(Crain's) — A federal judge in Springfield ruled that Illinois Transportation Secretary Gary Hannig can be sued by a highway contractor who alleges that the state’s goals for disadvantaged business subcontracting have turned into an unconstitutional quota system.
Dunnet Bay Construction Co., a mid-size highway contractor in west suburban Glendale Heights, alleges aides to Gov. Pat Quinn are pursuing an unwritten “no-waiver” stance on the state’s subcontracting goals for firms that are at least 51% owned by minorities or women.
Dunnet Bay was the low bidder last January on an Eisenhower Expressway repair project. But IDOT officials rejected that bid after finding the company had not subcontracted 22% of the work to small, disadvantaged firms, as bid specifications required, nor demonstrated “good-faith” efforts to do so.
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