How GOTB helps
Plain-language help with public procurement, certification, aviation, water infrastructure and City Council strategy in Chicago, from the Lead Contract Negotiator on the $8.5 Billion O’Hare 21 project.
Dollar figures are the size of the programs, not GOTB fees.
Procurement & certification
Know how public contracts and certification really work before you decide where to compete.
What this means for you
- Understand which public procurements are moving and what the calendar looks like.
- Learn the certification and City Council approval steps before you commit time and money.
- Get a plain-language read on what City agencies ask for.
Read more on this site
Aviation & O’Hare
Make sense of the O’Hare program and the airport business around it.
What this means for you
- See how O’Hare 21 is sequenced and where the opportunities sit.
- Understand airport concessions at O’Hare and Midway in plain language.
- Work with a lead contract negotiator on the $8.5B O’Hare 21 program and the $800M O’Hare rail extension.
Read more on this site
Water & infrastructure
Follow Chicago’s water mains and lead pipe rebuild, and the contracts behind it.
What this means for you
- Understand the scale and schedule of the underground rebuild.
- Draw on lobbying and negotiation experience from the $400M Department of Water Management lateral redevelopment.
Read more on this site
City Council strategy
Know what happened in the room, and what comes next.
What this means for you
- Read plain-language debriefs of Council and committee action, linked to public sources.
- Follow topics that matter to your business, such as procurement and video gaming.
- Get government affairs and public policy advocacy from Lead Contract Negotiator on the $8.5 Billion O’Hare 21 project.
Read more on this site
Also on the menu
Contract negotiation, including public-private partnerships (P3), and help with complex disputes and public policy questions. Start with a conversation about what you are trying to do.
Ready for your next bid?
Bid Packet Review
A completeness and DBE-paperwork check of your bid packet before you submit, with a prioritized fix list.
DBE Bid-Ready Kit
A starter guide for small DBE and ACDBE firms, updated for the October 2025 DOT rule change: certification, SAM.gov, prequalification, a bid-day checklist and a 30-day plan. Delivered by email.
About
Meet Michael E. Brown
President and Managing Partner, GOTB Consulting, LLC · Chicago
Michael E. Brown is Lead Contract Negotiator on the $8.5 Billion O’Hare 21 project. He was lead contract negotiator on the $8.5B O’Hare 21 program and the $800M O’Hare rail extension, and lead lobbyist and contract negotiator on the $400M Chicago Department of Water Management lateral redevelopment. (Dollar figures are program sizes, not GOTB fees.)
He has worked with the Illinois legislature and public officials on public-private partnership (P3) policy, and has consulted to the Cook County Commission on reducing duplicative administrative offices. He is a frequent speaker at governmental and municipal functions, focuses on good government and healthier social and economic solutions for safe, successful neighborhoods, lives in Chicago, and serves on the Board of the March of Dimes.
- M.S., Psychology (1997), University of Iowa
- B.S., Psychology (1995), University of Iowa
About
Meet Richard Butler
Partner, GOTB Consulting, LLC · Chicago
Richard (Rich) Butler is a partner at GOTB Consulting and a 38-year veteran of Chicago city government. From August 2019 to February 2020 he served as First Deputy Commissioner and Chief Administrative Officer of the Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA), responsible for day-to-day administration and operations of O’Hare and Midway, including finance, contracts, operations, legal, human resources, workforce development, concessions, real estate and vehicle services. CDA manages the two airports with a federally funded budget of $8.5 billion. (Dollar figures are budget and program sizes, not GOTB fees.)
Before that, Rich was First Deputy Procurement Officer at the City’s Department of Procurement Services and Chief Administrative Officer of the Chicago Park District, where he oversaw procurement, audit, finance, warehousing and general administrative services on an estimated annual budget of $385 million and established district-wide policies and procedures. His City career began at the Department of Aviation as Director of Contracts Administration, and he also served as General Superintendent of the Department of Streets and Sanitation.
He completed the Chicago Accounting and Purchasing System Training Program and the City of Chicago Executive Management Program, was a key team member on the design and implementation plan for the City’s new eProcurement system, and is a member of the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing and the Purchasing Management Association of Chicago. He has served on the board of the Chicago Municipal Employees Credit Union and on the US Communities board, representing the City of Chicago, and traveled to South Korea to represent Chicago in the Kotra Alliance to bridge contracting opportunities. A native of Englewood, he attended De La Salle High School.
- B.S., Northern Illinois University
About
Meet David Campbell
Of Counsel, GOTB Consulting, LLC · Michigan
M. David Campbell, II is Of Counsel to GOTB Consulting, bringing more than 40 years in public sector solutions, business development and alliances. He began in Michigan's non-partisan House Fiscal Agency, where, as a Senior Fiscal Analyst from 1983 to 1994, he worked on multi-billion-dollar budgets for Capital Outlay, Public Health, Transportation and General Government.
Appointed and re-appointed by Governor John Engler, he served from 2000 to 2006 as one of six Trustees of the Michigan Municipal Bond Authority, which finances infrastructure for local governments, and oversaw its $1 billion-plus clean water bond program. At Oracle USA (2006-2018) he helped close more than $100 million in business and earned the President's Cup for Customer Satisfaction. As Account General Manager for Iowa and Michigan at Gainwell Technologies until 2026, he grew the Michigan business 47%.
A National Kidney Foundation of Michigan board member since 1997 and Chairman Emeritus, he is honored by the foundation's M. David Campbell Leadership Award. He studied at Michigan State University and The College of Wooster.
Start a conversation
Fictional characters from GOTB’s original stories. Real-world facts always link to public sources.