BY MIKE CETERA
UPDATE APRIL 16: The African-American Chamber of Commerce has numbers. Read after the jump
Richard Irvin says the city of Aurora should be mandated to give some of its contracts to minority-owned businesses. This is at least the third time he's made this pitch. But he's not once made clear there's a discrimination problem.
Perhaps there is, but shouldn't we see some data first?
Irvin believes such a law would greatly benefit the city's economy, particularly on the East Side. He said a set-aside would encourage small minority-owned businesses to step up, and would see more city contracts staying in the city limits."Contractors doing business with the city should reflect how the city looks," Irvin said. "We are one of the most multicultural communities, outside of Chicago, in the state of Illinois."
Irvin publicly advocated a set-aside program in 2005 during his mayoral run, although his campaign Web site made no mention of set-asides as part of his platform. At a forum, the other candidates -- including now-Mayor Tom Weisner -- gave the idea a lukewarm reception.
Irvin also promoted set-asides during his successful aldermanic run, when he tried to differentiate his idea from affirmative action.
"I hate to use the term 'affirmative action' because that has negative connotations," he said. "We don't want minority companies to get contracts simply because they're owned by minorities and not because they're qualified. But I know there are quality minority contractors and developers that exist."
Again, he's never produced data suggesting minority-owned firms are the targets of discrimination. And Irvin's suggestion appears to be a decidedly old solution to a decidedly old problem, a solution that courts have not looked favorably upon and whose results are mixed at best.
From stateline.org:
"Set-asides were a political solution of a particular political era," said La Noue of the University of Maryland. "They were attractive because they became a sort of racial patronage that was politically acceptable. Overwhelmingly, the minority businesses didn't get a dime out of them. ... It never solved what the real problems were."
I'm all for helping fledgling firms -- minority-owned or otherwise -- try to build their businesses. But Irvin's idea raises many questions:
* Would set-asides cost taxpayers more money? The answer, to me, appears to be yes if the city would ignore low bidder rules in order to fill a quota.
* Would the city benefit economically by helping these small businesses grow? Is there a way to measure this? Does it offset the additional cost of hiring someone who isn't the low bidder?
* Is the goal to promote minority businesses or businesses located within Aurora? What's to prevent a minority-owned business from outside Aurora from taking a job from a minority-owned business inside city limits?
* If "contractors doing business with the city should reflect how the city looks," shouldn't the City Council reflect how the city looks? Shouldn't the police department? Fire department? Carried out, what's the logical conclusion of this statement?
UPDATE: The Quad County African-American Chamber of Commerce says a study showed less than 2 percent of city dollars went to "identifiable African-American or Latino-owned businesses" in 2007.
A bad idea whose time has passed.
LOL...maybe these non minority contractors have lobbyists working for them at city hall!