Bill Text: IL HB3606 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Engrossed

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Bill Title: Reinserts provisions of the introduced bill with changes. Changes reference to "penalty" to "damages" in provision concerning the Council's enforcement procedures and a provision concerning remedies or sanctions for vendors failing to make good faith efforts to meet contract goals. Makes other technical changes.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-06-26 - Pursuant to Senate Rule 3-9(b) / Referred to Assignments [HB3606 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB3606-Engrossed.html

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AN ACT concerning finance.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Business Enterprise for Minorities, Women,
and Persons with Disabilities Act is amended by changing
Sections 2,5, 7, and 8 and by adding Section 3.5 as follows:
(30 ILCS 575/2)
(Section scheduled to be repealed on June 30, 2024)
Sec. 2. Definitions.
(A) For the purpose of this Act, the following terms shall
have the following definitions:
(1) "Minority person" shall mean a person who is a
citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States
and who is any of the following:
(a) American Indian or Alaska Native (a person
having origins in any of the original peoples of North
and South America, including Central America, and who
maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment).
(b) Asian (a person having origins in any of the
original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or
the Indian subcontinent, including, but not limited
to, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia,
Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and

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Vietnam).
(c) Black or African American (a person having
origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa).
(d) Hispanic or Latino (a person of Cuban,
Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or
other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race).
(e) Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (a
person having origins in any of the original peoples
of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands).
(2) "Woman" shall mean a person who is a citizen or
lawful permanent resident of the United States and who is
of the female gender.
(2.05) "Person with a disability" means a person who
is a citizen or lawful resident of the United States and is
a person qualifying as a person with a disability under
subdivision (2.1) of this subsection (A).
(2.1) "Person with a disability" means a person with a
severe physical or mental disability that:
(a) results from:
amputation,
arthritis,
autism,
blindness,
burn injury,
cancer,
cerebral palsy,

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Crohn's disease,
cystic fibrosis,
deafness,
head injury,
heart disease,
hemiplegia,
hemophilia,
respiratory or pulmonary dysfunction,
an intellectual disability,
mental illness,
multiple sclerosis,
muscular dystrophy,
musculoskeletal disorders,
neurological disorders, including stroke and
epilepsy,
paraplegia,
quadriplegia and other spinal cord conditions,
sickle cell anemia,
ulcerative colitis,
specific learning disabilities, or
end stage renal failure disease; and
(b) substantially limits one or more of the
person's major life activities.
Another disability or combination of disabilities may
also be considered as a severe disability for the purposes
of item (a) of this subdivision (2.1) if it is determined

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by an evaluation of rehabilitation potential to cause a
comparable degree of substantial functional limitation
similar to the specific list of disabilities listed in
item (a) of this subdivision (2.1).
(3) "Minority-owned business" means a business which
is at least 51% owned by one or more minority persons, or
in the case of a corporation, at least 51% of the stock in
which is owned by one or more minority persons; and the
management and daily business operations of which are
controlled by one or more of the minority individuals who
own it.
(4) "Women-owned business" means a business which is
at least 51% owned by one or more women, or, in the case of
a corporation, at least 51% of the stock in which is owned
by one or more women; and the management and daily
business operations of which are controlled by one or more
of the women who own it.
(4.1) "Business owned by a person with a disability"
means a business that is at least 51% owned by one or more
persons with a disability and the management and daily
business operations of which are controlled by one or more
of the persons with disabilities who own it. A
not-for-profit agency for persons with disabilities that
is exempt from taxation under Section 501 of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 is also considered a "business owned
by a person with a disability".

