Black advocates say Illinois colleges, universities should hire more Black vendors for services | Top Stories
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — Colleges and universities in Illinois are required to procure at least 30% of their services from disadvantaged businesses. Although, many Black business leaders say the state is failing to meet that goal.
Advocates told the House Higher Education Appropriations Committee Thursday that Illinois colleges and universities should hire more Black vendors for goods and services. Some noted that many higher education institutions are only members of white or traditional chambers of commerce.
“When the community colleges and universities decide to not participate in Black business associations or minority business associations, that’s a direct avoidance of those grounds,” said Dr. Cornel Darden Jr, CEO of the Chicago Southland Black Chamber of Commerce. “And avoiding those groups results in the low numbers that we’re seeing.”
Related Links
State lawmakers know that most universities and colleges across the state are far from reaching the goal of 30% procurement with minority-owned businesses. However, leaders from the University of Illinois System said they have seen great improvement over recent years.
“We just finished our high water mark for certified achievement at almost $130 million,” said Aaron Carter, Assistant Vice President of Procurement Services for the University of Illinois System. “As a percentage of addressable spend, that puts us right at about 11%, almost 22% of state appropriations when you look at that.”
Carter said that is also the highest total dollars spent for both African American and Hispanic vendors at roughly $22 million each.
Leaders from the University of Illinois System said they have seen great improvement with procurement of goods and services from disadvantaged businesses in recent years.
While Black advocates said they appreciated Thursday’s discussion, they stressed that actions speak louder than words.
“In the world of academia and corporate, we’re talking about diversity, and equity and inclusion,” said Dr. Hermene Hartment, founder of N’Digo Chicago. “Diversity is not equity. Equity is not inclusion. Those are three separate things. And what we have to get to is a result.”
The Chicago Southland Black Chamber of Commerce suggested lawmakers should create a task force made up of Black business associations to monitor progress for procurement and recommend necessary changes.
Rep. La Shawn Ford (D-Chicago) said he is committed to addressing this issue through the House Higher Education Appropriations Committee over the coming months.
Copyright 2024. WAND TV. All rights reserved.
