title
RESOLUTION
ESTABLISHING THE DUPAGE COUNTY DISADVANTAGED, MINORITY,
AND WOMAN-OWNED BUSINESS ENTERPRISE PROGRAM
resolution
WHEREAS, DuPage County (“County”) seeks to ensure competitive business opportunities for certified Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (“DBEs”), Minority-owned Business Enterprises (“MBEs”) and Woman-owned Business Enterprises (“WBEs”) in the award and performance of County contracts, to prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, or sex in the award of, or participation in, County contracts, and to abolish barriers to full participation in County contracts by all persons, regardless of race, ethnicity or sex; and
WHEREAS, the County is committed to equal opportunity for DBEs, MBEs, WBEs to participate in the award and performance of County contracts; and
WHEREAS, the Supreme Court of the United States in City of Richmond v. J.A. Croson Co., 488 U.S. 469 (1989), has enunciated certain standards, often referred to as strict constitutional scrutiny, that are necessary to maintain effective contracting for race and gender conscious programs in compliance with constitutional requirements; and
WHEREAS, the County is committed to implementing its Disadvantaged, Minority, and Woman-Owned Business Enterprise Program (“Program”) for construction and construction-related contracts in conformance with the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Croson and its progeny; and
WHEREAS, the County awarded a contract in 2022 to perform a study of the County’s construction and construction-related contracts in conformance with the requirements of strict constitutional scrutiny (“Disparity Study”); and
WHEREAS, the Disparity Study was designed to gather and analyze evidence relevant to whether DuPage County has a strong basis in evidence of its compelling interest in using narrowly tailored measures to ameliorate identified discrimination in DuPage County’s Market Area; and
WHEREAS, the Disparity Study found ample quantitative and qualitative evidence of the current effects of past and present discrimination against MBE and WBE firms seeking to do business in the Market Area of DuPage County as both Prime Contractors and Subcontractors in construction and construction-related contracting activities; and
WHEREAS, the Disparity Study recommended that DuPage County employ race- and gender-neutral measures to remediate the identified discrimination; and
WHEREAS, the Disparity Study recommended that DuPage County employ narrowly tailored goals for the participation of DBE, MBE and WBE firms in its construction and construction-related contracting activities to further remediate the identified discrimination; and
WHEREAS, the “DuPage County Disparity Study 2023” was completed and presented to the DuPage County Board on September 12, 2023.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that DuPage County adopts the findings of the “DuPage County Disparity Study 2023” and adopts the following Disadvantaged, Minority, and Woman-Owned Business Enterprise Program Policy Framework for construction and construction-related contracts; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the DuPage County Chair is hereby authorized and directed to sign on behalf of the County of DuPage, and the DuPage County Clerk is hereby authorized to attest thereto.
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Enacted and approved this 11th day of June, 2024 at Wheaton, Illinois.
________________________________
DEBORAH A. CONROY, CHAIR
DU PAGE COUNTY BOARD
Attest: ___________________________________
JEAN KACZMAREK, COUNTY CLERK