Rodney P. Hunt made a name for himself by becoming one of the most successful black-owned government contractors in the country. And he wasn’t shy about it; he let everyone know about his success, talking up the lavish $23.1 million mansion that owned on the riverfront in McLean, VA. We say “owned” because the house […]
(Chicago Reporter) — Shaking hands with officials from the Illinois Lottery, Bob Dale felt like a winner. No, he didn’t win the jackpot or even one of those scratch-off cards. But his business, R.J. Dale Advertising, had just sealed a $100 million contract with the Illinois Department of Revenue, one of the largest contracts awarded […]
(Chicago Sun Times) — Inspector General Joe Ferguson is urging City Hall to adopt a no-gift policy after alleging that companies doing business with Chicago’s Department of Transportation spent nearly $20,000 over a two-year period on gifts and special events for city employees with contract oversight. “This is an area that is fraught with the […]
(Chicago Sun Times) — Mayoral candidate Carol Moseley Braun has unveiled her plans to improve the process of allocating contracts to minority- and women-owned businesses. Calling the issue one of “grave importance,” Braun said: “It goes to the heart of defining our community as one of inclusion and diversity or exclusion and cabals.” If elected, […]
(The Business Review) — Using a downtown Buffalo coffee shop that’s owned by an African-American woman, New York Gov. David Paterson signed a new bill into law that encourages more investment in minority and women-owned businesses across the state. The bill, championed by Assemblywoman Crystal Peoples-Stokes, D-Buffalo, now ensures that minority and women-owned businesses will have an […]
(Chattanooga Times Free Press) — Carolyn Jones, president of family business C.J. Enterprises, founded a records and information management business in her basement in 1980. Now 30 years later, the Emory University graduate operates offices in Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, Texas, Kentucky and Ohio, and has a partner in New Zealand, making C.J. Enterprises one of […]
(Washington Post) — Google has filed a lawsuit against the Interior Department claiming that the agency favored competitor Microsoft when considering bids for a new Web-based e-mail system. In an action filed with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims on Friday, Google asked the court to halt the Interior Department’s bidding process, which it says is […]
(Chicago Tribune) — City officials circumvented competitive bidding rules to steer a $23 million digital-radio contract to Schaumburg-based Motorola, according to City Hall’s top watchdog and documents obtained by the Tribune. Inspector General Joseph Ferguson concluded that officials at Chicago’s 911 center falsified paperwork to justify giving the contract to a preselected firm. That company […]
(Washington Business Journal) — Beginning early next year, federal agencies will begin setting aside contracts for women-owned businesses in industries where they have been under-represented in government contracting. This historic event will occur more than 10 years after Congress directed the Small Business Administration to establish this program. The program was authorized in the waning […]
(Washington Post) — Washington area defense contractors are buying and selling companies at an increasingly high rate as they seek to position themselves for a realignment in Pentagon spending priorities. BAE Systems, which bases its U.S. operations in Arlington County, is the latest to make some changes. The company recently picked up Stamford, Conn.-based L-1 […]
(NYT) — Businesses owned by women and members of minorities still struggle to secure city contracts, despite nearly five years of legal mandates and targeted goals set by the city, says a new City Council report [pdf – see also below]. City agencies handed out more than $5.3 billion in contracts between July and December 2009, […]
(Chicago Sun Times) — Two firms awarded contracts by Cook County President Todd Stroger’s administration can’t be found on state or county business registries, yet they received upfront payments in deals that investigators are now looking at, according to state and county officials and documents obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times. The businesses aren’t registered with […]