DuPage County taxpayers will pay less than $48,000 for data storage equipment that was quoted at more than $500,000 earlier this year.
The county's Technology Committee approved three IT contracts totaling $114,172 at its Tuesday, July 7, meeting. The biggest savings came from a $47,925 contract with CDW Government, Inc. for storage drives, purchased through an Omnia cooperative purchasing agreement under the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act. Chief Information Officer Anthony McPhearson told committee members the same equipment had been quoted at over $500,000 earlier in 2026. The cooperative contract yielded a quote of approximately $39,000, one of three bids received; the final contract amount, including all line items, totals $47,925.
The entire meeting lasted 10 minutes.
What was approved
Data storage ($47,925 to CDW Government): The contract runs from Tuesday, July 14, through Monday, November 30, 2026. Member Yeena Yoo asked whether the purchased capacity would be sufficient. McPhearson said the capacity meets current needs.
GPS network maintenance ($39,500 to KARA Company): A sole-source contract covering seven GPS stations that support surveying and mapping for county departments and municipalities across DuPage County. The contract runs Thursday, October 1, 2026, through Thursday, September 30, 2027. Yoo asked whether the price had changed from the prior year. It had not. KARA is the only vendor with the network knowledge and on-site capability to maintain the system.
Project management software ($26,746 to Monday.com): A renewal covering 35 enterprise user seats for the IT department, running Tuesday, July 21, 2026, through Tuesday, November 30, 2027. McPhearson said the county negotiated the pricing and added four months to align the contract with the fiscal year.
National recognition
Before the votes, Chair Sadia Covert recognized the IT department as a 2026 NACo Digital Counties Survey Award winner. The National Association of Counties program honors counties for their use of technology to improve government services.
"The achievement would not have been possible without the dedication of our CIO, Anthony McPhearson, and the entire IT team," Covert said, according to the meeting minutes.
McPhearson thanked the team, county leadership, and the County Board.
What happens next
The CDW Government and KARA Company contracts advance to the Finance Committee and then the full County Board for final approval. The Monday.com renewal, which falls below the $30,000 threshold, was approved at the committee level. Member Michael Childress moved all three motions; Members Kari Galassi and Yeena Yoo provided seconds.
Residents can track the contracts' progress on the DuPage County Legistar page at dupage.legistar.com.
