Businesses owned by disabled people could get more contracts in Chicago

From the Chicago Tribune:

Smaller firms owned by disabled people would get an advantage when bidding for city business under an ordinance recommended for approval today by the City Council Budget Committee.

A contractor completing city work with 11 percent or more of the pay going to a disabled-owned business would get an advantage on its next bid for city business. That's because 2 percent of its bidding price would be deducted when the city evaluates the company's next bid.

If 6 to 10 percent of the pay went to a disabled-owned business---one that is at least half owned by a disabled person as defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act---the deduction on the next bid would be 1 percent. If 2 to 5 percent of the pay went to a disabled-owned business, the deduction would be a half percentage point.

"We want to see the disabled businesses grow in Chicago and increase their hiring and capacity," said Montel Gayles, the city's chief procurement officer.

Tom Prinske, one of two legally blind partners who own T. Castro Produce Inc., already holds a city certification as a disabled-owned business, but that status has not helped him get additional business, he told aldermen. "We look at it as opening the door," he said, testifying in favor of the ordinance, which also was backed by the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce.

Ald. Bernard Stone (50th) said he would rather see a more expansive ordinance that also gave the bidding advantages to businesses that employed mostly disabled people, even if they were not owned by the disabled. "This is window dressing," he said.

The full City Council will consider the ordinance next week.