State holds workshops for minority contractors

The Illinois Department of Transportation is hosting a series of virtual workshops starting Tuesday for businesses interested in building skills to bid on state construction projects through the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program.

In a news release, Will County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant encouraged local businesses to participate in the free workshops and pointed to Rebuild Illinois construction projects coming to Will County.

“These workshops will offer an opportunity for eligible small businesses in Will County to learn about the process for bidding on state construction projects,” Bertino-Tarrant said in the release. “With the ongoing Rebuild Illinois program bringing millions of dollars’ worth of construction projects to Will County, these workshops offer valuable information for local businesses on how to participate on infrastructure projects and grow professionally.”

The workshop dates and topics are:

• Tuesday, 10 a.m. to noon: Bidding on the IDOT Website

• Thursday, 10 a.m. to noon: Excel Estimating and Bidding Worksheet

• Jan. 11, 10 a.m. to noon: Overhead Calculation Rate

• Jan. 13, 10 a.m. to noon: Improving your Personal Business (D&B) Credit Score

• Jan. 25, 10 a.m. to noon: Quickbooks: Setting Up your Company

• Jan. 26, 10 a.m. to noon: Quickbooks: Performing Day-to-Day Tasks

• Jan. 27, 10 a.m. to noon: Quickbooks: Reporting

Future topics covered include financing, additional QuickBooks training, estimating and bidding, insurance, management, and steps needed to be certified as a DBE firm and more. Questions can be directed to IDOT at 312-939-1100.

IDOT administers the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program, which provides minorities, women and other eligible small businesses opportunities to participate in highway, transit and airport contracts that are federally and state funded. For more information about the program, visit www.idot.illinois.gov/dbe.