Public Act 104-0395
 
SB1827 EnrolledLRB104 10100 JDS 20172 b

    AN ACT concerning local government.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Counties Code is amended by changing 
Sections 5-45020 and 5-45025 as follows:
 
    (55 ILCS 5/5-45020)
    Sec. 5-45020. Development of scope and performance 
criteria.
    (a) The county shall develop, with the assistance of a 
licensed design professional or public art designer, a request 
for proposal, which shall include scope and performance 
criteria. The scope and performance criteria must be in 
sufficient detail and contain adequate information to 
reasonably apprise the qualified design-build entities of the 
county's overall programmatic needs and goals, including 
criteria and preliminary design plans, general budget 
parameters, schedule, and delivery requirements.
    (b) Each request for proposal shall also include a 
description of the level of design to be provided in the 
proposals. This description must include the scope and type of 
renderings, drawings, and specifications that, at a minimum, 
will be required by the county to be produced by the 
design-build entities. 
    (c) The scope and performance criteria shall be prepared 
by a design professional or public art designer who is an 
employee of the county, or the county may contract with an 
independent design professional or public art designer 
selected under the Local Government Professional Services 
Selection Act to provide these services. 
    (d) The design professional or public art designer that 
prepares the scope and performance criteria is prohibited from 
participating in any design-build entity proposal for the 
project. 
    (e) The design-build contract may be conditioned upon 
subsequent refinements in scope and price and may allow the 
county to make modifications in the project scope without 
invalidating the design-build contract. 
(Source: P.A. 102-954, eff. 1-1-23.)
 
    (55 ILCS 5/5-45025)
    Sec. 5-45025. Procedures for Selection.
    (a) The county must use a two-phase procedure for the 
selection of the successful design-build entity. Phase I of 
the procedure will evaluate and shortlist the design-build 
entities based on qualifications, and Phase II will evaluate 
the technical and cost proposals.
    (b) The county shall include in the request for proposal 
the evaluating factors to be used in Phase I. These factors are 
in addition to any prequalification requirements of 
design-build entities that the county has set forth. Each 
request for proposal shall establish the relative importance 
assigned to each evaluation factor and subfactor, including 
any weighting of criteria to be employed by the county. The 
county must maintain a record of the evaluation scoring to be 
disclosed in event of a protest regarding the solicitation. 
    The county shall include the following criteria in every 
Phase I evaluation of design-build entities: (i) experience of 
personnel; (ii) successful experience with similar project 
types; (iii) financial capability; (iv) timeliness of past 
performance; (v) experience with similarly sized projects; 
(vi) successful reference checks of the firm; (vii) commitment 
to assign personnel for the duration of the project and 
qualifications of the entity's consultants; and (viii) ability 
or past performance in meeting or exhausting good faith 
efforts to meet the utilization goals for business enterprises 
established in the Business Enterprise for Minorities, Women, 
and Persons with Disabilities Act and with Section 2-105 of 
the Illinois Human Rights Act. The county may include any 
additional relevant criteria in Phase I that it deems 
necessary for a proper qualification review. 
    The county may not consider any design-build entity for 
evaluation or award if the entity has any pecuniary interest 
in the project or has other relationships or circumstances, 
including, but not limited to, long-term leasehold, mutual 
performance, or development contracts with the county, that 
may give the design-build entity a financial or tangible 
advantage over other design-build entities in the preparation, 
evaluation, or performance of the design-build contract or 
that create the appearance of impropriety. A design-build 
entity shall not be disqualified under this Section solely due 
to having previously been awarded a project or projects under 
any applicable public procurement statute of the State. No 
proposal shall be considered that does not include an entity's 
plan to comply with the requirements established in the 
Business Enterprise for Minorities, Women, and Persons with 
Disabilities Act, for both the design and construction areas 
of performance, and with Section 2-105 of the Illinois Human 
Rights Act. The proposal shall disclose the role of a licensed 
design professional during the administration of the 
design-build contract. Nothing in this Section shall prohibit 
a county from engaging a licensed design professional during 
the administration of a design-build contract if the county 
believes that engaging the licensed design professional 
benefits the project. 
    Upon completion of the qualifications evaluation, the 
county shall create a shortlist of the most highly qualified 
design-build entities. The county, in its discretion, is not 
required to shortlist the maximum number of entities as 
identified for Phase II evaluation, provided that no less than 
2 design-build entities nor more than 6 are selected to submit 
Phase II proposals. If a county receives one response to Phase 
I, nothing in this Section shall prohibit the county from 
proceeding with a Phase II evaluation of the single respondent 
if the county, in its discretion, finds proceeding to be in its 
best interest. 
    The county shall notify the entities selected for the 
shortlist in writing. This notification shall commence the 
period for the preparation of the Phase II technical and cost 
evaluations. The county must allow sufficient time for the 
shortlist entities to prepare their Phase II submittals 
considering the scope and detail requested by the county. 
    (c) The county shall include in the request for proposal 
the evaluating factors to be used in the technical and cost 
submission components of Phase II. Each request for proposal 
shall establish, for both the technical and cost submission 
components of Phase II, the relative importance assigned to 
each evaluation factor and subfactor, including any weighting 
of criteria to be employed by the county. The county must 
maintain a record of the evaluation scoring to be disclosed in 
event of a protest regarding the solicitation. 
    The county shall include the following criteria in every 
Phase II technical evaluation of design-build entities: (i) 
compliance with objectives of the project; (ii) compliance of 
proposed services to the request for proposal requirements; 
(iii) quality of products or materials proposed; (iv) quality 
of design parameters; (v) design concepts; (vi) innovation in 
meeting the scope and performance criteria; and (vii) 
constructability of the proposed project. The county may 
include any additional relevant technical evaluation factors 
it deems necessary for proper selection. 
    The county shall include the following criteria in every 
Phase II cost evaluation: the total project cost, the 
construction costs, and the time of completion. The county may 
include any additional relevant technical evaluation factors 
it deems necessary for proper selection. The total project 
cost criteria weighting factor shall not exceed 30%. 
    The county shall directly employ or retain a licensed 
design professional or a public art designer to evaluate the 
technical and cost submissions to determine if the technical 
submissions are in accordance with generally accepted industry 
standards. Upon completion of the technical submissions and 
cost submissions evaluation, the county may award the 
design-build contract to the highest overall ranked entity. 
(Source: P.A. 102-954, eff. 1-1-23; 103-154, eff. 6-30-23.)
 
