Chicago Heights, IL-(ENEWSPF)- The Illinois Tollway, Illinois Community College Board (ICCB), Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), and the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (IHCC) announced plans to develop new programs and provide services to small businesses in the construction industry, including minority- and women-owned firms. The partnerships are designed to provide these firms the assistance they need to participate in the Tollway’s $12 billion capital program, Move Illinois: The Illinois Tollway Driving the Future.

Through an agreement with the ICCB, the Tollway will commit $578,000 to establish a new Construction Business Development Center (CBDC). The CBDC will be led by Prairie State College (PSC) in Chicago Heights, in partnership with South Suburban College (SSC) in South Holland, Moraine Valley Community College (MVCC) in Palos Hills, and Waubonsee Community College in Sugar Grove. This partnership will develop flexible, customized training and technical assistance to provide small, minority and women-owned firms in the construction industry with the skills and knowledge they need to grow and succeed.

According to Dr. Terri Winfree, vice president of community and economic development at PSC, this is terrific opportunity for this area. “This will allow us to assist the smaller construction companies to build capacity and prepare to bid as subcontractors on the Tollway projects. We will be positioned to assist companies with personalized technical assistance in addition to classroom training. While PSC is the lead college, we will be working closely with SSC, MVCC, and Wabaunsee to deliver the best service to assist these companies become successful. We are extremely excited about this opportunity to help the region.”

The CBDC will be located at PSC’s Matteson Area Center, in Matteson, Illinois. For more information, contact Lisa Zeigler at (708)709-3548.

Course offerings will include: How to do Business with the Tollway; Finance and Accounting for Construction Contractors; Insurance, Bonding, Estimating and Bidding; Introduction to Project Management; Safety and Field Operations; and Business and Marketing Plan Development. Networking events, one-on-one counseling, and post-training assistance will also be provided.  June 1 is the anticipated start date.  The CBDC is expected to prepare more than 30 small, minority- and women-owned firms for leadership positions on Tollway projects in its first year.

The CDBC will launch this spring and is expected to prepare more than 30 small, minority- and women-owned firms for leadership positions on Tollway projects in its first year.

“We are embarking on the largest capital program in the Tollway’s history,” Illinois Tollway Executive Director Kristi Lafleur said. “Throughout the next 15 years, businesses will have a chance to play a role in our Move Illinois program and put thousands of men and women to work. We want to make sure that all firms, from right out of the gate to the finish line, have an opportunity to compete for and win Tollway contracts and bring them to completion.”

About Move Illinois

The Illinois Tollway’s $12 billion capital program, Move Illinois: The Illinois Tollway Driving the Future, will improve mobility, relieve congestion, reduce pollution, create as many as 120,000 jobs, and link economies across the Midwest region. Move Illinois will address the remaining needs of the existing Tollway system; rebuild and widen the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90) as a state-of-the-art 21st century corridor; construct a new interchange to connect the Tri-State Tollway (I-294) to I-57; build a new, all-electronic Elgin O’Hare Western Access; and fund planning studies for the Illinois Route 53/120 Extension and the Illiana Expressway.

About the Illinois Tollway

The Illinois Tollway is a user-fee system that receives no state or federal funds for maintenance and operations. The agency maintains and operates 286 miles of interstate tollways in 12 counties in Northern Illinois, including the Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88), the Veterans Memorial Tollway (I-355), the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90), and the Tri-State Tollway (I-94/I-294/I-80).