Prairie State Wire

The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) has announced the recipients of awards from the 33rd Today's Challenge, Tomorrow's Reward conference. This event highlights achievements in supporting minority- and female-owned businesses across Illinois during 2023.

Illinois Transportation Secretary Omer Osman commented on the significance of the conference: "Sharing and promoting the good work of our contracting community to make state projects more inclusive and accessible is one of the highlights of Today's Challenge, Tomorrow's Reward." He further noted that this year's event was unprecedented for IDOT, contributing to a more equitable business environment throughout the state.

The award winners for 2023 include Brewster Companies from Maryville as Disadvantaged Business Enterprise of the Year, KAD Engineering LLC from Downers Grove as Engineering Firm of the Year, The Killian Corporation from Mascoutah receiving Prime of the Primes, and Ronald Brown from Mattoon honored with the Roberto Orozco Memorial Award.

Today's Challenge, Tomorrow's Reward is a two-day conference organized by IDOT's Office of Business and Workforce Diversity. It aims to equip firms with necessary tools and resources to engage in state projects via the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program. The recent conference took place on February 21 and 22, achieving record attendance with over 400 participants from various prime contractors and subcontractors.

For those interested in next year's event, registration details will be available at www.idot.illinois.gov.