    Section 10. The Illinois Municipal Code is amended by 
changing Sections 11-39.2-20 and 11-39.2-25 as follows:
 
    (65 ILCS 5/11-39.2-20)
    Sec. 11-39.2-20. Development of scope and performance 
criteria.
    (a) The municipality must develop, with the assistance of 
a licensed design professional or public art designer, a 
request for proposal, which must include scope and performance 
criteria. The scope and performance criteria must be in 
sufficient detail and contain adequate information to 
reasonably apprise the qualified design-build entities of the 
municipality's overall programmatic needs and goals, including 
criteria and preliminary design plans, general budget 
parameters, schedule, and delivery requirements.
    (b) Each request for proposal must also include a 
description of the level of design to be provided in the 
proposals. This description must include the scope and type of 
renderings, drawings, and specifications that, at a minimum, 
will be required by the municipality to be produced by the 
design-build entities. 
    (c) The scope and performance criteria must be prepared by 
a design professional or public art designer who is an 
employee of the municipality, or the municipality may contract 
with an independent design professional or public art designer 
selected under the Local Government Professional Services 
Selection Act to provide these services. 
    (d) The design professional or public art designer that 
prepares the scope and performance criteria is prohibited from 
participating in any design-build entity proposal for the 
project. 
    (e) The design-build contract may be conditioned upon 
subsequent refinements in scope and price and may allow the 
municipality to make modifications in the project scope 
without invalidating the design-build contract. 
(Source: P.A. 103-491, eff. 1-1-24.)
 
