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(a) The chief procurement officer is authorized to establish a program (for purposes of this section, "mentoring program") whereby a prime contractor may receive up to 5 percent additional credit, as calculated in accordance with subparagraph (b)(1) of this section, applicable to meet the MBE and WBE participation requirements or goals set forth pursuant to this chapter, if the contractor complies with all of the following requirements:
(1) (i) The prime contractor has entered into a written mentor-protégé agreement approved by the chief procurement officer (for purposes of this section, "mentoring agreement") with MBEs and WBEs to develop their capacity in becoming self-sufficient, competitive and profitable business enterprises, or (ii) one or more of the prime contractor's subcontractors has a written mentor-protégé agreement approved by the chief procurement officer to develop the capacity of MBE or WBE subcontractors (for purposes of this section, "subcontractor-to-subcontractor mentoring agreement"); and
(2) The MBEs or WBEs, or combination thereof, that have entered into a mentoring agreement or subcontractor-to-subcontractor mentoring agreement have self-performed at least 1 percent of the value of the contract awarded to the prime contractor; and
(3) The prime contractor has complied with, as determined by the chief procurement officer, the terms of the mentoring agreement.
(b) (1) The prime contractor shall be awarded an additional 0.5 percent credit, up to a maximum of a total of 5 percent additional credit, for every 1 percent of the value of the contract self-performed by MBEs or WBEs, or combination thereof, that have entered into a mentoring agreement or subcontractor-to-subcontractor mentoring agreement. The additional credit shall be calculated based on the value of the contract in which the credit has been received, and may only be applied to meet the MBE or WBE, as applicable, participation requirements or goals set forth pursuant to this chapter in the same contract.
(2) In addition to the credit set forth in subparagraph (b)(1), unless otherwise prohibited by any federal, state or local law, for any contract having an estimated contract value of $100,000 or more advertised, or if not advertised awarded, after the effective date of this subparagraph (b)(2), the chief procurement officer shall allocate to a qualified bidder that is a prime contractor that has entered into a mentoring agreement or whose subcontractor has entered into a subcontractor-to-subcontractor mentoring agreement a bid preference of 1 percent of the contract base bid.
The bid preference is used only to calculate an amount to be used in evaluating the bid to determine the low bidder, and it does not affect the contract price.
(i) The chief procurement officer may determine not to allocate a bid preference under this subparagraph (b)(2), under the following conditions:
(A) an emergency exists;
(B) for cooperative purchasing or cooperative construction contracts; or
(C) the chief procurement officer otherwise concludes that the allocation of a bid preference is not in the city's best interest.
(ii) For all contracts advertised for bid solicitation, the chief procurement officer shall include a bid preference provision consistent with this subparagraph (b)(2) in all such advertising.
(iii) The prime contractor shall maintain records adequate to monitor compliance with this section and shall submit such reports as required by the chief procurement officer. Full access to the prime contractor's 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 prime contractor and subcontractors shall maintain all relevant records for a period of no less than three years after the expiration of the contract.
(iv) The chief procurement officer may require, at the time of submission of a bid or at any time during the term of the contract, that the prime contractor submit an affidavit and other supporting documents demonstrating that the prime contractor has entered into a mentoring agreement or that the prime contractor's subcontractor has entered into a subcontractor-to- subcontractor mentoring agreement.
(v) Upon completion of the work, any prime contractor that has failed to maintain a mentoring agreement or a subcontractor that has a subcontractor- to-subcontractor mentoring agreement, for which a bid preference was taken into consideration in awarding of a contract shall be fined in an amount equal to three times the amount of the bid preference allocated, unless the prime contractor can demonstrate that due to circumstances beyond the prime contractor's control, the prime contractor for good cause was unable to maintain a mentoring agreement or a subcontractor that has a subcontractor-to-subcontractor mentoring agreement throughout the duration of the contract period.
(c) The chief procurement officer shall have power to enter into service and reimbursement agreements with associations of MBEs and WBEs, minority or women community organizations, minority or women contractors' groups, local, state and federal minority or women business assistance offices, and other organizations that provide assistance in the recruitment and placement of MBEs or WBEs, pertaining to the provision of training and related assistance to current or prospective MBEs and WBEs.
(d) The chief procurement officer is authorized to adopt rules for the proper administration and enforcement of this section, including rules governing mentoring agreements.
(Added Coun. J. 10-3-12, p. 35117, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 11-9-16, p. 36310, § 1)
(a) If the Chief Procurement Officer determines, after notice and a hearing before the CPO and upon receipt of a nonbinding recommendation from the Board or the Contracting Equity officer, that a contractor, M.B.E. or W.B.E. has made fraudulent misrepresentations to the City regarding the utilization or status of M.B.E.s or W.B.E.s, or has colluded with another making such fraudulent misrepresentations, the contractor, M.B.E. or W.B.E., as the case may be, shall be declared ineligible to contract or subcontract on additional contracts. Upon making a finding of ineligibility, the Chief Procurement Officer shall determine the period of ineligibility imposed, which may include permanent or indefinite ineligibility or some lesser penalty. No M.B.E. or W.B.E. shall be disqualified for collusive misrepresentations unless all parties with which the M.B.E. or W.B.E. was found to have colluded are also disqualified. The City shall regard as nonresponsive any bid submitted during such period of ineligibility which includes a disqualified entity as a contractor, subcontractor or member of a joint venture. In the event that a contractor submitting a bid is determined by D.P.S. not to have been involved in any misrepresentation of the status of a disqualified subcontractor included in the bid, D.P.S. may allow the contractor to discharge the disqualified subcontractor and, if possible, identify and engage a qualified subcontractor as its replacement for inclusion in the bid. The consequences provided herein shall be in addition to any other criminal or civil liability to which such entities may be subject. D.P.S. shall inform the State's Attorney of Cook County of instances of fraudulent misrepresentation and collusion.
(b) In addition to any other penalty imposed by law, any person who knowingly obtains, or knowingly assists another in obtaining, a contract with the city by falsely representing that the individual or entity, or the individual or entity assisted, is a minority-owned business or a woman-owned business is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by incarceration in the county jail for a period not to exceed six months or a fine of not less than $5,000.00 and not more than $10,000, or both.
(c) All funds collected as penalties or fines under this section shall be used for the purposes set forth in Section 2-92-445(e).
(Prior code § 26-113; Added Coun. J. 7-31-90, p. 19319; Amend Coun. J. 7-19-00, p. 38206, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 9-4-02, p. 92670, § 3; Amend Coun. J. 3-9-05, p. 43512, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 5-14-08, p. 27074, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 12-2-09, p. 78837, Art. 4, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 11-16-11, p. 13798, Art. IV, § 3; Amend Coun. J. 10-27-21, p. 39543, Art. III, § 2)
The Chief Procurement Officer may promulgate rules for the proper implementation, administration, and enforcement of Sections 2-92-420 through 2-92-570 of this chapter. The rules may prescribe time delays and preemptive periods for applications, for appeals or for the doing of any act required or permitted herein.
The Contracting Equity officer may recommend to the Chief Procurement Officer rules with respect to the powers and duties granted to the Contracting Equity officer under this chapter and with respect to improving equity in the City's contracting.
(Prior code § 26-114; Added Coun. J. 7-31-90, p. 19319; Amend Coun. J. 9-4-02, p. 92670, § 3; Amend Coun. J. 12-2-09, p. 78837, Art. 4, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 11-16-11, p. 13798, Art. IV, § 3; Amend Coun. J. 10-27-21, p. 39543, Art. III, § 2)
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