Department of Procurement Services Announces Record Construction Summit Turnout

February 6, 2019

Annual event brings continued resources to Chicago vendor community

The Chicago  Department  of  Procurement  Services  (DPS)  today  held  its  seventh  annual  City  of  Chicago Construction Summit, at the JLM Life Center on Chicago’s West Side. More than 1,200 participants registered for the event, representing manufacturers, contractors, and suppliers of all sizes and specialties. Attendees had the opportunity to meet one-on-one with over 70 exhibitors, including City of Chicago departments; government agencies and anchor institutions; non-profit assist agencies; and support organizations about resources and upcoming construction and construction-related opportunities. 

“The City of Chicago continues to provide numerous resources to hundreds of construction contractors and subcontractors in order to strengthen diversity participation in the bidding process,” said Mayor Rahm Emanuel. “We continue to host events such as the Construction Summit to encourage the utilization of local businesses and most importantly, ensure the vendors who work on City projects reflect the diversity of the City itself."

The Construction Summit was held for the third consecutive year in partnership with the JLM Life Center, a City of Chicago Assist Agency. Attendees received information about the numerous programs and initiatives developed by the City of Chicago to encourage the growth of small, local, minority, women, and veteran-owned businesses,  and  businesses  owned  or  operated  by  people  with  disabilities.  Additionally,  the  Construction Summit  featured  several  workshops  led  by  subject  matter  experts  in  procurement,  certification,  and employment resources, including presentations by the Departments of Aviation, Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, Family and Support Services, and Transportation, as well as the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership. For a full listing of exhibitors and information about the event, visit  www.cityofchicago.org/construction.

“Under the leadership of Mayor Emanuel, we are building on the strong foundation of providing resources to help  strengthen  our  local  diverse  businesses,”  said  Chief  Procurement  Officer  Shannon  E.  Andrews.  “We continue to offer important programming such as the Construction Summit to provide opportunities for vendors to interact with subject matter experts and make the connections to take their businesses to the next level.”

The Construction Summit is one in a series of efforts to enhance the City’s procurement processes, and is a result of the Mayor’s commitment to creating competitive, fair, and transparent procurement for the City of Chicago. DPS will host the 2019 Vendor Fair on May 15, 2019 at the UIC Forum. This event will feature over 130 exhibitors from professional services, technology, work services, and commodities from federal, state, and local government agencies. It will also include networking sessions where attendees can have one-on-one meetings with prime contractors and developers, and various customized workshops for businesses of all sizes and types.

To  view  procurement  improvements,  programs  &  initiatives  implemented  under  Mayor  Emanuel,  visit: https://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/dps/supp_info/process_improvements.html

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 Download PDF of the Construction Summit 2019 Press Release

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