1996 Oldsmobile Cutlass Iginition Key or Column Issue

We have an electrical issue with a 1996 Cutlass Supreme. The battery is brand new, alternator and starter are fine. If you turn the key there is full power for electronics like radio, heater fan, and windows, but the car will not start like it is dead ( will not crank at all). We toiok it to a local repair shop and they claim it is the ignition key chip or column security issue. They advised that there was nothing they could do to repair it and we needed to take it to a GM dealer. The question I have is two fold: 1. if we replace the key with a new one including the chip how is it matched to the car's ignition security and will this solve it? 2. Or does the column's ignition have to be replaced with a matching new key & chip at the same time?

Thanks