Sole Source-Unisys Maintenance and Support

The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority intends to award a sole-source contract to Unisys Corporation for Unisys system maintenance and support, with a public hearing scheduled for July 24, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. via WebEx and an anticipated award date of July 29, 2026. Written comments or requests for a public hearing are due by 4:00 p.m. on July 24, 2026, to Dianne Richman at the Chief Procurement Office for General Services.

The three-year contract runs from August 28, 2026, through August 27, 2029, with no renewal options. Services include DS1 Restore maintenance and support, MCP Developer Studio Software subscription, MCP SW Bronze subscription, Enterprise Output Manager subscription, AB Suite Developer subscription, DS1 Library and Tape Manager maintenance and support, AB Suite 8 to 9 upgrade, and Windows feasibility assessment. The AB Suite upgrade to version 9 is scheduled for the third quarter of 2027 due to end-of-support for version 8.

The contract supports critical mainframe applications: MAR (Monetary Access Resources) for human resources and payroll, ODV (Over-Dimensional Vehicle) for truck permits, and SUN for fleet management. The Illinois Tollway has maintained continuous Unisys mainframe contracts since 1980, with documented purchase history exceeding $11 million.

The estimated contract value is $863,993 for the three-year term, comprising $662,780 for annual maintenance and support, $122,669 for professional IT services, and $78,544 as a 10% contingency fee. The Tollway projects approximately $242,000 in savings (28%) by entering a multi-year agreement rather than three separate one-year contracts. Funding comes from toll revenue, not state appropriations.

The sole-source justification rests on the proprietary Unisys MCP operating system and AB Suite development platform being exclusively licensed, maintained, and supported by Unisys, with no third-party vendor authorized to provide equivalent services or migration support. The contract term extends through 2029 to complete system deprecation activities and satisfy financial record retention requirements pending migrations to SAP SuccessFactors and IDOT systems.