June 14, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information, contact Ibis Antongiorgi, Press Secretary to Cook County Board President Todd H. Stroger, at 312-603-0396 or by email at iantongiorgi@cookcountygov.com. 

County Showcases New Electronic Purchasing Tools As Part of Larger Modernization Project

June 14, 2007, Chicago – Cook County Board President Todd H. Stroger joined County Commissioners William Beavers (4th District) and Larry Suffredin (13th District), along with Cook County Purchasing Agent Carmen Triche-Colvin and Jerry Roper, President and CEO of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, on Thursday for a press conference and public demonstration of new upgrades and innovations to the Purchasing Agent’s online operations. Commissioners Beavers, Suffredin and Finance Committee Chairman John P. Daley (11th District) were the principle cosponsors with President Stroger of a series of reforms to the County’s procurement ordinance that were passed out of the County Board’s Finance Committee earlier this week.

“The Purchasing Department’s web portal innovations are part of my administration’s pledge to improve the way we do business in Cook County,” said President Stroger. “We’re committed to bringing innovative technologies to bear to cut costs and improve accountability, and this is part of that larger effort.”

Stroger made reforms and improvements of the County’s procurement process a key part of his campaign platform, and the Purchasing Department has played a central role in those efforts. To date, the Department has deployed the first and second phases of a redesigned website operation that will ultimately allow vendors and County departments to utilize the site for access to purchasing functions that include contract specs, quotes, and RFP’s/RFI’s/RFQ’s. Thursday’s demonstration included an introduction to a number of the web portal innovations the Department has instituted since the first of the year.

The Purchasing Department website redesign is part of a larger effort to increase the pool of qualified vendors from which County agencies and departments solicit commodities and services, and to make full use of existing technologies to streamline procedures, improve purchasing efficiencies, and explore any and all possible revenue streams.

The Purchasing Department’s modernization efforts are also designed to foster and promote the growth of small, minority, and women owned businesses by providing opportunities for business, vendor education, and support.

President Stroger has made improvements in the County’s purchasing procedures a priority for his administration, as a way to help the public better understand and monitor how the County operates, and to help foster collaboration between the Purchasing Department and other County department and agencies to better utilize limited County resources. That commitment to collaboration includes exploring possible partnerships with state and municipal agencies to maximize economies of scale, as well. Earlier this week, the County Board’s Finance Committee passed Stroger’s proposed amendments to Cook County’s procurement code, designed to modernize purchasing procedures and create greater transparency and accountability in purchasing procedures.

The County currently oversees hundreds of millions of dollars of vendor contracts for goods and services each year that are essential to the daily operations of County agencies. The Office of the Purchasing Agent has deployed a series of website innovations and reforms since the first of the year. 

• The Office has updated its website, enabling vendors to communicate with the Office electronically;
• The Office has developed an online vendor registration form;
• The Office has made all contracts available on the website for Corporate Cook County, with the exception of Capital Planning, where security issues related to contract terms are being addressed;
• The Office has created email notifications for all contracts and quotations, which are sent to all registered vendors. Vendors may register on the County’s website and receive e-mail notifications of all contracts and quotations every Monday and Thursday.
• The Office is posting all contracts awarded by the Board Meeting Dates, allowing vendors 3 days to protest the award.
• The Office has redesigned the Bid Report, which will be available electronically 3 days prior to the Board Meeting.
• Venders may now download contracts electronically for goods and services over $25,000.
• Quotations for goods and services under $25,000 may now also be downloaded electronically. 

The Office of the Purchasing Agent has also instituted a series of major changes to the County’s procurement code, which the Board Finance Committee passed on June 11. Those changes will:

• Allow the continued enhancement of electronic procurement by authorizing electronic signatures;
• Limit contract modification to $1,000 without Board approval;
• Incorporate the County’s new Living Wage Ordinance for all contract documents;
• Provide increased penalties for any person or entity for making a false statement under oath;
• Include specific language regarding contract disqualification for non-compliance with child support orders;
• Require professional service contracts and contracts which by their nature are not adapted to award by competitive bidding that are over $25,000 to be procured through the issuance of a Request for Proposal (“RFP”).

The last provision is expected to greatly enhance the County’s capacity to utilize a transparent, competitive bidding process for professional contracts in arenas that range from counseling services to law enforcement consultation.

To view the Purchasing Department’s new website, go to www.cookcountygov.com/purchasing..

For more information, contact Ibis Antongiorgi, Press Secretary to Cook County Board President Todd H. Stroger, at 312-603-0396 or iantongiorgi@cookcountygov.com. 

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