DED, Pillen back in Foley’s crosshairs over justification for emergency no-bid contract

By: Aaron Sanderford

Outlets: Nebraska Examiner

Published: January 29, 2026

Words: 1,861

Last Updated: 3 weeks, 3 days ago

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LINCOLN — The Pillen administration faces new questions this week over whether a compressed timeline justified the Nebraska Department of Economic Development rushing into a $2.5 million no-bid emergency bioeconomy contract with a firm Gov. Jim Pillen recommended, run by a lobbyist he knew.

Pillen’s team has said the Legislature, in passing a bill the governor sought, left it too little time in April 2024 to go through a competitive bidding process. The Governor’s Office …

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