As you might guess the State of Illinois has a formal process by which it solicits bids for the various goods and services the state purchases. First, the state issues a request for bid. Then there’s a hearing for prospective vendors. And so on.
The state is now entering its second year without a budget and there’s been an interesting development. As it works out I’m on the state’s RFP mailing list (it’s a long story) and over the last week or so all of the hearings have been cancelled because no vendors signed up to attend.
Maybe that’s just a fluke and next week it will be different. But if that continues it really sounds like a no confidence vote. Vendors need to be paid and many of them can’t wait two or three years after delivering the goods or performing the services before they are.
Interesting. I assumed that lack of payment meant that the bids would become progressively higher as a hidden financing charge. Still a lot of businesses don’t see themselves as having financing as an adjunct to their main line of business.