Bill Text: IL SB2298 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Illinois Procurement Code. Removes references to the Commission on Equity and Inclusion from provisions concerning financial disclosures.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2025-02-07 - Referred to Assignments [SB2298 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-SB2298-Introduced.html

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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 SB2298 Introduced 2/7/2025, by Sen. Cristina Castro SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
30 ILCS 500/50-35
Amends the Illinois Procurement Code. Removes references to the Commission on Equity and Inclusion from provisions concerning financial disclosures.
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A BILL FOR
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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 Illinois Procurement Code is amended by
changing Section 50-35 as follows:
(30 ILCS 500/50-35)
Sec. 50-35. Financial disclosure and potential conflicts
of interest.
(a) All bids and offers from responsive bidders, offerors,
vendors, or contractors with an annual value that exceeds the
small purchase threshold established under subsection (a) of
Section 20-20 of this Code, and all submissions to a vendor
portal, shall be accompanied by disclosure of the financial
interests of the bidder, offeror, potential contractor, or
contractor and each subcontractor to be used. In addition, all
subcontracts identified as provided by Section 20-120 of this
Code with an annual value that exceeds the small purchase
threshold established under subsection (a) of Section 20-20 of
this Code shall be accompanied by disclosure of the financial
interests of each subcontractor. The financial disclosure of
each successful bidder, offeror, potential contractor, or
contractor and its subcontractors shall be incorporated as a
material term of the contract and shall become part of the

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publicly available contract or procurement file maintained by
the appropriate chief procurement officer. Each disclosure
under this Section shall be signed and made under penalty of
perjury by an authorized officer or employee on behalf of the
bidder, offeror, potential contractor, contractor, or
subcontractor, and must be filed with the Procurement Policy
Board and the Commission on Equity and Inclusion.
(b) Disclosure shall include any ownership or distributive
income share that is in excess of 5%, or an amount greater than
60% of the annual salary of the Governor, of the disclosing
entity or its parent entity, whichever is less, unless the
bidder, offeror, potential contractor, contractor, or
subcontractor (i) is a publicly traded entity subject to
Federal 10K reporting, in which case it may submit its 10K
disclosure in place of the prescribed disclosure, or (ii) is a
privately held entity that is exempt from Federal 10k
reporting but has more than 100 shareholders, in which case it
may submit the information that Federal 10k reporting
companies are required to report under 17 CFR 229.401 and list
the names of any person or entity holding any ownership share
that is in excess of 5% in place of the prescribed disclosure.
The form of disclosure shall be prescribed by the applicable
chief procurement officer and must include at least the names,
addresses, and dollar or proportionate share of ownership of
each person identified in this Section, their instrument of
ownership or beneficial relationship, and notice of any

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potential conflict of interest resulting from the current
ownership or beneficial relationship of each individual
identified in this Section having in addition any of the
following relationships:
(1) State employment, currently or in the previous 3
years, including contractual employment of services.
(2) State employment of spouse, father, mother, son,
or daughter, including contractual employment for services
in the previous 2 years.
(3) Elective status; the holding of elective office of
the State of Illinois, the government of the United
States, any unit of local government authorized by the
Constitution of the State of Illinois or the statutes of
the State of Illinois currently or in the previous 3
years.
(4) Relationship to anyone holding elective office
currently or in the previous 2 years; spouse, father,
mother, son, or daughter.
(5) Appointive office; the holding of any appointive
government office of the State of Illinois, the United
States of America, or any unit of local government
authorized by the Constitution of the State of Illinois or
the statutes of the State of Illinois, which office
entitles the holder to compensation in excess of expenses
incurred in the discharge of that office currently or in
the previous 3 years.

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(6) Relationship to anyone holding appointive office
currently or in the previous 2 years; spouse, father,
mother, son, or daughter.
(7) Employment, currently or in the previous 3 years,
as or by any registered lobbyist of the State government.
(8) Relationship to anyone who is or was a registered
lobbyist in the previous 2 years; spouse, father, mother,
son, or daughter.
(9) Compensated employment, currently or in the
previous 3 years, by any registered election or
re-election committee registered with the Secretary of
State or any county clerk in the State of Illinois, or any
political action committee registered with either the
Secretary of State or the Federal Board of Elections.
(10) Relationship to anyone; spouse, father, mother,
son, or daughter; who is or was a compensated employee in
the last 2 years of any registered election or re-election
committee registered with the Secretary of State or any
county clerk in the State of Illinois, or any political
action committee registered with either the Secretary of
State or the Federal Board of Elections.
(b-1) The disclosure required under this Section must also
include the name and address of each lobbyist required to
register under the Lobbyist Registration Act and other agent
of the bidder, offeror, potential contractor, contractor, or
subcontractor who is not identified under subsections (a) and

