RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, On May 27, 2015, Mayor Rahm Emanuel convened the Chicago Procurement Reform Task Force (PRTF). The PRTF was tasked with developing recommendations to make procurement and contract management at the City and its sister agencies more uniform, efficient and cost effective, while increasing accountability; and
WHEREAS, Participating members ofthe PRTF include the City of Chicago and its sister agencies: Chicago Housing Authority, Chicago Park District, Chicago Public Schools, Chicago Transit Authority, City Colleges of Chicago and the Public Building Commission; and
WHEREAS, On November 17, 2015, PRTF reported its findings and recommendations for reforming the procurement policies and practices. The findings were grouped into five categories representing essential principles of government procurement: competition, efficiency, transparency, integrity and uniformity; and
WHEREAS, PRFT also made recommendations designed to advance these principles, a 31-point blueprint for refining and standardizing the Participating Member's procurement operations. These 31 recommendations are intended to increase transparency for the public, reduce administrative burden, increase competition, and lower barriers for entry for small local businesses and save taxpayer money; and
WHEREAS, Pursuant to an intergovernmental agreement executed under the authority of an ordinance passed by City Council and approved by the Mayor in January 2016, the participating members created a Chief Procurement Office (CPO) Committee charged with addressing the PRFT's 31 recommendations, tracking their implementation and issuing quarterly and annual reports. In addition, the Chicago Government IT Coordinate Committee (ITCC) was created to manage the technical aspects of the implementation process, and the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) was directed to prepare and publish an independent evaluation ofthe members' progress; and
WHEREAS, To date, released reports have included 6 quarterly reports, 2 annual reports, and 2 OIG reports of progress; and
WHEREAS, On March 1, 2018, the CPO committee issued the 2018 annual report ofthe Chicago Procurement Reform Task Force; and
WHEREAS, On May 30, 2018, the OIG issued its Second Annual Progress Report on the Chicago Procurement Reform Task Force, now therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and Members of the City Council of the City of Chicago, assembled this twentieth day of September, 2018, do hereby congratulate the City of Chicago and its sister agencies, for successfully and fully completing 14 of 31 PRTF recommendations, and partially completing 17 recommendations.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the City Council calls on the PTRF participating members: the City of Chicago and its sister agencies, Chicago Housing Authority, Chicago Park District, Chicago Public Schools, Chicago Transit Authority, City Colleges of Chicago and the Public Building Commission to work towards the Chief Procurement Officer Committee's Year 3 goal of completing each ofthe remaining recommendations.
PATRICK J. O'CONNOR Alderman, 40th Ward