Illinois Tollway connects with local businesses to encourage work on state projects

More than 300 representatives and owners of local small businesses gathered in Elgin recently with Illinois Tollway officials to seek tips on how to work with the agency on future projects.

The effort, led by Illinois Tollway, aims to connect small, diverse and veteran-owned firms with resources and training that will increase their opportunities to provide goods and services to the Tollway and other government agencies, according to a news release from Illinois Tollway.

The Contracting With Government workshop, held in May at the Edward Schock Centre in Elgin, provided workshops and seminars that shared the Tollway’s buying plans, its procurement process and the certification requirements to bid on contracts.

“The Tollway is dedicated to expanding our pool of small, diverse and veteran-owned contractors, and the resources we’re providing at this event will help increase the opportunities those firms have to do business not only with the Tollway, but with other state agencies,” Illinois Tollway Executive Director Cassaundra Rouse said in the release.

Working with Illinois Tollway isn’t limited to road construction. Information technology companies can assist with security and online credit card payments. Other areas include providing road salt, towing services, cameras, bridges and office construction services, Interim Chief of Diversity and Strategic Development Marlene Vick said.

“The Tollway does a lot more than roads,” she said.

If not interested in working with state agencies, local businesses at the event also could connect with the state to learn how to get certified as a small, women-owned or veteran-owned business, Vick said.

Participating agencies and businesses at the workshop included the Illinois Commission on Equity and Inclusion, the Illinois Chief Procurement Office for General Services, the office of the Illinois Secretary of State, the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, Elgin Chamber of Commerce and Apex Accelerator.

This was the second workshop Illinois Tollway hosted, the first was last year in Chicago. The next workshop will be in November with the goal to host them twice a year in each of the 12 counties in the Illinois Tollway system, Vick said.

Julio Lopez, owner of Elgin-based Valentine General Construction, attended the workshop to seek out learning and expansion opportunities.

“We believe to never put all of our eggs in one basket,” he said.

Lopez’ business is small, with a team of five to six full-time employees. The company has worked with the Illinois Department of Transportation, the city of Elgin and Cook County, but not with Illinois Tollway, he said. The workshop gave him an opportunity to learn about the tollway’s bid system and other areas to get certified.

“If you’re not learning, you’re not living,” he said.

Plainfield-based JBJBusinessGroup owner Jerry Bell said he attended the workshop looking to network with officials and agency leaders. The veteran-owned business identifies organizational development gaps in other businesses.

“It’s hard to break in on your own if you don’t know the right people,” he said.

The local business outreach efforts started while the tollway is dealing with a $27 million fallout from awarding a major construction contract to the wrong company, according to the Daily Herald.

Illinois Tollway settled a lawsuit and lost the money because it had to change the contract award from a New York-based company to a local firm for the reconfiguring of the southbound side of the I-88/I-290 interchange project.

A 2023 state law requires Illinois Tollway and other state agencies to offer a 4% preference, or reduction, to Illinois companies bidding on projects. That preference would have made the Illinois company the lowest bidder on the interchange project, according to the Daily Herald.

Asked about preventing future such mishaps, Illinois Tollway communications manager Dan Rozek said the Tollway has coordinated with the state’s chief procurement office to revise its procurement policies to inform builders about the 4% preference. The Tollway now also requires bidders to provide proof they are from Illinois.

Many projects are in the works through the 16-year, $15 billion Move Illinois capital program dedicated to improving mobility, relieving congestion and reducing pollution, including the creation of the Route 390 tollway and widening of I-90, according to the Illinois Tollway website.

Almost $11.8 billion has been invested in capital improvements since 2012, with more than $3.1 billion committed to small, diverse and veteran-owned firms, according to Illinois Tollway. The program has created or sustained an estimated 141,500 jobs as of April.

“Small, diverse, and veteran-owned businesses are the building blocks of our economy, and my administration is proud to provide the assistance they need to do business with the state,” Gov. JB Pritzker said in the release. “I want to thank all the participating agencies for their support, and I strongly encourage entrepreneurs interested in exploring new ways to expand their firms to attend this event.”

The Illinois Tollway is a user-fee system that receives no state or federal funds for maintenance and operations, according the release. The agency maintains and operates 294 miles of roadways in 12 counties in northern Illinois, including the Reagan Memorial Tollway (Interstate-88), the Veterans Memorial Tollway (I-355), the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90), the Tri-State Tollway (I-94/I-294/I-80) and the Illinois Route 390 Tollway.