Committee approves sheriff's office IT, security and pharmacy contracts; members question backdating and $30,000 threshold

The DuPage County Judicial and Public Safety Committee on Feb. 4 approved multiple contract purchase orders for the Sheriff’s Office, including awards to CDW Government LLC, Heartland Business Systems, Allied Universal Technology Services and a pharmacy services contract to Polaris Pharmacy Service of Warrington LLC.

Committee members raised questions during debate about why some contracts were dated to begin Dec. 1, 2024, after the county enacted an ordinance last year requiring purchases over $30,000 to be presented to the board.

The committee approved a contract purchase order to CDW Government LLC for IT office equipment and supplies for the Sheriff’s Office for the period Dec. 1, 2024, through Nov. 30, 2025, with a contract total not to exceed $300,000. Deputy Chief Billedge, speaking for the Sheriff’s Office, described the CDW order as a blanket purchase vehicle used for a range of items: “We might buy a mouse and a keyboard from CDW, and that’s gonna go towards that $300,000. We might buy our Heartland camera systems that are in the jail…or a new camera for Heartland.”

Members questioned why the contract was backdated. Member Krejewski pressed procurement staff for an explanation; procurement staff member Valerie said the county passed an ordinance last year that requires any purchases over $30,000 to be presented to the elected board and that training on the rule was held in October and the ordinance was passed in November. “When we did pass the ordinance last year, for elected officials, any purchases over $30,000 will now be presented to board,” Valerie said.

The committee also approved a contract purchase order to Heartland Business Systems for IT equipment and supplies for the Sheriff’s Office for the same period (Dec. 1, 2024–Nov. 30, 2025) with a contract total not to exceed $510,000. The Heartland item drew similar procedural questions but no additional substantive debate.

A separate contract to Polaris Pharmacy Service of Warrington LLC (doing business as Polaris) for contract pharmacy services and supplies for detainees was approved; the contract amount was not specified in the committee transcript. The committee approved Allied Universal Technology Services for maintenance and repair of security systems (cameras, DVRs and access control systems) around the county campus for the period Feb. 12, 2025, through Nov. 30, 2026, for a contract total not to exceed $244,880.

A budget transfer was approved to move $192 from postage and postal charges to an IT equipment capital lease line to cover a shortfall.

All motions on the items above were put to a voice vote and the chair announced the motions carried; the transcript does not record a roll-call vote tally for these items.

Why it matters: The items fund equipment and services used in county public safety operations, including the jail and county campus security systems. Committee members emphasized the need for procurement to bring known, high-dollar recurring purchases to the board in advance and requested explanations for contracts that were dated to a past start date.

The meeting also included a brief moment of condolence: Member Dysart offered condolences to the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office on the death of Deputy Greg Turpin.

The committee approved minutes from its Jan. 21, 2025 meeting earlier in the session and then adjourned.