TRANSMITTAL LETTER FOR BOARD MEETING OF AUGUST 13, 2026
COMMITTEE ON PROCUREMENT
Mr. John P. Murray, Executive Director
Title
Issue purchase order to CDW Government LLC, for KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training Diamond and PhishER Plus subscription licenses, in an amount not to exceed $60,850.41, Account 101-27000-612820, Requisition 1661924
Body
Dear Sir:
Authorization is requested to issue a purchase order to CDW Government LLC for KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training Diamond and PhishER Plus subscription licenses for a period of one year. This purchase order will begin on October 31, 2026 and expire on October 30, 2027.
KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training Diamond provides online security awareness training to help manage the information technology security risks associated with social engineering, spear phishing and ransomware attacks. PhishER Plus enhances this capability by automating portions of the triage and investigation of user-reported suspicious emails using real-time analysis, structured workflows, audit-ready logs, rapid remediation, campaign correlation and consistent user communication. These capabilities help reduce manual workload, strengthen the District's response to email-based threats, and help demonstrate robust response capabilities during cyber insurance renewal proceedings.
On August 13, 2025, the State of Illinois entered into a participating agreement with CDW Government LLC covering Sourcewell Contract 121923-CDW for use by state agencies and other Illinois public entities authorized by statute to utilize State contracts. Sourcewell is a State of Minnesota local government unit and service cooperative created under Minnesota Statutes Section 123A.21 that offers cooperative procurement solutions to eligible public entities. The quoted products are offered under State of Illinois Contract R-257160 and Participating Addendum 25-448DOIT-TELEC-P-80070. The Sourcewell contract expires February 27, 2028, unless cancelled sooner pursuant to Article 22.
CDW Government LLC has submitted pricing for 2,001 one-year subscription licenses under the established contract: $42,461.22 for KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training Diamond and $18,389.19 for KnowBe4 PhishER Plus, for a total of $60,850.41. Inasmuch as CDW Government LLC is the only source of supply for the KnowBe4 subscription licenses under this agreement, said purchase order may be issued without competitive bidding pursuant to Section 11.4 of the Purchasing Act.
CDW Government LLC is registered and in good standing with the State of Illinois.
The Multi-Project Labor Agreement (MPLA) is not applicable to this contract because the classification of work does not fall within the provisions of the MPLA.
The Affirmative Action Ordinance, Revised Appendix D and Appendix V do not apply because the contract price consists of cloud-based software subscription services and the requested services do not provide practical or cost-effective opportunities for direct or indirect subcontracting.
In view of the foregoing, it is requested that the Director of Procurement and Materials Management be authorized to issue said purchase order to CDW Government LLC in an amount not to exceed $60,850.41.
Funds are available in Account 101-27000-612820.
Requested, Sean T. Kelly, Director of Information Technology, STK:CW:cw
Recommended, Darlene A. LoCascio, Director of Procurement and Materials Management
Respectfully Submitted, Precious Brady-Davis, Chairperson Committee on Procurement
Disposition of this agenda item will be documented in the official Regular Board Meeting Minutes of the Board of Commissioners for August 13, 2026