Tribally Owned Civil Engineering Firm Certified as a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise

St. Charles, IL – WBK Engineering LLC (WBK), headquartered in St. Charles, Illinois, has been certified through PACE as a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) in the state of Illinois. WBK has over 25 years of civil engineering and related consulting experience including transportation, bridge and structural, municipal, environmental and water resources, planning and development, and construction oversight services.

“This recognition has been a long time in the making,” said Greg Chismark, president of WBK. “Becoming a DBE in Illinois provides the recognition and opportunities our ownership deserves. It has been a key element of our plan to grow and expand since 2016 and our initial partnership with the Pokagon Band. This enables WBK to apply our experience and expertise to more projects and clients improving infrastructure in our region and communities.”

WBK Engineering is owned by Mno-Bmadsen, the non-gaming investment enterprise and a wholly-owned instrumentality of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi. WBK became 100% owned by Mno-Bmadsen and the Pokagon Band in 2019.

WBK is listed as a DBE in the Illinois United Certification Program (UCP) directory for Illinois Districts 1-9 and NAICS Codes covering engineering, drafting, environmental consulting, and office administrative services. DBE status will provide the firm additional opportunities in pursuing planning, transportation, bridges, environmental, and construction oversight projects as a prime consultant or subcontractor in Illinois with Metra, Illinois Tollway, and the Illinois Department of Transportation.

In addition to DBE status, WBK is certified as a U.S. Small Business section 8(a) small business and is qualified as an Indian Small Business Economic Enterprise. This has enabled WBK to significantly grow its business outside its regional market, including work across the country with federal agencies such as the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Education, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Veterans Administration.

“WBK is critical to the infrastructure services Bodwé offers,” said Jeremy Berg, president and chief operating officer of the Bodwé Professional Services Group of Mno-Bmadsen. “Our mission is to build sustainable professional services businesses that grow the economy and legacy of the Pokagon Band and DBE status for WBK helps us do just that by leveraging the sovereignty of the Band to make a positive impact on the communities we serve.”