(a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
"Bid incentive" means an amount deducted, for bid evaluation purposes only, from the contract base bid in order to calculate the bid price to be used to evaluate the bid on a competitively bid contract.
"Contract base bid" means the total dollar amount a contractor bids on a contract without factoring any bid incentive or percentage reductions to the bid amount.
(b) (1) For any contract advertised after the effective date of this section, if such contract has no stated MBE or WBE participation goals, and where not otherwise prohibited by federal, state or local law, the chief procurement officer shall allocate to any qualified bidder the following bid incentive for utilization of: (i) MBE or WBE subcontractors in the performance of the contract, or (ii) MBE or WBE firms other than as a subcontractor during the performance of the contract:
MBE or WBE Participation as a Percentage of the Estimated Contract Dollar Amount | Bid Incentive (as percentage of the contract base bid) |
5% | 0.75% |
10% | 1.00% |
15% | 1.25% |
20% | 1.50% |
25% | 1.75% |
30% | 2.00% |
(2) For a bidder to qualify for an incentive under subsection (b)(1)(i)* of this section, the MBE or WBE subcontractors that the bidder utilizes need not be certified in the area of specialty in which they are performing on the contract if: (i) such MBE or WBE subcontractors are certified in at least one area of specialty; and (ii) the bidder has entered into a written mentor-protégé agreement approved by the chief procurement officer with such MBE or WBE subcontractors to develop their capacity in becoming self-sufficient, competitive and profitable business enterprises.
(3) For a bidder to qualify for an incentive under subsection (b)(1)(ii)* of this section, the MBE or WBE firms that the bidder utilizes shall be certified by the City of Chicago or Cook County in the area of specialty in which they are used during the performance of the contract.
(4) The chief procurement officer may determine not to allocate a bid preference under this section, under the following conditions:
(i) an emergency exists;
(ii) for cooperative purchasing or cooperative construction contracts; or
(iii) the chief procurement officer otherwise concludes that the allocation of a bid preference is not in the city's best interest.
(5) For all contracts advertised after the effective date of this section, the chief procurement officer shall include the bid preference provision consistent with this section in all such advertising.
(c) The contractor shall maintain adequate records necessary to monitor compliance with this section and shall submit such reports as required by the chief procurement officer. Full access to the contractor's, subcontractors' and firms', if used during the performance of the contract, records shall be granted to the chief procurement officer, the commissioner of the supervising department, the inspector general, or any duly authorized representative thereof. The contractor, subcontractors and firms shall maintain all relevant records for a minimum of seven years after final acceptance of the work.
(d) Upon completion of the work, any contractor that has failed to retain the percentage of MBE or WBE subcontractors for which a bid incentive was taken into consideration in awarding of a contract shall be fined an amount equal to three times the amount of the bid incentive allocated, unless the contractor can demonstrate that due to circumstances beyond the contractor's control, the contractor for good cause was unable to retain the percentage of MBE or WBE subcontractors throughout the duration of the contract period.
(e) The chief procurement officer is authorized to adopt rules enabling the effective administration and enforcement of this section.
(f) This section shall not apply to any contract to the extent that the requirements imposed by this section are inconsistent with procedures or standards required by any law or regulation of the United States or the State of Illinois to the extent such inconsistency is not permitted under law or the home rule powers of the city.
(Added Coun. J. 10-5-16, p. 33567, § 1)
* Editor's note – As set forth in Coun. J. 10-5-16, p. 33567, § 1. Future legislation will correct the provision if needed.