(The Center Square) — State diversity leaders recently reported a large increase in the number of Illinois businesses that get better access to state contracts — those that are owned by racial minorities, women or people with disabilities — thanks to a partial solution to a computer problem that has been ongoing for two years.
But that pool of certified businesses is still much smaller than it was before the problem.
It began in July 2024, when the state Commission on Equity and Inclusion switched to a new computer system that was supposed to streamline its efforts but instead led to a steep decrease in the number of businesses because it is incompatible with the systems of other government agencies.
By May 2026 the number of businesses had dropped to about 2,700, or half of its peak of about 5,400.
This month the commission reported an increase of about 21 percent to 3,268. It was the first meaningful increase in certifications since the computer switch.
“We’re seeing the progress,” LaTasha Binder, a deputy director for the commission, said during a public meeting last week. “And we expect to see more increase.”
The old system was able to automatically pull data about businesses that were certified by other government entities, such as the city of Chicago. The new computer system lacks a similar automation, so the commission’s staff is now manually uploading the data from other agencies into the commission’s system, said Robin Streets, the commission’s acting executive director.
The commission “is also developing a solution that will enable automated bulk uploads,” Streets told The Center Square in an email.
He did not specify how much of the recent increase in certifications was due to the staff’s manual uploads or how many remained to be processed.
The size of the certification pool is important to the state’s diversity efforts, which includes goals of awarding 20 or 30 percent of state contract money to businesses that state leaders have determined to be disadvantaged.
After a business certifies that it is majority owned by someone who is a racial minority, female or disabled, the business gets help to navigate the state contracting process and preference in selection. The advantage is significant enough that businesses have attempted to fake eligibility for the designation.
Despite the certification decline, the commission reported that the state awarded about $1.6 billion of contract money to the businesses last year. That’s a new high, but the money went to about 9 percent fewer businesses.
Several Democrat and Republican state lawmakers have said they are displeased with the commission’s work, and some want to disband it. Lawmakers created the commission in 2022 and put seven commissioners at its helm, each of who have salaries of more than $150,000.
The commission’s executive director recently resigned to take a different state government job.