The City shall develop and use race- and gender-neutral measures to facilitate the participation of small business enterprises in City contracting activities. Race- and gender-neutral measures shall be used to the maximum feasible extent to meet the biannual, aspirational goals established in Section 2-92-690. These measures shall include, but are not limited to:
(a) arranging solicitation times for the presentations of bids, quantities, specifications, and delivery schedules so as to facilitate the participation of interested contractors and subcontractors;
(b) segmenting contracts so as to facilitate the participation of small business enterprises;
(c) in consultation with the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection and the Department of Finance, providing assistance to businesses in overcoming barriers such as difficulty in obtaining bonding and financing;
(d) providing timely information programs on contracting procedures, bid preparation and specific contracting opportunities;
(e) holding pre-bid conferences, where appropriate, to explain the projects and to encourage contractors to use small business enterprises as subcontractors;
(f) adopting prompt payment procedures, including requiring by contract that prime contractors pay subcontractors within specified days of receipt of payment from the City and, where necessary, issuing payments to subcontractors;
(g) reviewing bonding, insurance, retainage and other requirements to eliminate unnecessary barriers to and reduce the burdens of contracting with the City;
(h) expediting payments and advancing payments to cover start-up and mobilization costs, where appropriate;
(i) in consultation with the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection and the Department of Finance, providing information concerning City-sponsored small business loan programs and other programs providing access to capital to small business enterprises;
(j) collecting information from all prime contractors on City construction contracts detailing the bids received from all subcontractors for City construction contracts and the expenditures to subcontractors utilized by prime contractors on City construction contracts;
(k) at the discretion of the Chief Procurement Officer, letting a representative sample of City construction contracts without goals, to determine M.B.E. and W.B.E. utilization in the absence of goals;
(l) [Reserved.]
(m) limiting the self-performance of prime contractors, where appropriate;
(n) creating a target market program for bidding on City prime construction contracts by small local business enterprises;
(o) to the extent practicable, awarding contracts requiring the expenditure of funds not exceeding $10,000 to small local business enterprises; and
(p) referring complaints of discrimination against M.B.E.s or W.B.E.s to the Chicago Commission on Human Relations and the City's Inspector General, or other appropriate authority, for investigation and resolution.
(Added Coun. J. 5-26-04, p. 24585, § 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. 2-15-12, p. 20488, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 10-27-21, p. 39543, Art. III, § 2)