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"Our goal is to make sure small and minority contractors have a fair
shot at winning contracts. This new program gives smaller companies
that are breaking into the business an opportunity to succeed by
working with larger contractors that have succeeded in the business
and are willing to share their knowledge," said Gov. Blagojevich.
The new program has been approved by the U.S. Department of
Transportation's Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) as a
three-year pilot project. It will be offered in four of IDOT's
Districts around the state, including D-1 in northeastern Illinois,
D-4 based in Peoria, D-6 based in Springfield, and D-8 in Metro
East.
"The FHWA applauds IDOT's development of one of the nation's
first FHWA-approved Mentor-Protege programs, and we look forward to
working with the State to find additional opportunities for DBE
firms," said FHWA Administrator J. Richard Capka. "Efforts like
these will go a long way to leveling the playing field for small,
socially and economically disadvantaged businesses, including
minority- and women-owned enterprises."
The federally approved Mentor-Protege pilot program compensates
mentor companies for the administrative expenses associated with the
effort and teams up a larger, experienced firm with contractors that
are certified as a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise in Illinois.
The deadline for potential mentor and protege firms to apply for the
first round of the program is Feb. 16.
Under the new program, once a mentor firm and a protege are
teamed up, they will jointly establish a Development Plan that
outlines their goals and expectations, sets benchmarks and creates a
monitoring and reporting mechanism that will be used to judge the
effectiveness of the effort.
The plan may include training in the following areas: business
planning, recordkeeping, technical assistance and use of equipment,
capital formation, loan packaging, financial counseling and bonding.
The mentor and protege will work together toward the goal of
winning contracts for the protege, and the two contractors will have
the option of forming joint ventures to bid on projects.
"IDOT has raised the bar itself by increasing the statewide goal
for the percentage of contracts going to DBEs from 12 percent in
2003 to the current goal of 22.7 percent," said IDOT Secretary
Timothy W. Martin. "But building roads is a tough and complicated
business, and that's why we are moving forward with this creative
new program targeted at small contracting firms."
The Blagojevich administration and IDOT, through its Office of
Business and Workforce Diversity, have moved aggressively to break
down barriers that prevent small and minority contractors from
succeeding in the road construction field.
IDOT has upgraded and expanded the supportive services it offers
to DBEs to enable them to compete for contracts. Under this
administration, IDOT opened walk-in DBE Resource Centers in both
Chicago and East St. Louis. Previously, contractors seeking
assistance had to travel to Springfield.
In order to give small firms a fair shot at competing for work,
IDOT has unbundled a number of larger contracts on the Dan Ryan and
Kingery reconstruction projects in Chicago and Cook County into
smaller contracts.
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 IDOT's efforts to level the playing field for DBEs got a boost in
2005 when a federal judge upheld the constitutionality of the
program and found that it was narrowly tailored to remedy past
racial and gender discrimination.
To qualify for the new Mentor-Protege Program, the mentor must
have at least five years of experience as an IDOT contractor. The
protege must have at least three years of highway construction
experience and also be certified as a DBE through the Illinois
Unified Certification Program.
Progress in the program will be overseen by IDOT's Mentor-Protege
Oversight Committee.
For more information, interested parties should go to the IDOT
website at
www.dot.state.il.us/obwd/mentor.html.
IDOT's initiatives fit in with the broader effort of the
Governor's administration to create opportunities for small and
minority businesses.
Last year, the Department of Central Management Services (CMS)
launched an initiative to highlight how entrepreneurs across the
state can Sell2Illinois -- and expand their capacity, enhance their
credentials and grow their revenues -- by making the State their
next customer. CMS helps State agencies purchase more than $10
billion in products and services every year, and the agency targeted
small companies as well as businesses owned by women, minorities and
persons with disabilities throughout the state to compete for this
business.
The agency set aside significantly more contracts for small
businesses, and aggressively raised revenue thresholds so more firms
qualify for the Small Business Set Aside (SBSA) program. As a
result, more state money now flows to small Illinois firms. Last
year, the state awarded a record $38.5 million in set-aside
contracts to small businesses -- nearly triple the amount of the
year before.
Additionally, entrepreneurs who are women, minorities or persons
with disabilities can more effectively compete for state contracts.
Spending with diverse firms through the Business Enterprise Program
(BEP) increased by $30 million -- an 8 percent increase -- to $384
million in 2005. Business owners can learn how to compete for this
business by visiting www.sell2.illinois.gov.
Gov. Blagojevich has also created, for the first time, a
formalized structure for coordinating services to small businesses
and entrepreneurs across the state through the Illinois
Entrepreneurship Network (IEN). The Governor has opened almost 20
entrepreneurship centers throughout the state that are a vital
component of the IEN, which also includes Small Business Development
Centers, Procurement Technical Assistance Centers, International
Trade Centers and other partners.
The IEN website,
www.ienconnect.com, features a free business needs assessment
and a referral within 24 hours for personalized, face-to-face
assistance. Entrepreneurs who call toll-free to the IEN information
center (1-800-252-2923) can also connect with service
representatives who will assess their business concerns and direct
them to the local resources that best meets their needs.
(Text
copied from file received from the
Illinois Office of Communication and Information) |