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(b) and who has communicated, is communicating, or may
communicate with any State officer or employee concerning the
bid or offer. The disclosure under this subsection is a
continuing obligation and must be promptly supplemented for
accuracy throughout the process and throughout the term of the
contract if the bid or offer is successful.
(b-2) The disclosure required under this Section must also
include, for each of the persons identified in subsection (b)
or (b-1), each of the following that occurred within the
previous 10 years: suspension or debarment from contracting
with any governmental entity; professional licensure
discipline; bankruptcies; adverse civil judgments and
administrative findings; and criminal felony convictions. The
disclosure under this subsection is a continuing obligation
and must be promptly supplemented for accuracy throughout the
process and throughout the term of the contract if the bid or
offer is successful.
(c) The disclosure in subsection (b) is not intended to
prohibit or prevent any contract. The disclosure is meant to
fully and publicly disclose any potential conflict to the
chief procurement officers, State purchasing officers, their
designees, and executive officers so they may adequately
discharge their duty to protect the State.
(d) When a potential for a conflict of interest is
identified, discovered, or reasonably suspected, the chief
procurement officer or State procurement officer shall send

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the contract to the Procurement Policy Board and the
Commission on Equity and Inclusion. In accordance with the
objectives of subsection (c), if the Procurement Policy Board
or the Commission on Equity and Inclusion finds evidence of a
potential conflict of interest not originally disclosed by the
bidder, offeror, potential contractor, contractor, or
subcontractor, the Board or the Commission on Equity and
Inclusion shall provide written notice to the bidder, offeror,
potential contractor, contractor, or subcontractor that is
identified, discovered, or reasonably suspected of having a
potential conflict of interest. The bidder, offeror, potential
contractor, contractor, or subcontractor shall have 15
calendar days to respond in writing to the Board or the
Commission on Equity and Inclusion, and a hearing before the
Board or the Commission on Equity and Inclusion will be
granted upon request by the bidder, offeror, potential
contractor, contractor, or subcontractor, at a date and time
to be determined by the Board or the Commission on Equity and
Inclusion, but which in no event shall occur later than 15
calendar days after the date of the request. Upon
consideration, the Board or the Commission on Equity and
Inclusion shall recommend, in writing, whether to allow or
void the contract, bid, offer, or subcontract weighing the
best interest of the State of Illinois. All recommendations
shall be submitted to the Executive Ethics Commission. Those
recommendations made concerning conflicts identified in the

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course of a procurement for a public institution of higher
education are, for procurements having a cumulative value
under $5,000, valid and enforceable, for one calendar year
after the initial recommendation was made, for all subsequent
conflicts for that vendor with regard to the same public
institution of higher education. The Executive Ethics
Commission must hold a public hearing within 30 calendar days
after receiving the Board's or the Commission on Equity and
Inclusion's recommendation if the Procurement Policy Board or
the Commission on Equity and Inclusion makes a recommendation
to (i) void a contract or (ii) void a bid or offer and the
chief procurement officer selected or intends to award the
contract to the bidder, offeror, or potential contractor. A
chief procurement officer is prohibited from awarding a
contract before a hearing if the Board or the Commission on
Equity and Inclusion recommendation does not support a bid or
offer. The recommendation and proceedings of any hearing, if
applicable, shall be available to the public.
(e) These thresholds and disclosure do not relieve the
chief procurement officer, the State purchasing officer, or
their designees from reasonable care and diligence for any
contract, bid, offer, or submission to a vendor portal. The
chief procurement officer, the State purchasing officer, or
their designees shall be responsible for using any reasonably
known and publicly available information to discover any
undisclosed potential conflict of interest and act to protect

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the best interest of the State of Illinois.
(f) Inadvertent or accidental failure to fully disclose
shall render the contract, bid, offer, proposal, subcontract,
or relationship voidable by the chief procurement officer if
he or she deems it in the best interest of the State of
Illinois and, at his or her discretion, may be cause for
barring from future contracts, bids, offers, proposals,
subcontracts, or relationships with the State for a period of
up to 2 years.
(g) Intentional, willful, or material failure to disclose
shall render the contract, bid, offer, proposal, subcontract,
or relationship voidable by the chief procurement officer if
he or she deems it in the best interest of the State of
Illinois and shall result in debarment from future contracts,
bids, offers, proposals, subcontracts, or relationships for a
period of not less than 2 years and not more than 10 years.
Reinstatement after 2 years and before 10 years must be
reviewed and commented on in writing by the Governor of the
State of Illinois, or by an executive ethics board or
commission he or she might designate. The comment shall be
returned to the responsible chief procurement officer who must
rule in writing whether and when to reinstate.
(h) In addition, all disclosures shall note any other
current or pending contracts, bids, offers, proposals,
subcontracts, leases, or other ongoing procurement
relationships the bidder, offeror, potential contractor,

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contractor, or subcontractor has with any other unit of State
government and shall clearly identify the unit and the
contract, offer, proposal, lease, or other relationship.
(i) The bidder, offeror, potential contractor, or
contractor has a continuing obligation to supplement the
disclosure required by this Section throughout the bidding
process during the term of any contract, and during the vendor
portal registration process.
(j) If a bid or offer is received from a responsive bidder,
offeror, vendor, contractor, or subcontractor with an annual
value of more than $100,000 and the bidder, offeror, vendor,
contractor, or subcontractor has an active contract with that
same entity and already has submitted their financial
disclosures and potential conflicts of interest within the
last 12 months, the bidder, offeror, vendor, contractor, or
subcontractor may submit a signed affidavit attesting that the
original submission of its financial disclosures and potential
conflicts of interests has not been altered or changed. The
form and content of the affidavit shall be prescribed by the
applicable chief procurement officer.
(Source: P.A. 101-657, eff. 1-1-22; 102-721, eff. 1-1-23;
102-1119, eff. 1-23-23.)