Stimulus dollars are pouring into road projects around Illinois. And according to an analysis by WBEZ, minority- and women-owned businesses are getting less than 10 percent of the stimulus dollars spent on road projects in the state. That’s even though the state has a goal of giving out 22.77 percent of the money to disadvantaged business enterprises or DBEs.
In a set of about 120 contracts we looked at in depth, we found that black-owned firms—like Mosley Construction in St. Anne, Illinois—were getting less than 2 percent of the work. A few years ago, they won a coveted contract to work on the extension of the Dan Ryan and now contemplate how things have changed.
Join Eight Forty-Eight Wednesday as our panel of experts tells us why it should matter to us that the state of Illinois is not reaching goals it set for itself to give contracts to disadvantaged businesses. Send your questions and comments now:
Email: 848@chicagopublicradio.org
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