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(4.2) "Council" means the Business Enterprise Council
for Minorities, Women, and Persons with Disabilities
created under Section 5 of this Act.
(4.3) "Commission" means, unless the context clearly
indicates otherwise, the Commission on Equity and
Inclusion created under the Commission on Equity and
Inclusion Act.
(4.4) "Certified vendor" means a minority-owned
business, women-owned business, or business owned by a
person with a disability that is certified by the Business
Enterprise Program.
(4.5) "Subcontractor" means a person or entity that
enters into a contractual agreement with a prime vendor to
provide, on behalf of the prime vendor, goods, services,
real property, or remuneration or other monetary
consideration that is the subject of the primary State
contract. "Subcontractor" includes a sublessee under a
State contract.
(4.6) "Prime vendor" means any person or entity having
a contract that is subject to this Act with a State agency
or public institution of higher education.
(5) "State contracts" means all contracts entered into
by the State, any agency or department thereof, or any
public institution of higher education, including
community college districts, regardless of the source of
the funds with which the contracts are paid, which are not

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subject to federal reimbursement. "State contracts" does
not include contracts awarded by a retirement system,
pension fund, or investment board subject to Section
1-109.1 of the Illinois Pension Code. This definition
shall control over any existing definition under this Act
or applicable administrative rule.
"State construction contracts" means all State
contracts entered into by a State agency or public
institution of higher education for the repair,
remodeling, renovation or construction of a building or
structure, or for the construction or maintenance of a
highway defined in Article 2 of the Illinois Highway Code.
(6) "State agencies" shall mean all departments,
officers, boards, commissions, institutions and bodies
politic and corporate of the State, but does not include
the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, the
Board of Trustees of Southern Illinois University, the
Board of Trustees of Chicago State University, the Board
of Trustees of Eastern Illinois University, the Board of
Trustees of Governors State University, the Board of
Trustees of Illinois State University, the Board of
Trustees of Northeastern Illinois University, the Board of
Trustees of Northern Illinois University, the Board of
Trustees of Western Illinois University, municipalities or
other local governmental units, or other State
constitutional officers.

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(7) "Public institutions of higher education" means
the University of Illinois, Southern Illinois University,
Chicago State University, Eastern Illinois University,
Governors State University, Illinois State University,
Northeastern Illinois University, Northern Illinois
University, Western Illinois University, the public
community colleges of the State, and any other public
universities, colleges, and community colleges now or
hereafter established or authorized by the General
Assembly.
(8) "Certification" means a determination made by the
Council or by one delegated authority from the Council to
make certifications, or by a State agency with statutory
authority to make such a certification, that a business
entity is a business owned by a minority, woman, or person
with a disability for whatever purpose. A business owned
and controlled by women shall be certified as a
"woman-owned business". A business owned and controlled by
women who are also minorities shall be certified as both a
"women-owned business" and a "minority-owned business".
(9) "Control" means the exclusive or ultimate and sole
control of the business including, but not limited to,
capital investment and all other financial matters,
property, acquisitions, contract negotiations, legal
matters, officer-director-employee selection and
comprehensive hiring, operating responsibilities,

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cost-control matters, income and dividend matters,
financial transactions and rights of other shareholders or
joint partners. Control shall be real, substantial and
continuing, not pro forma. Control shall include the power
to direct or cause the direction of the management and
policies of the business and to make the day-to-day as
well as major decisions in matters of policy, management
and operations. Control shall be exemplified by possessing
the requisite knowledge and expertise to run the
particular business and control shall not include simple
majority or absentee ownership.
(10) "Business" means a business that has annual gross
sales of less than $150,000,000 as evidenced by the
federal income tax return of the business. A vendor firm
with gross sales in excess of this cap may apply to the
Council for certification for a particular contract if the
vendor firm can demonstrate that the contract would have
significant impact on businesses owned by minorities,
women, or persons with disabilities as suppliers or
subcontractors or in employment of minorities, women, or
persons with disabilities. Firms with gross sales in
excess of this cap that are granted certification by the
Council shall be granted certification for the life of the
contract, including available renewals.
(11) "Utilization plan" means an attachment that is
made to a form and additional documentations included in

