Illinois state diversity leader resigns amid criticism

By Jared Strong | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – The head of the embattled Illinois diversity commission has moved to a different state job after a series of investigative stories by The Center Square exposed failures at the agency and prompted bipartisan criticism.

Alexandria Wilson held the job at the Commission on Equity and Inclusion for about three years and oversaw a switch to a new computer system that upended its mission to increase access to government contracts for businesses that are owned by racial minorities, women and people with disabilities.

The computer switch eliminated an automated process by which many of those businesses were certified for preference in state contract awards. As a result, the total number of certified businesses has dropped by about half to 2,690, as of the end of May.

Wilson declined to say why she sought a different government job.

She was recently hired as chief operating officer of the Illinois Power Agency — another state department — and started July 1, according to an agency spokesperson. Her new annual salary of $154,000 is slightly less than what she was paid in her previous job, state records show.

“I am looking forward to strengthening the IPA’s internal operations and administrative processes in support of its mission for the people of Illinois,” she told The Center Square in an email, noting her “experience in strategic planning, policy implementation, and organizational leadership.”

She previously was chief of supplier diversity for the Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology. The Illinois Power Agency said Wilson will manage its “day-to-day administrative and operational functions.”

“Given her years of experience in strategic planning, policy development, and operational implementation, Alexandria’s leadership will bring value to the IPA’s operations,” the agency told The Center Square.

Robin Streets, chief of staff for the diversity commission, has been appointed as an interim replacement for Wilson, according to documents obtained by The Center Square.

He and the chairperson of the commission, Nina Harris, did not immediately respond to requests to comment for this article about whether the commission’s direction will change under new leadership.

“A change in leadership does not eliminate the need for answers regarding the commission’s operations, management, and whether the commitments made to legislators have been fulfilled,” state Rep. Brad Halbrook, a Shelbyville Republican, told The Center Square. “I remain committed to ensuring appropriate legislative oversight and will continue seeking the information necessary to determine what progress, if any, has been made.”

Lawmaker critiques

State lawmakers, often citing The Center Square’s reporting, lambasted the commission’s performance in legislative hearings this year as part of their budget process. They created the commission in 2022 to boost the amount of state contract money that goes to businesses they view as disadvantaged.

The lawmakers questioned the precipitous drop in certified businesses and the leadership of the agency’s seven governor-appointed commissioners, who are each paid about $150,000 per year but are allowed to work side jobs for pay.

The Center Square found that most of the commissioners have worked side jobs — often earning more than the $7,500 reporting threshold set by law — and that they have fewer responsibilities compared with their counterparts elsewhere in government.

“We’ve lost half of our vendors, and yet you’re some of the highest paid people in the state,” state Sen. Chapin Rose, the Republican minority caucus whip, said in an April budget hearing.

Democrats were also troubled by the problems.

“I know you say we’re heading in the right direction, but I’m telling you that business owners that we are talking to are not saying that,” Sen. Elgie R. Sims Jr., the Democrats’ appropriations leader, told the commission’s staff at the April hearing.

Another Democrat, state Rep. Angelica Guerrero-Cuellar, of Chicago, said she was frustrated the commission had failed for at least a year to work with the Secretary of State’s Office to contact businesses that might be eligible for certification, which she had requested. In a recent meeting, commission staff indicated they were working with the Secretary of State to distribute information that promotes the certification opportunities.

Despite lawmakers’ misgivings, they approved the commission’s $5.6 million budget request and gave the commissioners raises of about $5,000 apiece.

The commission reported that the state awarded about $1.6 billion of contracts to certified businesses last year — a new high — but that the money went to about 9 percent fewer businesses.

Calls to disband

After the legislative hearings, Republican lawmakers who comprise the Illinois Freedom Caucus said they want to dismantle the commission.

“What the Democrats claim was intended to expand opportunity in state contracting has instead become a multi-million dollar failure for taxpayers; creating barriers, reducing participation, and adding unnecessary bureaucracy,” the group said in April.

State Rep. Halbrook, a member of the Freedom Caucus, said he is seeking more information about Wilson’s departure and how it might affect the commission.

“This leadership change comes just months after the commission faced significant bipartisan scrutiny during the General Services Appropriations Committee hearings,” Halbrook told The Center Square. “During those hearings, lawmakers were assured that the commission’s ongoing operational and management issues would be addressed by July 1.”

Wilson had told lawmakers that the commission was working on a solution to the computer problem that would be in place by the end of June. It’s unclear whether that happened. The issue was not discussed during the commission’s monthly meeting in June, and Streets and Harris did not respond to The Center Square’s questions about it.