(70 ILCS 860/25)

Sec. 25. Procedures for selection.

(a) The forest preserve district or conservation district 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 forest preserve district or conservation district 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 forest preserve district or conservation district 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 forest preserve district or conservation district. The forest preserve district or conservation district must maintain a record of the evaluation scoring to be disclosed in the event of a protest regarding the solicitation.

The forest preserve district or conservation district 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 forest preserve district or conservation district may include any additional relevant criteria in Phase I that it deems necessary for a proper qualification review.

The forest preserve district or conservation district 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 forest preserve district or conservation district, 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. 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.

Upon completion of the qualifications evaluation, the forest preserve district or conservation district shall create a shortlist of the most highly qualified design-build entities. The forest preserve district or conservation district, 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.

The forest preserve district or conservation district 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 forest preserve district or conservation district must allow sufficient time for the shortlist entities to prepare their Phase II submittals considering the scope and detail requested by the forest preserve district or conservation district.

(c) The forest preserve district or conservation district 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 forest preserve district or conservation district. The forest preserve district or conservation district must maintain a record of the evaluation scoring to be disclosed in the event of a protest regarding the solicitation.

The forest preserve district or conservation district 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 forest preserve district or conservation district may include any additional relevant technical evaluation factors it deems necessary for proper selection.

The forest preserve district or conservation district shall include the following criteria in every Phase II cost evaluation: the total project cost, the construction costs, and the time of completion. The forest preserve or conservation district 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 forest preserve or conservation district 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 forest preserve or conservation district may award the design-build contract to the highest overall ranked entity.

(Source: P.A. 102-460, eff. 6-1-22; 103-154, eff. 6-30-23.)