SR1761enr 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

09900SR1761 Enrolled LRB099 21430 MST 47452 r

SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 1761

(As Amended by Senate Amendment No. 2)

WHEREAS, The State of Illinois has had a long-standing statutory goal of spending 20% of all procurement dollars on minority and women-owned businesses; and

WHEREAS, Investing in minority and women-owned businesses is a central economic development strategy for the State to ensure the businesses that prosper from the State's need for goods and services reflects the diversity of the entire State; and

WHEREAS, Legal services is one of the components that the State's statutory goal for spending 20% for minority and women-owned businesses apply towards; and

WHEREAS, The last year where full data is available on actual spending with minority and women-owned businesses is FY2015; and

WHEREAS, In FY2015, the State spent more than $35,000,000 on outside law firms in legal services; and

WHEREAS, Only 4% of the State's legal services in FY15 were with minority and women-owned firms; and

WHEREAS, The total spent on African-American owned law firms in FY15 was under $200,000, which is significantly less than 1% of the total spent on legal services the entire fiscal year; and

WHEREAS, Governor Rauner's administration was only responsible for half of the legal services spent in FY15 as the Governor was not inaugurated until the middle of that fiscal year; and

WHEREAS, While complete data for FY16 is not yet available, there have been a series of procurements for legal services that did not include any goal for minority or women-owned firms, including one posted April 8th for a Swaps Bond Counsel for the Governor's Office of Management and Budget; and

WHEREAS, Unless the Rauner administration makes a significant effort to increase the participation of minority and women-owned firms in legal spending, the administration is likely on track to dramatically fall short of the statutory goal of 20% participation; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the Rauner administration is urged to comply with the statutory goal of 20% participation with minority and women-owned firms, as well as the statutory goal for veteran-owned firms, particularly as it relates to professional services and legal services; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Rauner administration is urged to make every effort for FY16 to satisfy the 20% goal for participation with minority and women-owned firms in professional services as well as the statutory goal for veteran-owned firms, as that is the first full fiscal year completely administered by the Rauner administration; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be delivered to Governor Rauner.