Overview
The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority — the Illinois Tollway — is a self-supporting state special district that operates and maintains 294 miles of toll roads on five routes (I-90 Jane Addams, I-88 Reagan, I-355 Veterans, I-294/I-94 Tri-State, and the I-490/Elgin O'Hare Western Access corridor) across 12 northern Illinois counties. It is governed by an 11-member Board of Directors and run day-to-day by an Executive Director, with roughly 1,400 employees.
Unlike most state agencies, the Tollway receives no general state tax revenue: it funds operations, maintenance, debt service, and capital almost entirely from toll collections and revenue bonds. That makes it unusually technology-dependent — the system is 100% all-electronic open-road tolling (cash collection ended in 2021), so I-PASS/E-ZPass transponder reads, license-plate (ANPR) cameras, the tolling back-office, intelligent transportation systems (ITS), and the operational technology (OT) along the roadway are mission-critical revenue and safety infrastructure rather than back-office IT.
For a Dell SLG seller, the Tollway is a compute-, storage-, edge-, and cybersecurity-rich account whose buying is gated by board approval and the Illinois Procurement Code.
- CIO Michael Shay leads IT and Business Systems (130+ staff) — the central technology buying center
- Executive Director Cassaundra Rouse and CFO Cathy Williams shape what capital/IT gets funded against the ~$15B long-term financial plan
- Board of Directors approval is the gate every significant award must clear — board cadence sets deal timing
- Buys run under the Illinois Procurement Code via BidBuy / Illinois Procurement Gateway (IPG) — vendor registration there is a prerequisite
- Fastest compliant path: an existing IPG-registered vehicle Dell already covers for IT hardware/software/services
Where Dell Can Play
- Map the IT buying center under CIO Michael Shay and lead with high-availability compute, storage, and data infrastructure for the all-electronic tolling back office.
- Position edge and ruggedized infrastructure plus OT-aware security for the 294-mile ITS and roadside operational-technology footprint.
- Confirm Dell's standing on the relevant Illinois Procurement Code / BidBuy vehicles and ensure vendor registration in the IPG so awards can flow without delay.
- Time engagement to the board calendar and the FY2026 IT/modernization line — and track the proposed $26.5B 'Driving Connections' plan as a multi-year pipeline if it clears the board.
- Clarify who owns cybersecurity (CISO function under IT) and bring an IT/OT convergence story — segmentation, monitoring, and resilient infrastructure for critical revenue and safety systems.
Budget & Fiscal
The Tollway's December 2025 board action set a 2026 budget of $1.79 billion in revenue covering operations, maintenance, debt service, and capital. Of that, $1.26 billion is capital and roughly $98 million is the Information Technology operating line — a sizable, self-funded technology spend that does not depend on state general revenue. A much larger commitment is queued: the proposed 15-year, $26.5B 'Driving Connections' program (2027–2042), which would be funded in part by the first toll increase since 2012.
- Self-funded model: no general state tax revenue — capital is backed by toll income plus revenue bonds (the Tollway planned up to $1B in new bonds in 2026).
- The proposed 15-year, $26.5B 'Driving Connections' plan (2027–2042) would, if board-approved, expand the multi-year capital envelope well beyond current programs.
- Treat exact line items as approximate — confirm against the latest adopted budget and consulting engineers' report before forecasting.
Initiatives & Priorities
The Tollway runs 100% cashless open-road tolling on I-PASS/E-ZPass plus ANPR plate imaging. The transaction back-office, image processing, and customer systems are revenue-critical and continually modernized — a natural fit for high-availability compute, storage, data, and analytics infrastructure.
Tolling Data Center ModernizationIntelligent transportation systems, traffic management, sensors, cameras, and roadside operational technology run the length of the 294-mile system. This edge/OT footprint drives needs in ruggedized edge compute, networking, and OT-aware security.
ITS Edge OTThe 2026 budget funds modernization of back-office and business systems supporting I-PASS and open-road tolling, with an ~$98M IT operating line. Refresh cycles span servers, storage, virtualization, and data platforms.
Modernization InfrastructureAs critical transportation infrastructure with 24/7 monitoring of its systems and networks, the Tollway must defend both IT and OT environments. The IT/OT convergence trend across toll and transit operators points to growing demand for segmentation, monitoring, and resilient infrastructure.
Cybersecurity OTProcurement
The Tollway buys under the Illinois Procurement Code, and contract awards require Board of Directors approval. Non-construction goods and services (where most IT/technology buys sit) flow through state procurement systems; construction and professional engineering follow separate IDOT/CDB and QBS rules. Vendors register and transact through the state's electronic procurement tooling.
| Vehicle / gate | What it means for Dell |
|---|---|
| Illinois Procurement Code (goods & services) | Non-construction supplies and services — including IT hardware, software, and services — are solicited and awarded under the state procurement code and JCAR rules. This is the primary path for technology buys. |
| BidBuy / Illinois Procurement Gateway (IPG) | State e-procurement platforms: vendors register and complete required forms in the IPG and respond to solicitations and notices of award posted in BidBuy. |
| Board of Directors approval | Award recommendations must be approved by the 11-member Tollway Board; bidders are notified after the board acts. Board cadence and committee review shape deal timing. |
Spend Signals
GovSpend · as of Aug 10, 2026Dell vs. competitors (spend, payee)
Brand footprint — all channels (est.)
