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April 27, 2021

ACEC Illinois Defeats Effort to Weaken State QBS Law

A grassroots lobbying campaign by ACEC Illinois members defeated a bill that would have weakened the state’s QBS law.

ACEC awarded a Minuteman Grant to the Member Organization to assist in the lobbying effort.  

“Over the course of two weeks, our grassroots website helped generate over 2,000 messages to lawmakers asking them to oppose the legislation,” said ACEC President and CEO  Kevin Artl. “Our public relations campaign garnered statewide media hits from engineers outlining the danger of weakening QBS.”

As part of the effort, Orhan Ilgaz, principal of 2IM Group had a letter published in Chicago’s Daily Herald newspaper, in which he laid out the argument against the bill:

“Gutting Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS) standards could result in less qualified teams designing and engineering our state’s most vital public infrastructure. More than just roads, bridges and railways, public infrastructure includes the facilities that clean and treat our drinking water, the nuclear sites that produce the energy that powers our homes and businesses and the schools, senior care facilities and hospitals that care for our loved ones.

“Settling for anything less than the most qualified professionals for this important work risks the safety and dependability of our public infrastructure. HB 680 is a risk that Illinois cannot afford to take.”

Due to the MO’s statewide lobbying efforts, the sponsor of the bill declined to call it for a vote, and the legislation was re-referred to the House Rules Committee, all but ensuring it will not be called for a vote this year.


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Date

April 27, 2021

Category

ACEC NEWS / MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS

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