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all bids or proposals and that demonstrates the bidder's
or offeror's efforts to meet the contract-specific
Business Enterprise Program goal. The utilization plan
shall indicate whether the prime vendor intends to meet
the Business Enterprise Program goal through its own
performance, if it is a certified vendor, or through the
use of subcontractors that are certified vendors a
vendor's proposed utilization of vendors certified by the
Business Enterprise Program to meet the targeted goal. The
utilization plan shall demonstrate that the Vendor has
either: (1) met the entire contract goal or (2) requested
a full or partial waiver of the contract goal. If the prime
vendor intends to use a subcontractor that is a certified
vendor to fulfill the contract goal, a participation
agreement executed between the prime vendor and the
certified subcontractor must be included with the
utilization plan and made good faith efforts towards
meeting the goal.
(12) "Business Enterprise Program" means the Business
Enterprise Program of the Commission on Equity and
Inclusion.
(13) "Good faith effort" means actions undertaken by a
vendor to achieve a contract specific Business Enterprise
Program goal that, by scope, intensity, and
appropriateness to the objective, can reasonably be
expected to fulfill the program's requirements.

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(B) When a business is owned at least 51% by any
combination of minority persons, women, or persons with
disabilities, even though none of the 3 classes alone holds at
least a 51% interest, the ownership requirement for purposes
of this Act is considered to be met. The certification
category for the business is that of the class holding the
largest ownership interest in the business. If 2 or more
classes have equal ownership interests, the certification
category shall be determined by the business.
(Source: P.A. 101-601, eff. 1-1-20; 101-657, eff. 1-1-22;
102-29, eff. 6-25-21; 102-1119, eff. 1-23-23.)
(30 ILCS 575/3.5 new)
Sec. 3.5. Uniform standard of contract goals.
(a) The Business Enterprise Program shall establish
uniform standards for calculating contract specific Business
Enterprise Program goals for all State contracts and State
construction contracts subject to this Act. The uniform
standards may consider normal industry practice, the scope of
the work to be performed under a contract, the availability of
vendors that are able to perform the scope of the work to be
performed under a contract, the availability of certified
vendors that are able to perform the work to be performed under
a contract, and the State's progress to date toward meeting
the aspirational goals set forth in this Act.
(b) No State agency or public institution of higher

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education shall maintain a policy of establishing contract
specific goals for the participation of certified vendors that
is inconsistent with or less stringent than the uniform
standards for calculating contract specific goals established
by the Business Enterprise Program.
(c) Each State agency and public institution of higher
education subject to the requirements of this Act shall, on an
annual basis, submit a report to the Council detailing its
plan to meet the aspirational contract goals established under
this Act and established for that agency and institution.
(30 ILCS 575/5) (from Ch. 127, par. 132.605)
(Section scheduled to be repealed on June 30, 2024)
Sec. 5. Business Enterprise Council.
(1) To help implement, monitor, and enforce the goals of
this Act, there is created the Business Enterprise Council for
Minorities, Women, and Persons with Disabilities, hereinafter
referred to as the Council, composed of the Chairperson of the
Commission on Equity and Inclusion, the Secretary of Human
Services and the Directors of the Department of Human Rights,
the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the
Department of Central Management Services, the Department of
Transportation and the Capital Development Board, or their
duly appointed representatives, with the Comptroller, or his
or her designee, serving as an advisory member of the Council.
Ten individuals representing businesses that are

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minority-owned, women-owned, or owned by persons with
disabilities, 2 individuals representing the business
community, and a representative of public institutions of
higher education shall be appointed by the Governor. These
members shall serve 2-year terms and shall be eligible for
reappointment. Any vacancy occurring on the Council shall also
be filled by the Governor. Any member appointed to fill a
vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for
which his or her predecessor was appointed shall be appointed
for the remainder of such term. Members of the Council shall
serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for any
ordinary and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of
their duties.
The Chairperson of the Commission shall serve as the
Council chairperson and shall select, subject to approval of
the Council, a Secretary responsible for the operation of the
program who shall serve as the Division Manager of the
Business Enterprise for Minorities, Women, and Persons with
Disabilities Division of the Commission on Equity and
Inclusion.
The Director of each State agency and the chief executive
officer of each public institution of higher education shall
appoint a liaison to the Council. The liaison shall be
responsible for submitting to the Council any reports and
documents necessary under this Act.
(2) The Council's authority and responsibility shall be