Higher of two conservative lenses: product-name match · manufacturer tag. Both undercount — treat as floors.
Expiring contracts (re-compete)
| Contract | Vendor | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| Technical services / software support (REPAIR/MAINT & TECHNICAL SERV) | Carahsoft Technology Corp | Sep 14, 2026 |
| Purchase (software/cloud) | Carahsoft Technology Corp | Sep 15, 2026 |
| REPAIR/MAINT OTHER | Noctowl Technology LLC | Sep 15, 2026 |
| REPAIR/MAINT OTHER | Presidio Networked Sltns Llc | Sep 30, 2026 |
| Purchase | CDS Office Technologies | Oct 21, 2026 |
| REPAIR/MAINT OTHER | Presidio Networked Sltns Inc | Nov 9, 2026 |
| REPAIR/MAINT OTHER | Carahsoft Technology Corp | Nov 30, 2026 |
Open bids / RFPs
| Solicitation | Due |
|---|---|
| RR-25-9310 - Systemwide Dynamic Message Sign (DMS) Replacement Illinois Tollway | Aug 21, 2026 |
| RR-26-9316 - Systemwide CCTV Camera Installation Illinois Tollway | Sep 4, 2026 |
| RFP - Traffic Incident Management System Contract (TIMS) Illinois Tollway | Sep 24, 2026 |
- Fiscal basis: the Tollway budgets on a calendar year (the Dec 2025 board action set the 2026 budget); window is CY2023-2025 (2023-01-01 to 2025-12-31).
- Dell Marketing/Dell Marketing LP's combined $3.26M vendor total is entirely Microsoft/Azure enterprise-agreement licensing and support billed through Dell as the state's Microsoft reseller (VLA/Azure overage, SQL, Premier support) — not Dell hardware. The far more significant Dell signal is a $21,000,000 'OAM Dell EMC PowerFlex Project (Tollway)' purchased through Presidio in FY24 — a large hyperconverged-infrastructure win captured in dellFootprint, plus ~$2.02M in ongoing Dell/Dell EMC support billed by reseller Sentinel.
- Two brand-text traps found and excluded: 'Precision Control Systems Of Chicago' (~$409K, a building-automation/HVAC controls vendor) is not Dell Precision hardware; a raw 'Apple' hit (~$1.87M before cleanup) was almost entirely boilerplate catalog text ('All brands excluding Apple') on GETAC/Dell notebook contract line items, not real Apple purchases — genuine Apple spend is ~$25K and is omitted (below the $100K threshold). HPE was also below threshold and omitted.
- LineItem.Category is empty for this account — categories panel omitted.
- 2026-08-10 refresh: expiringContracts unchanged (all 7 still fall within the 2026-08-24–2027-02-28 window). openBids refreshed — dropped the Learning Management System and Queue Management Systems solicitations (both past due), added the Systemwide CCTV Camera Installation RFP, and updated the TIMS due date (now 2026-09-24, extended from the prior 2026-08-27).
Power Structure
| Decision-maker | Why they matter |
|---|---|
| Cassaundra Rouse Executive Director | Top executive over the 294-mile system and ~1,400 staff; owns day-to-day direction and the relationship that anchors any strategic motion. |
| Michael Shay Chief Information Officer | Inaugural CIO (since 2022); leads Information Technology and Business Systems (130+ staff) — the central buying center for compute, storage, data, tolling back-office, and IT modernization. Named a 2025 ChicagoCIO ORBIE Award winner. |
| Cathy Williams Chief Financial Officer | Oversees financial operations and the agency's ~$15B long-term financial plan; key on capital funding and bond-backed program spend. |
| Arthur Grist Chief of Security and Safety | Owns physical security/safety (incl. the ~$36M FY2026 security line and the Illinois State Police service agreement). Cyber is not publicly named as a separate CISO — information security appears to sit within IT under CIO Shay; confirm the current owner directly. |
| Arnaldo 'Arnie' Rivera Board Chairman | Chairs the Governor-appointed board; founding executive director of the Chicago Education Alliance. Sets board cadence that gates every significant award. |
| Board of Directors (11 members) Governing body | Approves contracts, budgets, and capital programs. Governor-appointed (plus the Governor and IDOT Secretary as ex-officio); the gate every significant award must clear. |
News & Signals
Sources
- Illinois Tollway — Executive Staff
- Illinois Tollway — 2026 Budget Approved (press release)
- Illinois Tollway — Capital Programs
- Illinois Tollway — Driving Connections
- Illinois Tollway — Doing Business / Goods and Services
- WQAD — Tollway board approves $1.79B budget for 2026
- NBC Chicago — Tollway proposes toll increases for the first time in a decade ($26.5B plan)
- Daily Herald — Board approves hearings on potential 45-cent toll hike (June 18, 2026)
- DuPage Policy Journal — Tollway awards over $70M in June construction/engineering contracts
- Illinois Tollway — Board Information (members & chair)
- Illinois Tollway — Michael Shay wins 2025 ChicagoCIO ORBIE Award
- Illinois Policy Institute — Tollway board starts process to approve record toll hike, automatic increases