Illinois National Guard

The Department of the Army Illinois Army National Guard, a sub-agency of the Department of Defense responsible for procuring goods and services for Illinois-based Army National Guard operations, has transitioned from active contracting to grant funding as its primary federal transacting mechanism.

Contract activity has contracted sharply since its peak in the early 2020s. The Illinois Army National Guard closed 9,699 federal contract awards totaling $187.5 million in combined potential value since 2000, with $211.4 million obligated across that portfolio. However, recent award volume has declined steeply: 66 awards in 2019, 64 in 2020, 24 in 2021, 7 in 2022, and 1 in 2023 (the most recent recorded award closed June 1, 2023). The 2023 award was a contract with Lincoln Land Community College for $47 thousand. No recorded contract awards have closed in the last three years. Competition among prime contractors is highly fragmented; the top five primes by award count over the last five years — CS & POE Corporation, World Wide Technology LLC, Lincoln Land Community College, Morris Bradley L, and Thrush Services, Inc. — account for only 7 awards combined with reported values under $300 thousand, covering 88 percent of recent awards but representing trivial dollar concentration due to low award values. The portfolio spans 1,724 distinct prime contractors lifetime. Set-asides are minimal: 87 percent of awards carried no set-aside designation, while 13 percent were total small business set-asides; other socioeconomic categories (8(a), SDVOSB, HUBZone) collectively represent fewer than 60 awards across the entire portfolio history.

Grant activity, by contrast, is active and concentrated. The Illinois Army National Guard has awarded 92 federal grants totaling $460.9 million in combined federal dollars obligated since October 2013, with all 92 awards flowing to a single recipient: the Illinois Department of Military Affairs. Grant volume has remained steady and recent: 8 awards in 2022, 9 in 2023, 11 in 2024, 11 in 2025, and 1 year-to-date in 2026 (the most recent award closed July 1, 2026). All 92 grants are structured as Cooperative Agreements. The Illinois Department of Military Affairs received $174.8 million of the $460.9 million federal obligated across the last five years, covering 38 percent of federal dollars obligated over that window.

Recent contract opportunities issued by the 182nd Airlift Wing (Peoria, Illinois) include scissor-lift maintenance and inspection services (W50S7T26QA013, small business set-aside, due September 23, 2026, one-year base with four option years), fall-protection system inspection and recertification services (W50S7T26QA012, pre-solicitation request for information, due September 11, 2026), and fire-alarm system repair and replacement at Peoria Air National Guard Base (W50S7T26QA010, brand-name requirement for Simplex systems, due August 31, 2026, closed). No recent grant opportunities are present in the source data.