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to:
(a) Devise a certification procedure to assure that
businesses taking advantage of this Act are legitimately
classified as businesses owned by minorities, women, or
persons with disabilities and a registration procedure to
recognize, without additional evidence of Business
Enterprise Program eligibility, the certification of
businesses owned by minorities, women, or persons with
disabilities certified by the City of Chicago, Cook
County, or other jurisdictional programs with requirements
and procedures equaling or exceeding those in this Act.
(b) Maintain a list of all businesses legitimately
classified as businesses owned by minorities, women, or
persons with disabilities to provide to State agencies and
public institutions of higher education.
(c) Review rules and regulations for the
implementation of the program for businesses owned by
minorities, women, and persons with disabilities.
(d) Review compliance plans submitted by each State
agency and public institution of higher education pursuant
to this Act.
(e) Make annual reports as provided in Section 8f to
the Governor and the General Assembly on the status of the
program.
(f) Serve as a central clearinghouse for information
on State contracts, including the maintenance of a list of

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all pending State contracts upon which businesses owned by
minorities, women, and persons with disabilities may bid.
At the Council's discretion, maintenance of the list may
include 24-hour electronic access to the list along with
the bid and application information.
(g) Establish a toll-free telephone number to
facilitate information requests concerning the
certification process and pending contracts.
(h) Adopt a procedure to grant automatic certification
to businesses holding a certification from at least one of
the following entities: (i) the Illinois Unified
Certification Program; (ii) the Women's Business
Development Center in Chicago; (iii) the Chicago Minority
Supplier Development Council; or (iv) any other similar
entity offering such certification to businesses.
(i) Develop and maintain a repository for
non-certified vendors that: (i) have applied for
certification and have been denied; (ii) have started, but
not completed, the certification process; (iii) have
achieved certification, but did not seek renewal; or (iv)
are known businesses owned by minorities, women, or
persons with disabilities.
(3) No premium bond rate of a surety company for a bond
required of a business owned by a minority, woman, or person
with a disability bidding for a State contract shall be higher
than the lowest rate charged by that surety company for a

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similar bond in the same classification of work that would be
written for a business not owned by a minority, woman, or
person with a disability.
(4) Any Council member who has direct financial or
personal interest in any measure pending before the Council
shall disclose this fact to the Council and refrain from
participating in the determination upon such measure.
(5) The Secretary shall have the following duties and
responsibilities:
(a) To be responsible for the day-to-day operation of
the Council.
(b) To serve as a coordinator for all of the State's
programs for businesses owned by minorities, women, and
persons with disabilities and as the information and
referral center for all State initiatives for businesses
owned by minorities, women, and persons with disabilities.
(c) To establish an enforcement procedure whereby the
Council may recommend to the appropriate State legal
officer that the State exercise its legal remedies which
shall include (1) termination of the contract involved,
(2) prohibition of participation by the respondent in
public contracts for a period not to exceed 3 years, (3)
imposition of a penalty in the amount of the discrepancy
between the commitment contained in the utilization plan,
as such amount may be amended over the term of the
contract, and the qualifying payments made to the eligible

