(A) Contractors, bidding entities and affiliated persons or affiliated entities of contractors and bidding entities are prohibited from making any contributions to any candidate or candidate political committee (as those terms are defined in the state Election Code, being 10 ILCS 5/1-1 et seq.) or to any principal campaign committee or authorized committee (as those terms are defined in the Federal Election Campaign Act, being 52 U.S.C. § 30101), which committees are established to promote the candidacy of any board member, officer or employee of the Division, or an affiliated person of such board member, officer or employee, for any political office. Any board member, officer or employee of the Division is prohibited from soliciting or knowingly accepting from any contractor, bidding entity or any affiliated person or affiliated entity of such contractor or bidding entity, any contributions to any political committees established to promote the candidacy of that board member, officer or employee.
(B) With respect to contributions by contractors and their affiliated persons and affiliated entities, these prohibitions shall be effective for a period of three years following the expiration or termination of the contracts with the contractor.
(C) With respect to contributions by bidding entities who do not become contractors, and their affiliated persons and affiliated entities, these prohibitions shall be effective until the opportunity to become a contractor has been terminated by the Division through the awarding of a contract to another entity, or until the bidding entity provides written notice to the Division that it is no longer seeking to become a contractor.
(D) Upon written request of any board member, officer or employee of the Division who is a candidate for political office, the Division shall inform the requestor whether a particular business entity is a contractor or a bidding entity.
(E) Any contract between the Division and a contractor that violates this section shall be voidable.
(F) A board member, officer or employee, or an affiliated person thereto, does not violate this section if the recipient promptly takes reasonable action to return a contribution prohibited hereby to its source or gives an amount equal to the contribution to an appropriate charity that is exempt from income taxation under § 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as now or hereafter amended, renumbered or succeeded.
(Ord. MET 12-05, passed 3-16-2012) Penalty, see § 53.999