(630 ILCS 10/25)

(Section scheduled to be repealed on July 1, 2032)

Sec. 25. Procurement process.

(a) The Transportation Agency may solicit a proposer with which to enter into a design-build contract or Construction Manager/General Contractor contract, as applicable, by using, without limitation, one or more requests for qualifications, a shortlisting of the most highly qualified proposers, requests for proposals, and negotiations. The Transportation Agency shall use a two-phase procurement for a design-build contract to select the successful proposer, except that the Transportation Agency may use a single-phase procurement if the transportation facility is estimated to cost less than $5,000,000 or the Secretary or the Executive Director makes a written determination that the Transportation Agency may use a single-phase procurement for a particular transportation facility. In a two-phase procurement, the Transportation Agency shall use the first phase to evaluate and shortlist the most highly qualified proposers based on a proposer's qualifications, and then use the second phase to evaluate and select a proposer based on proposals submitted by the shortlisted proposers. During the first phase of a two-phase procurement, the Transportation Agency shall not consider price proposals to make its shortlist decision. In a single-phase procurement, the Transportation Agency shall solicit proposers with a request for proposals, and shall evaluate and select a proposer based on those proposals.

(b) The request for qualifications may contain any terms deemed appropriate by the Transportation Agency including, without limitation, the following:

(1) a description of the anticipated scope of work for the transportation facility;

(2) a requirement that the proposer identify certain key personnel, and for design-build contracts certain key firms, the experience of the personnel and firms, and the conditions on which identified personnel and firms can be replaced;

(3) the evaluation criteria for the qualifications and the relative importance of those criteria; these evaluation criteria may address, without limitation, the proposer's technical and financial qualifications, such as specialized experience, technical competence, capability to perform, financial capacity, the proposer's workload, local office presence, past performance including the proposer's safety record and record of utilization of business enterprises, including disadvantaged business enterprises, and any other qualifications-based factors;

(4) the Transportation Agency's prequalification, licensing, and registration requirements, including any requirements from the Professional Engineering Practice Act of 1989, the Illinois Architecture Practice Act of 1989, the Structural Engineering Practice Act of 1989, and the Illinois Professional Land Surveyor Act of 1989, except that nothing contained herein precludes the Transportation Agency's use of additional prequalification criteria or pass-fail evaluation factors addressing minimum levels of technical experience or financial capabilities;

(5) a requirement that the proposer provide references or contact information for persons who can attest to the past performance of the proposer, including with respect to successful project delivery, subcontracting, labor relations, diverse business utilization, workforce diversity, and compliance with contract requirements;

(6) the maximum number of proposers the Transportation Agency will shortlist to submit proposals; and

(7) any other relevant information the Transportation Agency deems appropriate.

(c) Upon completion of the qualifications evaluation, the Transportation Agency shall, based on the evaluation criteria set forth in the request for qualifications, create a shortlist of the most highly qualified proposers. The Transportation Agency shall shortlist no more than 5 and no fewer than 2 of the most highly qualified proposers. Notwithstanding other provisions of this subsection (c), the Transportation Agency may shortlist fewer than 2 proposers if the Secretary or the Executive Director makes a finding that an emergency situation justifies the limited shortlisting and fewer than 2 proposers meet any applicable prequalification or pass-fail requirements set forth in the request for qualifications.

(d) The request for proposals may contain any terms deemed appropriate by the Transportation Agency including, without limitation, the following:

(1) the form and amount of required bid security;

(2) the terms of the design-build contract or Construction Manager/General Contractor contract, including, but not limited to, scope and performance requirements, schedule or completion date requirements, subcontractor requirements, payment and performance security requirements, and insurance requirements;

(3) the requirements for the technical component of the proposal, including a description of the level of design, scope and type of renderings, drawings, and specifications to be provided in the proposals;

(4) the requirements for the price component of the proposal, which for Construction Manager/General Contractor contracts may include a requirement for the proposer to submit a lump sum price for the direct costs to perform the required preconstruction services and percentage mark-up on those direct costs;

(5) the evaluation criteria for the proposals, including technical criteria, innovation, and schedule, and the relative importance of those criteria, as the Transportation Agency deems appropriate;

(6) a process for the Transportation Agency to review and accept Alternative Technical Concepts;

(7) requirements regarding utilization of business enterprises, including disadvantaged business enterprises, and workforce development, including a description of utilization and workforce diversity plans and certifications to be provided in the proposals for both design and construction phases;

(8) requirements regarding the proposer's qualifications; and

(9) any other relevant information the Transportation Agency deems appropriate.

(e) Before the proposers' submittal of proposals, the Transportation Agency may conduct confidential meetings and exchange confidential information with proposers to promote understanding of the request for proposals, review Alternative Technical Concepts, or discuss other issues related to the procurement.

(f) The date proposals are due must be at least 28 calendar days after the date the Transportation Agency first issues the request for proposals.

(g) The Transportation Agency may offer to pay a stipend in an amount and on the terms and conditions determined by the Transportation Agency and as set forth in the request for proposals to: (1) all shortlisted proposers if the Transportation Agency cancels the procurement after the proposals have been released, but before the due date for proposals; or (2) each unsuccessful proposer that submits a responsive proposal; or (3) each member of the proposer team that incurs costs in the preparation of the proposal. The Transportation Agency may pay a stipend only to those proposers who grant to the Transportation Agency the right to use any work product contained in the unsuccessful proposer's proposal and other proposal-related submissions or, if the Transportation Agency cancels the procurement after the proposals have been released, but before the due date for proposals, any work product developed before cancellation, including technologies, techniques, methods, processes, and information contained in the recipient's design for the transportation facility.

(h) The Transportation Agency shall, as appropriate depending on whether the transportation facility includes building facilities, directly employ or retain a professional engineer or engineers licensed in this State or a licensed architect or architects, or both engineers licensed in this State and licensed architects, to prepare the scope and assist in the evaluation of the proposals' technical submissions under a design-build project delivery method. The professional engineers and licensed architects performing these services are precluded from participating in the procurement of the transportation facility at issue as a member of a proposer team.

(i) The Transportation Agency has the right to reject any and all qualifications or proposals, including, but not limited to, the right to reject any qualifications or proposals as non-responsive, if, in the Transportation Agency's sole discretion, the qualifications or proposals do not meet all material requirements of the request for qualifications or request for proposals, as appropriate. The Transportation Agency shall not consider a proposal that does not include:

(1) the proposer's plan to comply with requirements established by the Transportation Agency regarding utilization of business enterprises, including disadvantaged business enterprises; or

(2) bid security in the form and amount designated in the request for proposals.

(j) The Transportation Agency shall consult with the appropriate chief procurement officer on the design-build project delivery method and the Construction Manager/General Contractor project delivery method procurement processes, and the Secretary or the Executive Director, in consultation with the chief procurement officer, shall determine which procedures to adopt and apply to the design-build project delivery method and Construction Manager/General Contractor project delivery method procurement processes in order to ensure an open, transparent, and efficient process that accomplishes the purposes of this Act.

(k) To ensure taxpayer accountability, for any project with an estimated cost over $30,000,000, the Transportation Agency shall independently procure an owner's representative or construction manager to supplement staff directly employed by the Transportation Agency, provide design reviews, constructability reviews, construction acceptance, oversight of utility relocations, independent quality assurance surveys, independent material testing, documentation of construction, risk mitigation, and oversight of construction activities, including construction management, maintenance of traffic, permit compliance, and other services which may include: value engineering, stakeholder coordination, or public involvement management.

(Source: P.A. 102-1094, eff. 6-15-22.)