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certified vendors listed in the utilization plan a penalty
not to exceed any profit acquired as a result of
violation, or (4) any combination thereof. Such procedures
shall require prior approval by Council. All funds
collected as penalties under this subsection shall be used
exclusively for maintenance and further development of the
Business Enterprise Program and encouragement of
participation in State procurement by minorities, women,
and persons with disabilities.
(d) To devise appropriate policies, regulations, and
procedures for including participation by businesses owned
by minorities, women, and persons with disabilities as
prime contractors, including, but not limited to: (i)
encouraging the inclusions of qualified businesses owned
by minorities, women, and persons with disabilities on
solicitation lists, (ii) investigating the potential of
blanket bonding programs for small construction jobs, and
(iii) investigating and making recommendations concerning
the use of the sheltered market process.
(e) To devise procedures for the waiver of the
participation goals in appropriate circumstances.
(f) To accept donations and, with the approval of the
Council or the Chairperson of the Commission on Equity and
Inclusion, grants related to the purposes of this Act; to
conduct seminars related to the purpose of this Act and to
charge reasonable registration fees; and to sell

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directories, vendor lists, and other such information to
interested parties, except that forms necessary to become
eligible for the program shall be provided free of charge
to a business or individual applying for the Business
Enterprise Program.
(Source: P.A. 101-601, eff. 1-1-20; 101-657, eff. 1-1-22;
102-29, eff. 6-25-21; 102-558, eff. 8-20-21; 102-721, eff.
1-1-23.)
(30 ILCS 575/7) (from Ch. 127, par. 132.607)
(Section scheduled to be repealed on June 30, 2024)
Sec. 7. Exemptions; waivers; publication of data.
(1) Individual contract exemptions. The Council, at the
written request of the affected agency, public institution of
higher education, or recipient of a grant or loan of State
funds of $250,000 or more complying with Section 45 of the
State Finance Act, may permit an individual contract or
contract package, (related contracts being bid or awarded
simultaneously for the same project or improvements) be made
wholly or partially exempt from State contracting goals for
businesses owned by minorities, women, and persons with
disabilities prior to the advertisement for bids or
solicitation of proposals whenever there has been a
determination, reduced to writing and based on the best
information available at the time of the determination, that
there is an insufficient number of businesses owned by

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minorities, women, and persons with disabilities to ensure
adequate competition and an expectation of reasonable prices
on bids or proposals solicited for the individual contract or
contract package in question. Any such exemptions shall be
given by the Council to the Bureau on Apprenticeship Programs
and Clean Energy Jobs.
(a) Written request for contract exemption. A written
request for an individual contract exemption must include,
but is not limited to, the following:
(i) a list of eligible businesses owned by
minorities, women, and persons with disabilities;
(ii) a clear demonstration that the number of
eligible businesses identified in subparagraph (i)
above is insufficient to ensure adequate competition;
(iii) the difference in cost between the contract
proposals being offered by businesses owned by
minorities, women, and persons with disabilities and
the agency or public institution of higher education's
expectations of reasonable prices on bids or proposals
within that class; and
(iv) a list of eligible businesses owned by
minorities, women, and persons with disabilities that
the contractor has used in the current and prior
fiscal years.
(b) Determination. The Council's determination
concerning an individual contract exemption must consider,

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at a minimum, the following:
(i) the justification for the requested exemption,
including whether diligent efforts were undertaken to
identify and solicit eligible businesses owned by
minorities, women, and persons with disabilities;
(ii) the total number of exemptions granted to the
affected agency, public institution of higher
education, or recipient of a grant or loan of State
funds of $250,000 or more complying with Section 45 of
the State Finance Act that have been granted by the
Council in the current and prior fiscal years; and
(iii) the percentage of contracts awarded by the
agency or public institution of higher education to
eligible businesses owned by minorities, women, and
persons with disabilities in the current and prior
fiscal years.
(2) Class exemptions.
(a) Creation. The Council, at the written request of
the affected agency or public institution of higher
education, may permit an entire class of contracts be made
exempt from State contracting goals for businesses owned
by minorities, women, and persons with disabilities
whenever there has been a determination, reduced to
writing and based on the best information available at the
time of the determination, that there is an insufficient
number of qualified businesses owned by minorities, women,

