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For purposes of this Article IX, the following definitions shall apply:
"Chief Procurement Officer" means the City's Chief Procurement Officer.
"Contract" means any contract, purchase order or agreement (other than a delegate agency contract or lease of real property or collective bargaining agreement or a construction contract as defined in Section 2-92-670) awarded by any officer or agency of the city other than the City Council, and whose cost is to be paid from funds belonging to or administered by the City of Chicago, regardless of source.
"Department of Procurement Services" or "DPS" means the City's Department of Procurement Services.
"Local business enterprise" means a business entity located within the counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry or Will in the State of Illinois (the "Six County Region").
"Non-construction mid-sized business initiative procurement program" or "NMBI procurement program" means the program established pursuant to this Article IX.
"Mid-sized local business enterprise" or "MSB" means a local business enterprise that has gross receipts, averaged over its previous five fiscal years, that do not exceed one and a half times the size standards of minority-owned or women-owned business as set forth pursuant to Section 2-92-420(o) of this Code.
(Added Coun. J. 3-28-18, p. 72115, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 10-27-21, p. 39543, Art. III, § 2)
Unless otherwise prohibited by any federal, state or local law, the Chief Procurement Officer shall establish a race- and gender-neutral program to increase MSBs' participation in non-construction procurement contracts. The Chief Procurement Officer is authorized to identify and offer non-construction procurement contracts for exclusive participation of MSBs. The estimated costs of such contracts shall not be less than $3,000,000 nor more than $10,000,000.
(Added Coun. J. 3-28-18, p. 72115, § 1)
To be eligible for the NMBI procurement program, a business enterprise must:
(1) be a mid-sized local business enterprise;
(2) perform more than fifty percent of the non- construction procurement contract with its own work force or subcontractors that are mid-sized local business enterprises; and
(3) be independent, and must not be an affiliate or subsidiary of any other business enterprise. For purposes of this subsection, the Chief Procurement Officer shall have the sole authority to determine the independence of a business enterprise.
(Added Coun. J. 3-28-18, p. 72115, § 1)
(b) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (a), any business enterprise that claims to be an MSB shall at the time of such claim, and annually thereafter, submit an affidavit, in a form prescribed by the Chief Procurement Officer, attesting that it meets the MSB eligibility requirements provided in Section 2-92-1030. The Chief Procurement Officer is authorized to investigate the accuracy of the information provided in, and require documents and information in support of, such affidavits.
(c) MSBs and business enterprises presumed to be MSBs shall notify the Department of Procurement Services of any change that affects such enterprises' MSB status within five business days of the occurrence of such change.
(Added Coun. J. 3-28-18, p. 72115, § 1)
The Chief Procurement Officer is authorized to impose reasonable reporting requirements on participants in the NMBI procurement program. Such reporting requirements shall be designed and used to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. Any NMBI procurement program participant shall comply with the reporting requirements as required by the Chief Procurement Officer.
(Added Coun. J. 3-28-18, p. 72115, § 1)
(a) Fraudulent misrepresentation. If the Chief Procurement Officer determines, after notice and a hearing before the Chief Procurement Officer, that any MSB has made fraudulent misrepresentations to the city regarding its MSB status, or has colluded with another making such fraudulent misrepresentations, the MSB 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 ineligibility for a lesser duration. No MSB shall be disqualified for collusive misrepresentations unless all parties with which the MSB was found to have colluded with 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 DPS not to have been involved in any misrepresentation of the status of a disqualified subcontractor included in the bid, DPS 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. DPS shall inform the State's Attorney of Cook County and the City of Chicago Office of Inspector General of instances of fraudulent misrepresentation and collusion.
(b) False representation. 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 entity, or the entity assisted, is an MSB 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 and not more than $10,000, or both.
(c) Other violations. Except as otherwise provided in subsections (a) and (b), any person who violates this Article IX shall be fined not less than $1,000 nor more than $5,000 for each offense.
(Added Coun. J. 3-28-18, p. 72115, § 1)