Once again the General Assembly has within its reach a comprehensive set of reforms to clean up Illinois’ disgraceful “anything goes” state procurement system.
And once again some legislators will cast about for a reason–any reason–not to support it. This has gone on for five years, ever since a Tribune investigative series titled “Between Friends” documented the extent to which cronyism and clout have replaced price and quality as the main guides to state purchasing decisions.
The leading proposal at this fall’s legislative session, authored by Sen. Steven Rauschenberger (R-Elgin), does not try to be all things to all men. (Among other objectionable features, for instance, it creates a preference system for in-state vendors.)
On balance, however, the Rauschenberger reforms are the best yet proposed, and more important, a huge improvement over the loophole-ridden state purchasing code now in effect. Instead of the slippery “competitive selection procedure” that now governs, requiring purchasing agents to obtain just one or two price quotes for purposes of comparison, all purchases of supplies worth more than $10,000 would have to be openly and competitively bid. If that low threshold (which is raised to $25,000 a year for professional services and $30,000 for construction) proves too cumbersome, it can be raised by amendment down the road. For now, it’s progress.
The same goes for a provision that requires a new round of bidding whenever a state-initiated “change order” substantially expands the size of a contract. Such a clause might have prevented the still-unfolding scandal involving Management Services of Illinois (MSI.) That contractor to the Public Aid Department got its contract quietly quadrupled in return for some well-aimed kickbacks.
Other reforms would ban government higher-ups, as well as immediate former state employees, from contracting with the state. An extensive “procurement bulletin” would be published detailing all bidded purchases with a full explanation whenever a low bidder is rejected.
To its credit, this latest set of reforms has been expanded to embrace the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, the University of Illinois and other state colleges. It’s about time, although this all but guarantees some powerful opposition.
Voters need to ask whether the opponents have something to hide.
