By Townhall Chicago News Staff
The Illinois Tollway on Wednesday announced it is continuing efforts to help small and diverse businesses grow and gain experience through the agency’s contracting and procurement programs.
The initiative, detailed in a posting on the Tollway’s media center, builds on the agency’s existing Partnering for Growth program that encourages contractors and consultants to assist disadvantaged, minority- and women-owned business enterprise firms, veteran-owned small businesses and other small firms in becoming more competitive.
The Tollway’s Partnering for Growth program pairs small, diverse businesses with experienced mentoring firms that have a track record working on Tollway projects. The relationships help smaller companies gain experience, improve business practices and obtain new prequalifications, according to the agency’s website.
For construction firms, the program offers bid credits of up to $100,000 per year that may be applied toward future Tollway construction bids. In a competitive industry, those credits give participating contractors a bidding advantage on Tollway contracts, according to the program description.
The Tollway also operates a Technical Assistance Program that provides guidance to small firms seeking to participate in agency projects. The program has helped businesses navigate steps such as obtaining bonding, finding insurance and gaining other skills needed to compete for public infrastructure work.
Luis Vazquez, president of Toro Construction Corp. in Orland Park, has credited the program with helping his family-owned business grow from about $100,000 in revenue in 2010 to roughly $42 million, according to a Tollway profile of the company.
“The Technical Assistance program has helped us understand how we can excel and how we can work with the Tollway,” Vazquez said in the profile. “We also got a lot of exposure through the program so other businesses know who we are and what we do.”
The program operates across both construction and professional services. For professional services, larger firms may mentor a smaller firm that is serving as the prime contractor on a Tollway project in what the agency calls a “reverse” Partnering for Growth agreement.
The Tollway maintains a 294-mile system in 12 counties across northern Illinois and manages capital programs totaling tens of billions of dollars, creating significant demand for construction and engineering contractors.
The agency has held outreach events across the region in recent years to connect with small and diverse businesses. The Tollway hosted an event in University Park in June for small, diverse and veteran-owned businesses pursuing state contracts, according to prior agency releases.
The Tollway’s current capital programs include the $15 billion Move Illinois plan, the $2 billion Bridging the Future plan and the $26.5 billion Driving Connections program approved by the board in August.
Businesses interested in the program can contact the Illinois Tollway or visit the agency’s website for more information on upcoming networking events and application procedures.
