* Elgie Sims is one of the most powerful members of the Illinois Senate. And he didn’t achieve that by blustering his way into news stories. This sort of public grilling usually only comes when somebody is frustrated after years of behind the scenes work…
Lawmakers say Illinois-based businesses are getting work in other states but struggling to get business in their home state.
The state’s chief procurement officers appeared before the Illinois Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday.
State Sen. Elgie Sims Jr, D-Chicago, said Illinois-based companies get work in Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin, Texas, Florida and Georgia.
“We are hearing it across the board, ‘I can get business elsewhere and I can’t get business from my own home state.’ That’s a problem,” Sims said.
Sims said he is not hearing an effective procurement plan from any of the CPOs to help Illinois businesses succeed.
State Sen. Celina Villanueva, D-Chicago, said she would not be as gentle as Sims.
“I’m very frustrated. Actually, I’m just going to say it. I’m very furious. I see no fire under any of you all to try to address this situation,” Villanueva said.
Villanueva asked the CPOs to provide a timeline for solutions.
Capital Development Board CPO Kenneth Morris said he would present a timeline within a week, but the other three CPOs did not provide specific dates.
* Speaking of CBD…
Long‑delayed university repair funding is leaving campuses across the state with holes in their roofs, and in project budgets. […]
Funding for deferred university maintenance was a focus in a Senate committee hearing early this week. University officials told lawmakers that aging buildings have deteriorated so badly that some spaces can no longer be used.
Northern Illinois University President Lisa Freeman was among university officials to speak up about the degradation of multi-million dollar buildings as a result of ongoing delays in funding.
“NIU has not received $34 million of its allocated $52.9 million of capital renewal funds from fiscal year ’20, and this has caused the university to assume prolonged risks associated with aging infrastructure,” said Freeman. […]
Freeman said the 2024 plan to level an unusable dorm and build a Health Technology Center – backed by a record $40 million donation – has been stalled for two years, awaiting action from the state’s Capital Development Board, giving no reason why.
- Anyone Remember - Thursday, Apr 9, 26 @ 1:57 pm:
Based upon my somewhat limited experience, state procurement staff are inculcated with an ethos they have to nitpick everything to make up for a real series of procurement gaffes, going back at least 50 years, to Thompson’s Downstate Campaign Chair working for a business that Thompson, once in office, excluded from competitive bidding.
- Make IL's Procurement Work Again - Thursday, Apr 9, 26 @ 2:16 pm:
This four-head CPO system just does not work. No other state has a bifurcated procurement system like Illinois. It is time to totally undo this system where the CPO’s and their staffs lord over real life transactions and stop small businesses from getting into the State’s ecosystem. No checks, no balance…just inefficiency. Businesses spend $10k to pursue state work, just for the process to take 12 months to award…things do not even cost the same. DISMANTLE THE CPO SYSTEM and align the procurement code to a system that works–a procurement team responsible to call balls and strikes on the process. “Nice recommendations unfortunately did not implement? Negligence. And who was on this committee? EEC can still audit but something HAS TO GIVE. GOOD ON THOSE SENATORS FOR DECLARING ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!
- Deep thoughts - Thursday, Apr 9, 26 @ 2:23 pm:
the independence of the CPOs is both a blessing and a curse. It’s good to know that safeguards exist to prevent corruption in state procurement, but their independence typically insulates them from criticism or oversight. I’m happy to see these senators take them to task on this. Nobody should live in a bubble, even people in procurement. Doing business in Illinois is a real challenge, and those procuring should be able to talk freely with people from the business community, but nobody talks to anybody because our procurement people prefer to do what they want without being questioned.
- DuPage Dad - Thursday, Apr 9, 26 @ 2:24 pm:
I like JB but am so very confounded why management in his admin has been so consistently lacking. Is it because he has deputies who don’t have experience in that? Procurement and capital budget management are not new elements of public administration. Please get it right.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Apr 9, 26 @ 2:27 pm:
===very confounded why management in his admin has been so consistently lacking===
Part of the initial problem was that things were so bad to begin with. But he’s had more than 7 years to clean it up.
- Ducky LaMoore - Thursday, Apr 9, 26 @ 2:43 pm:
One/two words… BidBuy. What a relentlessly frustrating system for all involved.