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and persons with disabilities to ensure adequate
competition and an expectation of reasonable prices on
bids or proposals within that class. Any such exemption
shall be given by the Council to the Bureau on
Apprenticeship Programs and Clean Energy Jobs.
(a-1) Written request for class exemption. A written
request for a class exemption must include, but is not
limited to, the following:
(i) a list of eligible businesses owned by
minorities, women, and persons with disabilities;
(ii) a clear demonstration that the number of
eligible businesses identified in subparagraph (i)
above is insufficient to ensure adequate competition;
(iii) the difference in cost between the contract
proposals being offered by eligible businesses owned
by minorities, women, and persons with disabilities
and the agency or public institution of higher
education's expectations of reasonable prices on bids
or proposals within that class; and
(iv) the number of class exemptions the affected
agency or public institution of higher education
requested in the current and prior fiscal years.
(a-2) Determination. The Council's determination
concerning class exemptions must consider, at a minimum,
the following:
(i) the justification for the requested exemption,

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including whether diligent efforts were undertaken to
identify and solicit eligible businesses owned by
minorities, women, and persons with disabilities;
(ii) the total number of class exemptions granted
to the requesting agency or public institution of
higher education that have been granted by the Council
in the current and prior fiscal years; and
(iii) the percentage of contracts awarded by the
agency or public institution of higher education to
eligible businesses owned by minorities, women, and
persons with disabilities the current and prior fiscal
years.
(b) Limitation. Any such class exemption shall not be
permitted for a period of more than one year at a time.
(3) Waivers. Where a particular contract requires a vendor
contractor to meet a goal established pursuant to this Act,
the vendor contractor shall have the right to request a waiver
from such requirements prior to the contract award. The
Business Enterprise Program shall evaluate a vendor's request
for a waiver based on the vendor's documented good faith
efforts to meet the contract-specific Business Enterprise
Program goal. The Council may shall grant the waiver when the
contractor demonstrates that there has been made a good faith
effort to comply with the goals for participation by
businesses owned by minorities, women, and persons with
disabilities. Any such waiver may shall also be transmitted in

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writing to the Bureau on Apprenticeship Programs and Clean
Energy Jobs.
(a) Request for waiver. A vendor's contractor's
request for a waiver under this subsection (3) must
include, but is not limited to, the following, if
available:
(i) a list of eligible businesses owned by
minorities, women, and persons with disabilities that
pertain to the class of contracts in the requested
waiver that were contracted by the vendor scope of
work of the contract. Eligible businesses are only
eligible if the business is certified for the products
or work advertised in the solicitation or bid;
(ii) (blank);
(iia) a clear demonstration that the vendor
contractor selected portions of the work to be
performed by certified vendors to facilitate meeting
the contract specific goal, and that certified vendors
that have the capability to perform the work of the
contract were eligible businesses owned by minorities,
women, and persons with disabilities, solicited
through all reasonable and available means eligible
businesses, and negotiated in good faith with
interested eligible businesses;
(iib) documentation demonstrating that certified
vendors businesses owned by minorities, women, and

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persons with disabilities are not rejected as being
unqualified without sound reasons based on a thorough
investigation of their capabilities. The certified
vendor's standing within its industry, membership in
specific groups, organizations, or associations, and
political or social affiliations are not legitimate
causes for rejecting or not contacting or negotiating
with a certified vendor;
(iic) proof that the prime vendor solicited
eligible certified vendors with: (1) sufficient time
to respond; (2) adequate information about the scope,
specifications, and requirements of the solicitation
or bid, including plans, drawings, and addenda, to
allow eligible businesses an opportunity to respond to
the solicitation or bid; and (3) sufficient follow up
with certified vendors;
(iid) a clear demonstration that the prime vendor
communicated with certified vendors;
(iie) evidence that the prime vendor negotiated
with certified vendors to enter into subcontracts to
provide a commercially useful function of the contract
for a reasonable cost;
(iii) documentation demonstrating that the
difference in cost between the contract proposals
being offered by certified vendors is contract
proposals being offered by businesses owned by

