Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36) is pictured at City Council on Sept. 18, 2024. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council Committee on Contracting Oversight and Equity on Tuesday will consider a measure to make a city equity goal that ensures veteran-owned businesses can participate in city contracts permanent. 

The contracting committee is scheduled to meet at 10:15 a.m. in Room 201A at City Hall.

The ordinance (O2024-0014417), sponsored by Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36), a U.S. Marine Corps veteran himself who frequently pushes for legislation to assist veterans, was introduced in December. It would remove the sunset provision from the city’s veteran-owned business participation goal pilot program. 

Under current city code, the pilot will sunset on July 31, 2026. Villegas’ ordinance makes the participation goal program permanent.

The veteran-owned business enterprise (VBE) program was piloted as an addition to the city’s minority and women-owned business enterprise (M/WBE) certification program, under which businesses that have at least 51 percent women or minority ownership can be certified by the city's procurement services department in order to take advantage of opportunities provided through city contract offerings. 

Villegas first introduced an ordinance more than eight years ago to certify VBEs, and since then he said the city has registered more than 150 VBEs. Qualifying businesses can become certified if at least 51 percent of ownership is a veteran or are veterans. In 2018, the pilot program was established by ordinance and has been renewed multiple times.

The pilot program stipulates that for all city contracts worth at least $10,000, the Department of Procurement Services will ensure that the contractor spends at least 1 percent of the total contract value on a VBE, a qualification that can be met in a myriad of ways. 

If the program becomes permanent, Villegas said the program would also increase its goal from having VBEs represent 1 percent of eligible city contracts to 3 percent.  

Villegas told The Daily Line this program would help ensure that the over 75,000 veterans in the Chicago region are afforded an opportunity to participate in municipal contracts. 

“Quite frankly, we owe it to the men and women that are constantly who have constantly made a sacrifice for this great country,” Villegas said. “And so that's the least that we can do, is provide them an opportunity.” 

Additionally, Villegas said he wants the procurement department to figure out how to include some form of reciprocity for VBEs that are already certified at the state or federal level to cut down on the documentation that already-certified business owners need to provide for city certification. City code already states that VBEs may qualify through existing certification at the state and federal levels.