The state of Illinois and the city of Chicago have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic with nearly 42,000 cases and almost 1,900 deaths statewide. Most of those cases are coming out of Cook County, with many of the dead being African American.
What We Know:
- When Dr. Willie Wilson, founder and CEO of Illinois-based Omar Medical Supplies, reached out to the office of Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot with tens of millions of pieces of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for sale, it seemed like a no-brainer that the city and the state would strike a deal with him.
- Pritzker paid Federal Express nearly $1.8 million to retrieve PPE from China for the state of Illinois in addition to about $17 million on PPE itself.
- Wilson reached out to both Governor Pritzker and Mayor Lightfoot, only to hit roadblocks in conversations with both offices in trying to get a deal finalized. Both Pritzker and Lightfoot placed the blame on Wilson saying he requested cash payment upfront.
- Jordan Abudayyeh, a spokesperson for Governor Pritzker, claims Wilson wanted “an open purchase order, with no specific pricing set,” adding “the state does not enter into open purchase orders”.
- Wilson vehemently denies this writing in a letter to the governor. “The Governor and I had a telephone conversation a few weeks ago and I expressed my desire to assist the state of Illinois through the provision of these necessary supplies,” wrote Wilson.
“If the state needed more PPE than just the one order, we would have needed an open purchase order to secure additional PPE for several months, otherwise, we would run the risk of not being able to secure the PPE.”
- The qualifications of Wilson’s company cannot be disputed, he said. “We are eminently qualified,” Wilson said. “In fact, I provide 100 to 200 million face masks a month to Fortune 500 companies around the world.
- The state of Illinois has reportedly spent nearly $180 million on COVID-19 related purchases, including ventilators, and PPE, through April 21, according to the office of the Illinois State Comptroller.
“Where is your commitment to the African-American community? More people are dying in the African American community. Where is your commitment to contracts and jobs? I bet you they can’t even show that African Americans have gotten a fair portion of the dollars that the federal government has given the state and money they are spending today.” – Wilson
- “My company has donated one million masks to Mount Sinai Hospital and 22 other community organizations,” Dr. Wilson said. “I have donated 20,000 masks to Jackson Park Hospital, 10,000 masks to the Westside NAACP, 50,000 to the Chicago Transit Authority, and 10,000 to Cook County Jail for correctional officers.”
- “Finally, I have personally given away $1 million to people that have lost their jobs and another $1 million to 1,000 churches. The reality is I give away 90 percent of my profits back to the community.”
After receiving a shipment of supplies, Omar Medical Supplies has PPE totaling over 10 million, and its goal is to get the equipment to the people in need and help save lives.
