Contract analysis

I. Procedural History of the Protest For the convenience of your office, we briefly recount the relevant procedural history of this proceeding. On August 8, 2022, MTDC timely filed its agency-level bid protest with the Illinois Department of Transportation, pursuant to Section 20-80 of the Illinois Procurement Code, 30 ILCS 500/20-80, and the implementing regulations set forth at 44 Ill. Admin. Code § 1.5530. The pro

II. Prior Unanswered Status Inquiries Underscoring MTDC's diligence and good faith in pursuing this administrative remedy, this firm has submitted three prior formal status inquiries to your office on behalf of MTDC. Each of those inquiries was sent via U.S. Mail and electronic transmission to your attention. None has generated a substantive response. First Status Inquiry — February 17, 2023. Approximately two and on

III. Prejudice to MTDC The extended and unexplained delay in the adjudication of Protest No. IDOT-BPC-2022-0047 is causing ongoing and mounting prejudice to MTDC, to the communities it serves, and to the public interest at large. MTDC is a unit of local government and a public transit authority organized and operating under the Illinois Local Mass Transit District Act, 70 ILCS 3610. MTDC provides essential public tra

IV. Renewed Request for Immediate Action In light of the foregoing, MTDC respectfully but firmly requests that the Administrative Review Board, through your office, take one of the following actions: (a) Issue its decision on the merits of Protest No. IDOT-BPC-2022-0047 within thirty (30) calendar days of the date of this letter — that is, on or before April 14, 2024; or (b) Provide MTDC, through undersigned counsel,

V. Formal Reservation of Rights MTDC hereby formally and unequivocally reserves all rights, remedies, and claims available to it under applicable federal, state, and local law, including but not limited to the following: (i) The right to seek judicial review of any final or constructive agency action before the Illinois Court of Claims, pursuant to the Illinois Court of Claims Act, 705 ILCS 505, and any other court o

VI. Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies MTDC has diligently pursued the administrative protest process established by the Illinois Procurement Code and the Department's implementing regulations for a period now exceeding nineteen months since the filing of its protest on August 8, 2022, and exceeding fifteen months since ALJ Odum took the matter under advisement on December 2, 2022. Throughout this period, MTDC has

VII. Closing Request and Availability for Discussion In closing, MTDC reiterates its respectful but urgent request that your office provide a written response within thirty (30) calendar days of the date of this letter — no later than April 14, 2024 — either transmitting the Board's decision on the merits of Protest No. IDOT-BPC-2022-0047 or providing a definitive timeline for the issuance of that decision. Counsel f

1. Letter dated February 17, 2023 (First Status Inquiry)

2. Letter dated June 9, 2023 (Second Status Inquiry)

3. Letter dated November 3, 2023 (Third Status Inquiry) cc: (via U.S. Mail and Electronic Transmission) Dr. Raymond Alcázar, Executive Director Metropolitan Transit Development Corp. 550 West Adams Street, 14th Floor Chicago, Illinois 60661 Patricia Ng, General Counsel Metropolitan Transit Development Corp. 550 West Adams Street, 14th Floor Chicago, Illinois 60661 Martin Czarnecki, Assistant Attorney General Procurem