ADC Space and Capcity Emergnecy

The Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology is declaring a quick-purchase emergency under 30 ILCS 500/20-30(d) for leasing additional data center space and associated services to support the State's Alternate Data Center (ADC) operations, with an estimated expenditure of $2.876 million in State Appropriated Funds and a proposal due date of January 5, 2027. This is a sole-source procurement awarded to DataBank Holdings LTD, the incumbent operator of the State's existing data center facility.

The ADC has reached maximum capacity and requires expansion to maintain disaster recovery capabilities and system failover functionality for critical applications across multiple state agencies, including the Department of Human Affairs and the State Employees' Retirement System. The emergency was justified under the quick-purchase provision citing both limited-time discounted pricing and competitive market conditions for data center space. DataBank Holdings was selected as sole vendor because the State's existing data center is physically located at the company's facility and cannot be split or relocated without an estimated cost of $8.2 million and 2–3 years of planning. A formal sole-source change order to the existing contract would require a minimum of three weeks, during which available capacity would likely be claimed by commercial competitors.

No portion of this emergency purchase can be subcontracted to Business Enterprise Program (BEP)-certified vendors due to proprietary data center infrastructure and security restrictions. The estimated expenditure is subject to final cost reporting within ten days of the succeeding month. An existing contract with DataBank Holdings (formerly zColo) was already in place prior to this emergency declaration.