Small Business Initiative

Program Goal

The Illinois Tollway Small Business Initiative is a race- and gender- neutral program intended to increase opportunities for small construction companies to participate on Tollway construction contracts.

Program Overview

The initiative puts small businesses in a position to succeed and grow by:

• Identifying select construction contracts, generally with values of approximately $1 million, specifically for small businesses to perform as prime contractors
• Establishing small business goals for select construction contracts on a project-by-project basis

Who Should Apply

Firms must be registered in the state’s Small Business Set-Aside Program and meet the following criteria:

• Gross revenues of $14 million or less annually
• Meet specifications that may include prequalification with either the Illinois Department of Transportation or Illinois Capital Development Board, which will be determined on a project-by-project basis

How to Get Involved

Firms must meet the qualification criteria and register within the Illinois Procurement Gateway as a small business in order to bid on Small Business Initiative Tollway contracts.

Additional information on the state’s Small Business Set-Aside Program may be found on the Illinois Procurement Gateway at ipg.vendorreg.com

The Tollway also unbundles larger contracts into several smaller jobs defining small contract opportunities in amounts generally under $5 million. Firms do not have to be registered in the state’s Small Business Set-Aside Program to bid on unbundled contracts.