A $4.49 million contract for a new police records system serving Wheaton and 24 other DuPage County law enforcement agencies moved one step closer to approval at the Technology Committee's Tuesday, Oct. 6 meeting.

The committee accepted a recommendation for the deal with New York-based Mark43, Inc. under its informational items. The contract now heads to the Finance Committee and full County Board for a vote on Tuesday, Oct. 13.

Committee member Michael Childress moved to accept the recommendation. Kari Galassi seconded.

The $4,486,516.16 contract would run from Oct. 14, 2026, through Oct. 25, 2033, and replace the consortium's existing Hexagon records management system. Mark43 would serve the DuPage Justice Information Systems consortium, a group of 25 municipal and county agencies that share police records infrastructure. Wheaton, Warrenville and West Chicago police departments all participate.

County Chief Information Officer Anthony McPhearson told the committee the item was "going before the PRMS Oversight Committee for approval this afternoon, after which it will go to the Finance Committee and County Board on … October 13, 2026 for approval."

The PRMS Oversight Committee had tabled the same contract at a Sept. 30 special meeting. Available minutes do not detail why the committee delayed action. The Oct. 6 afternoon oversight committee agenda included the contract as an action item, though minutes from that session were not yet available.

The contract caps a selection process that began months earlier. RMS Manager Don Ehrenhaft told a May 11 consortium meeting that Mark43 "was selected through the formal County evaluation process" using written proposals, vendor demonstrations, user feedback and weighted scoring. Ehrenhaft said at that meeting that preliminary pricing was projected to be lower than the current Hexagon cost, with no additional staffing required.

Implementation is expected to take at least 15 months, according to the May meeting records. The consortium dates to 2013, when it formed to improve criminal justice information sharing among court, county and municipal agencies, according to PRMS Oversight Committee Chair Bob Berlin at that same May meeting.

Representatives from Wheaton, Warrenville and West Chicago police departments attended the May consortium meeting. Wheaton PD sent Van Dillenkoffer and Dan Salzman. Warrenville PD sent four representatives, and West Chicago PD sent six.

If the County Board approves the contract Oct. 13, the deal takes effect the next day. The resolution carries County Board Chair Deborah A. Conroy's signature and is scheduled for enactment at the board's Wheaton meeting.