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minorities, women, and persons with disabilities are
excessive or unreasonable; and
(iv) a list of certified vendors businesses owned
by minorities, women, and persons with disabilities
that the contractor has used in the current and prior
fiscal years; .
(v) documentation demonstrating that the vendor
made efforts to utilize certified vendors despite the
ability or desire of a vendor to perform the work with
its own operations by selecting portions of the work
to be performed by certified vendors, which may, when
appropriate, include breaking out portions of the work
to be performed into economically feasible units to
facilitate certified vendor participation; and
(vi) documentation that the vendor used the
services of: (1) the State; (2) organizations or
contractors' groups representing or composed of
minorities, women, or persons with disabilities; (3)
local, State, or federal assistance offices
representing or assisting minorities, women, or
persons with disabilities; and (4) other organizations
that provide assistance in the recruitment and
engagement of certified vendors.
(b) Determination. The Council's determination
concerning waivers must include following:
(i) the justification for the requested waiver,

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including whether the requesting vendor contractor
made a good faith effort to identify and solicit
certified vendors based on the criteria set forth in
this Section eligible businesses owned by minorities,
women, and persons with disabilities;
(ii) the total number of waivers the vendor
contractor has been granted by the Council in the
current and prior fiscal years;
(iii) (blank); and
(iv) the vendor's contractor's use of businesses
owned by minorities, women, and persons with
disabilities in the current and prior fiscal years.
(3.5) (Blank).
(4) Conflict with other laws. In the event that any State
contract, which otherwise would be subject to the provisions
of this Act, is or becomes subject to federal laws or
regulations which conflict with the provisions of this Act or
actions of the State taken pursuant hereto, the provisions of
the federal laws or regulations shall apply and the contract
shall be interpreted and enforced accordingly.
(5) Each chief procurement officer, as defined in the
Illinois Procurement Code, shall maintain on his or her
official Internet website a database of the following: (i)
waivers granted under this Section with respect to contracts
under his or her jurisdiction; (ii) a State agency or public
institution of higher education's written request for an

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exemption of an individual contract or an entire class of
contracts; and (iii) the Council's written determination
granting or denying a request for an exemption of an
individual contract or an entire class of contracts. The
database, which shall be updated periodically as necessary,
shall be searchable by contractor name and by contracting
State agency.
(6) Each chief procurement officer, as defined by the
Illinois Procurement Code, shall maintain on its website a
list of all vendors firms that have been prohibited from
bidding, offering, or entering into a contract with the State
of Illinois as a result of violations of this Act.
Each public notice required by law of the award of a State
contract shall include for each bid or offer submitted for
that contract the following: (i) the bidder's or offeror's
name, (ii) the bid amount, (iii) the name or names of the
certified vendors firms identified in the bidder's or
offeror's submitted utilization plan, and (iv) the bid's
amount and percentage of the contract awarded to each
certified vendor that is a business businesses owned by
minorities, women, and persons with disabilities identified in
the utilization plan.
(Source: P.A. 101-170, eff. 1-1-20; 101-601, eff. 1-1-20;
101-657, eff. 1-1-22; 102-29, eff. 6-25-21; 102-662, eff.
9-15-21.)

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(30 ILCS 575/8) (from Ch. 127, par. 132.608)
(Section scheduled to be repealed on June 30, 2024)
Sec. 8. Enforcement.
(1) The Commission on Equity and Inclusion shall make such
findings, recommendations and proposals to the Governor as are
necessary and appropriate to enforce this Act. If, as a result
of its monitoring activities, the Commission determines that
its goals and policies are not being met by any State agency or
public institution of higher education, the Commission may
recommend any or all of the following actions:
(a) Establish enforcement procedures whereby the
Commission may recommend to the appropriate State agency,
public institutions of higher education, or law
enforcement officer that legal or administrative remedies
be initiated for violations of contract provisions or
rules issued hereunder or by a contracting State agency or
public institutions of higher education. State agencies
and public institutions of higher education shall be
authorized to adopt remedies for such violations which
shall include (1) termination of the contract involved,
(2) prohibition of participation of the respondents in
public contracts for a period not to exceed one year, (3)
the assessment of a penalty in the amount of the
discrepancy between the commitment contained in the
utilization plan, as such amount may be amended over the
term of the contract, and the qualifying payments made to