    (65 ILCS 5/11-39.2-25)
    Sec. 11-39.2-25. Procedures for Selection.
    (a) The municipality must use a two-phase procedure for 
the selection of the successful design-build entity. Phase I 
of the procedure will evaluate and shortlist the design-build 
entities based on qualifications, and Phase II will evaluate 
the technical and cost proposals.
    (b) The municipality must include in the request for 
proposal the evaluating factors to be used in Phase I. These 
factors are in addition to any prequalification requirements 
of design-build entities that the municipality has set forth. 
Each request for proposal must establish the relative 
importance assigned to each evaluation factor and subfactor, 
including any weighting of criteria to be employed by the 
municipality. The municipality must maintain a record of the 
evaluation scoring to be disclosed in event of a protest 
regarding the solicitation. 
    The municipality must include the following criteria in 
every Phase I evaluation of design-build entities: (i) 
experience of personnel; (ii) successful experience with 
similar project types; (iii) financial capability; (iv) 
timeliness of past performance; (v) experience with similarly 
sized projects; (vi) successful reference checks of the firm; 
(vii) commitment to assign personnel for the duration of the 
project and qualifications of the entity's consultants; and 
(viii) ability or past performance in meeting or exhausting 
good faith efforts to meet the utilization goals for business 
enterprises established in the Business Enterprise for 
Minorities, Women, and Persons with Disabilities Act and with 
Section 2-105 of the Illinois Human Rights Act. The 
municipality may include any additional, relevant criteria in 
Phase I that it deems necessary for a proper qualification 
review. 
    The municipality may not consider any design-build entity 
for evaluation or award if the entity has any pecuniary 
interest in the project or has other relationships or 
circumstances, such as long-term leasehold, mutual 
performance, or development contracts with the municipality, 
that may give the design-build entity a financial or tangible 
advantage over other design-build entities in the preparation, 
evaluation, or performance of the design-build contract or 
that create the appearance of impropriety. A design-build 
entity shall not be disqualified under this Section solely due 
to having previously been awarded a project or projects under 
any applicable public procurement statute of the State. No 
proposal may be considered that does not include an entity's 
plan to comply with the requirements established in the 
Business Enterprise for Minorities, Women, and Persons with 
Disabilities Act, for both the design and construction areas 
of performance, and with Section 2-105 of the Illinois Human 
Rights Act. The proposal shall disclose the role of a licensed 
design professional during the administration of the 
design-build contract. Nothing in this Section shall prohibit 
a municipality from engaging a licensed design professional 
during the administration of a design-build contract if the 
municipality believes that engaging the licensed design 
professional benefits the project. 
    Upon completion of the qualification evaluation, the 
municipality must create a shortlist of the most highly 
qualified design-build entities. The municipality, in its 
discretion, is not required to shortlist the maximum number of 
entities as identified for Phase II evaluation if no less than 
2 design-build entities nor more than 6 are selected to submit 
Phase II proposals. If a municipality receives one response to 
Phase I, nothing in this Section shall prohibit the 
municipality from proceeding with a Phase II evaluation of the 
single respondent if the municipality, in its discretion, 
finds proceeding to be in its best interest. 
    The municipality must notify the entities selected for the 
shortlist in writing. This notification must commence the 
period for the preparation of the Phase II technical and cost 
evaluations. The municipality must allow sufficient time for 
the shortlist entities to prepare their Phase II submittals 
considering the scope and detail requested by the 
municipality. 
    (c) The municipality must include in the request for 
proposal the evaluating factors to be used in the technical 
and cost submission components of Phase II. Each request for 
proposal must establish, for both the technical and cost 
submission components of Phase II, the relative importance 
assigned to each evaluation factor and subfactor, including 
any weighting of criteria to be employed by the municipality. 
The municipality must maintain a record of the evaluation 
scoring to be disclosed in event of a protest regarding the 
solicitation. 
    The municipality must include the following criteria in 
every Phase II technical evaluation of design-build entities: 
(i) compliance with objectives of the project; (ii) compliance 
of proposed services to the request for proposal requirements; 
(iii) quality of products or materials proposed; (iv) quality 
of design parameters; (v) design concepts; (vi) innovation in 
meeting the scope and performance criteria; and (vii) 
constructability of the proposed project. The municipality may 
include any additional relevant technical evaluation factors 
it deems necessary for proper selection. 
    The municipality must include the following criteria in 
every Phase II cost evaluation: the total project cost, the 
construction costs, and the time of completion. The 
municipality may include any additional relevant technical 
evaluation factors it deems necessary for proper selection. 
The total project cost criteria weighting factor may not 
exceed 30%. 
    The municipality must directly employ or retain a licensed 
design professional or a public art designer to evaluate the 
technical and cost submissions to determine if the technical 
submissions are in accordance with generally accepted industry 
standards. Upon completion of the technical submissions and 
cost submissions evaluation, the municipality may award the 
design-build contract to the highest overall ranked entity. 
(Source: P.A. 103-491, eff. 1-1-24.)
 
