DISTRICT 1 MEET AND GREET

Get a chance to meet Prime Contractors!

Our Bureau of Small Business Enterprises is providing an opportunity for DBE contractors in the Chicagoland area to meet with their local Prime contractors! Don’t miss out on this great opportunity. Click here for more information and register today.  

SUCCESS STORY:  DONTE HAIRE

In August of 2010, after I was released from prison, I saw a poster for the Highway Construction Careers Training Program in my post office box. I completed the program in December of 2010 and was inducted into the Carpenter’s union as a first term apprentice on April 4, 2011. During my apprenticeship, I worked with many of the major construction contractors both on the Illinois side of the river and the Missouri side. All this work allowed me to move through the Carpenters apprenticeship program with the goal of becoming a journeyman. In December 2015, I reached that first goal. I continued working on both commercial and residential jobs---honing my skills and dreaming of my future as a small business owner. 

DBE SPOTLIGHT

Lori Bradford Russell – Owner of Russell Electric Contracting, LLC 

“Russell Electric Contracting, LLC is a minority and woman-owned firm, certified as a DBE in 2013. I believe that utilizing the DBE program is the most effective way to be recognized and increase the participation of minority, woman-owned companies who seek being treated fairly when applying for projects that are considered very competitive in the work force. At Russell Electric Contracting, LLC, our outstanding team provides quality service and craftsmanship for residential, commercial, industrial customers, fiber optics, and camera security services. We pride ourselves in the employment of qualified and skilled union workers in the electrical field to offer the best service possible to our customers. And with the DBE program, we can be steadily busy and continue to grow in the many avenues of the electrical trade.” 

Russell Electric Contracting, LLC is the only Black, woman-owned IDOT DBE certified in in the category of electrical serving districts 2-9. 

Categories: Electrical 

Districts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

SUMMARY PTB-204 Note: $ in thousands

DBE Prime Selection Breakdown

DBE and Prime Meet and Greet in District One – Wednesday 9/7, 4-6pm. 

OBWD'S METRO EAST VISIT

In District 8, IDOT’s Office of Business and Workforce Diversity staff shared important information about the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program and Metro East projects in the new FY23-28 Multi-Year Program during a roundtable discussion held at the Gateway Convention Center in Collinsville on Aug. 16. Hosted by Madison County Employment & Training and St. Clair County Intergovernmental Grants Department Workforce Development Group, the event was available to the public via conference call.  

Our panel of five IDOT representatives included: 

• Jonathan McGee, Director, OBWD 
• Anna Ramirez, Southern Certification Analyst, SBE  
• Kirk H. Brown, Region 5 Engineer 
• Brian Hendricks, Policy and Supportive Services Unit Manager, SBE 
• Janice Gower, Data Specialist, SBE 

The following day, the IDOT team continued the conversation about state-funded projects and workforce diversity with America’s Central Port staff in Granite City.