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the certified vendors listed in the utilization plan
imposition of a penalty not to exceed any profit acquired
as a result of violation, or (4) any combination thereof.
(b) If the Commission concludes that a compliance plan
submitted under Section 6 is unlikely to produce the
participation goals for businesses owned by minorities,
women, and persons with disabilities within the then
current fiscal year, the Commission may recommend that the
State agency or public institution of higher education
revise its plan to provide additional opportunities for
participation by businesses owned by minorities, women,
and persons with disabilities. Such recommended revisions
may include, but shall not be limited to, the following:
(i) assurances of stronger and better focused
solicitation efforts to obtain more businesses owned
by minorities, women, and persons with disabilities as
potential sources of supply;
(ii) division of the scope of work job or project
requirements, when economically feasible, into tasks
or quantities to permit participation of businesses
owned by minorities, women, and persons with
disabilities;
(iii) elimination of extended experience or
capitalization requirements, when programmatically
feasible, to permit participation of businesses owned
by minorities, women, and persons with disabilities;

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(iv) identification of specific proposed contracts
as particularly attractive or appropriate for
participation by businesses owned by minorities,
women, and persons with disabilities, such
identification to result from and be coupled with the
efforts of subparagraphs (i) through (iii);
(v) implementation of those regulations
established for the use of the sheltered market
process.
(2) State agencies and public institutions of higher
education shall monitor a vendor's compliance with its
utilization plan and the terms of its contract. Without
limitation, a vendor's failure to comply with its contractual
commitments as contained in the utilization plan; failure to
cooperate in providing information regarding its compliance
with its utilization plan; or the provision of false or
misleading information or statements concerning compliance,
certification status, or eligibility of the Business
Enterprise Program-certified vendor, good faith efforts, or
any other material fact or representation shall constitute a
material breach of the contract and entitle the State agency
or public institution of higher education to declare a
default, terminate the contract, or exercise those remedies
provided for in the contract, at law, or in equity.
(3) Prior to the expiration or termination of a contract,
State agencies and public institutions of higher education

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shall evaluate the contractor's fulfillment of the contract
goals for participation by certified businesses owned by
minorities, women, and persons with disabilities. The agency
or public institution of higher education shall prepare a
report of the vendor's compliance with the contract goals and
file it with the Secretary. If the Secretary determines that
the vendor did not fulfill the contract goals, the vendor
shall be in breach of the contract and may be subject to
remedies or sanctions, unless the vendor can show that it made
good faith efforts to meet the contract goals. Such remedies
or sanctions for failing to make good faith efforts may
include (i) disqualification of the contractor from doing
business with the State for a period of no more than one year,
or (ii) cancellation, without any penalty to the State, of any
contract entered into by the vendor, or (iii) the assessment
of a penalty in the amount of the discrepancy between the
commitment contained in the utilization plan, as such amount
may be amended over the term of the contract, and the
qualifying payments made to the certified vendors listed in
the utilization plan.
The Business Enterprise Program shall develop procedures
for determining whether a vendor has made good faith efforts
to meet the contract goals upon the expiration or termination
of a contract, which may include, but shall not be limited to:
(i) consideration of whether State or local action caused a
shortfall, such as a change in the scope of work that

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eliminated work to be performed by certified vendors or a
change in specifications; (ii) whether the vendor was unable
to obtain certified business participation without requiring
the introduction of extra participants not performing a
commercially useful function; or (iii) whether the vendor made
efforts to use appropriate forums for purposes of advertising
subcontracting opportunities suitable for certified
businesses.
(Source: P.A. 101-657, eff. 1-1-22; 102-29, eff. 6-25-21.)