation Department will have a major role in the infrastructure projects -- including roads and bridges -- that Obama says will be central to any plan to boost the U.S. economy out of a recession.

LaHood, if confirmed, would become the 16th secretary of the agency created by Congress and President Lyndon Baines Johnson in 1966. It has almost 60,000 employees and a $70 billion annual budget.

The Transportation Department is struggling with how to end gridlock on the ground and in the air. Congress in September had to bail out the government’s highway trust fund with $8 billion to prevent it from running out of money for road improvements.

Average highway delays in the 437 largest U.S. urban areas have almost tripled since 1982, according to the Texas Transportation Institute in College Station.

Meanwhile, airline delays last year were the second worst on record. That costs the economy $41 billion a year in items such as fuel, missed vacations and lost productivity, the Joint Economic Committee reported in May.

Legislation to increase funding for air-traffic control equipment to cut delays has been stalled for more than a year in Congress. Lawmakers were in a dispute over how much more business-jet owners should pay in fuel taxes to fund improvements.

Record in Congress

In Congress, LaHood’s record is one of a centrist, willing to cast votes that crossed partisan lines. He voted in favor of raising vehicle fuel economy standards and co-sponsored legislation, with Emanuel, to extend health insurance to those without it. Yet he also has supported his party on core issues, such as putting up a fence along the U.S. border with Mexico and extending a program allowing wiretaps without warrants.

The National Journal rated his votes in Congress as 54 percent conservative and 46 percent liberal on economic issues in 2005, and 61 percent conservative and 38 percent liberal in 2006.

LaHood won re-election in 2006 with 67 percent of the vote and announced last July that he wouldn’t seek another term.

Former Teacher

A former junior high school teacher, LaHood came to Washington as a top staff member for former U.S. Representative Tom Railsback and later for Representative Bob Michel, who was the ranking Republican in the House. When Michel decided to retire from Congress in 1994, LaHood ran for his seat and won.

He served on the Appropriations Committee and the Agriculture Committee in the House. He also presided over the impeachment vote of then-President Bill Clinton.

LaHood had considered running for Illinois governor in 2006 to challenge the incumbent, Rod Blagojevich, who was arrested Dec. 9 on charges of solicitation of bribery and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Among other alleged acts, prosecutors said Blagojevich tried to parlay his authority to appoint Obama’s successor in the Senate into financial gain.

To contact the reporters on this story: Michael Tackett in Washington at mtackett@bloomberg.net; John Hughes in Washington at jhughes5@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: December 17, 2008 16:06 EST