    Section 15. The Fire Protection District Act is amended by 
changing Section 11k as follows:
 
    (70 ILCS 705/11k)
    Sec. 11k. Competitive bidding; notice requirements.
    (a) The board of trustees shall have the power to acquire 
by gift, legacy, or purchase any personal property necessary 
for its corporate purposes provided that all contracts for 
supplies, materials, or work involving an expenditure in 
excess of $20,000 shall be let to the lowest responsible 
bidder after advertising as required under subsection (b) of 
this Section; except that, if the board of trustees seeks to 
purchase equipment directly from a dealer or an original 
manufacturer in excess of $50,000, then the contract for 
purchase shall be let to the lowest responsible bidder after 
advertising as required under subsection (b) of this Section. 
The board is not required to accept a bid that does not meet 
the district's established specifications, terms of delivery, 
quality, and serviceability requirements. Contracts which, by 
their nature, are not adapted to award by competitive bidding, 
are not subject to competitive bidding, including, but not 
limited to:
        (1) contracts for the services of individuals 
    possessing a high degree of professional skill where the 
    ability or fitness of the individual plays an important 
    part;
        (2) contracts for the printing of finance committee 
    reports and departmental reports;
        (3) contracts for the printing or engraving of bonds, 
    tax warrants, and other evidences of indebtedness;
        (4) contracts for the maintenance or servicing of, or 
    provision of repair parts for, equipment which are made 
    with the manufacturer or authorized service agent of that 
    equipment where the provision of parts, maintenance, or 
    servicing can best be performed by the manufacturer or 
    authorized service agent, or which involve proprietary 
    parts or technology not otherwise available;
        (5) purchases and contracts for the use, purchase, 
    delivery, movement, or installation of data processing 
    equipment, software, or services and telecommunications 
    and interconnect equipment, software, and services;
        (6) contracts for duplicating machines and supplies;
        (7) contracts for utility services such as water, 
    light, heat, telephone or telegraph;
        (8) contracts for goods or services procured from 
    another governmental agency;
        (9) purchases of equipment previously owned by some 
    entity other than the district itself; and
        (10) contracts for goods or services which are 
    economically procurable from only one source, such as for 
    the purchase of magazines, books, periodicals, pamphlets, 
    reports, and online subscriptions.
    Contracts for emergency expenditures are also exempt from 
competitive bidding when the emergency expenditure is approved 
by a vote of 3/4 of the members of the board.
    (b) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (a) of this 
Section, all proposals to award contracts involving amounts in 
excess of $20,000 shall be published at least 10 days, 
excluding Sundays and legal holidays, in advance of the date 
announced for the receiving of bids, in a secular English 
language newspaper of general circulation throughout the 
district. In addition, a fire protection district that has a 
website that the full-time staff of the district maintains 
shall post notice on its website of all proposals to award 
contracts in excess of $20,000. Advertisements for bids shall 
describe the character of the proposed contract or agreement 
in sufficient detail to enable the bidders thereon to know 
what their obligations will be, either in the advertisement 
itself, or by reference to detailed plans and specifications 
on file at the time of the publication of the first 
announcement. Such advertisement shall also state the date, 
time and place assigned for the opening of bids, and no bids 
shall be received at any time subsequent to the time indicated 
in the announcement. All competitive bids for contracts 
involving an expenditure in excess of $20,000 must be sealed 
by the bidder and must be opened by a member of the board or an 
employee of the district at a public bid opening at which the 
contents of the bids must be announced. Each bidder must 
receive at least 3 days' notice of the time and place of the 
bid opening.
    (c) In addition to contracts entered into under the 
Governmental Joint Purchasing Act, a board of trustees may 
enter into contracts for supplies, materials, or work 
involving an expenditure in excess of $20,000 through 
participation in a joint governmental or nongovernmental 
purchasing program that requires as part of its selection 
procedure a competitive solicitation and procurement process.
    (d) Subject to the exceptions under subsections (a) and 
(c), any procurement by a board of trustees involving the 
acquisition, by direct or beneficial ownership, of 
improvements to real estate by a fire protection district 
which results in an expenditure of district funds in excess of 
$20,000 must be competitively bid in accordance with the 
procedures of subsection (b). 
    (e) Nothing in this Section prohibits a fire protection 
district from entering into design-build contracts. Fire 
protection districts are authorized to use a design-build 
contracting method for construction if a competitive process 
consistent with the purpose of this Section is used in 
connection with the selection of the design-builder. 
(Source: P.A. 102-138, eff. 1-1-22; 102-558, eff 8-20-21; 
103-634, eff. 1-1-25.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, 
2025.