Section 526.2005  General Provisions

a)         Late Bids or Proposals, Late Withdrawals and Late Modifications

1)         Definition.  Any bid or proposal received after the time and date for receipt, or at other than the specified location even if on time, is late.  Any withdrawal or modification of a bid or proposal received after the time and date set for opening of bids or proposals is late.

2)         Treatment.  No late bid or proposal will be considered.  It is the responsibility of the bidder or offeror to see that the bid or proposal is delivered at the time and place specified.  All bids or proposals received after the specified time will be marked "received too late for consideration", signed by the SPO and returned unopened.  Late modifications and late withdrawals will be treated as set forth in Section 526.2038.

3)         Records.  Records shall be made and, in accordance with the State Records Act [5 ILCS 160], kept for each late bid or proposal, late modification, or late withdrawal.

4)         Other Submissions.  Any other submission that has a time or date deadline shall be treated in the same manner as a late bid.

b)         Extension of Time

1)         The SPO may, prior to the date or time for submitting or modifying a bid or proposal, extend the date or time for the convenience of the University.

2)         After opening bids or proposals, the SPO may request bidders or offerors to extend the time during which the University may accept the bids or proposals, provided that, with regard to bids, no other change is permitted.

c)         Electronic and Facsimile Submissions

1)         The Invitation for Bids or Request for Proposals may state that electronic and facsimile machine submissions will be considered if they are received at the designated office by the time and date set for receipt.  Any required attachments will be submitted as stated in the IFB or RFP.

2)         Electronic submissions authorized by specific language in the IFB or RFP will be opened in accordance with electronic security measures in effect at the University at the time of opening.  Unless the electronic submission procedures provide for a secure receipt, vendor assumes risk of premature disclosure due to submission in unsealed form.

3)         Facsimile submissions authorized by specific language in the IFB or RFP will be placed in a sealed container upon receipt and opened as other submissions. Vendor assumes risk of premature disclosure due to submission in unsealed form.

d)         Only One Bid or Proposal Received

If only one bid or proposal is received, an award may be made to the single bidder or offeror if the SPO finds that the price submitted is fair and reasonable, and that either other prospective bidders had reasonable opportunity to respond or there is not adequate time for resolicitation. Otherwise:

1)         new bids or offers may be solicited, including under sole source (Section 526.2025) or emergency (Section 526.2030) procedures; or

2)         the procurement may be canceled.

e)         Alternate or Multiple Bids or Proposals

1)         Alternate bids or proposals may be accepted if:

A)        permitted by the solicitation and in accordance with instructions in the solicitation; or

B)        only one vendor responded, in which case the alternate submission may be evaluated and treated in accordance with Section 526.2025 (Sole Economically Feasible Source Procurement) of this Part; or

C)        the low bidder, who has met all requirements of the solicitation, has provided a lower cost alternative that meets all of the material requirements of the specifications.

2)         Multiple bids or proposals may be accepted if:

A)        permitted by the solicitation and submitted in accordance with instructions in the solicitation; or

B)        only one vendor responded, then, one or more of the submissions may be evaluated, provided that, in the case of bids, only the lowest cost bid meeting specifications may be considered.

f)          Multiple Items

An Invitation for Bids or Request for Proposals may call for pricing of multiple items of similar or related type with award based on individual line item, group total of certain items, a "market basket" of items representative of the total requirement, or grand total of all items.

g)         All or None Bids or Proposals

All or none bids or proposals may be accepted if the evaluation shows an all or none award to be the lowest cost or best value of those submitted.

h)         Conditioning Bids or Proposals Upon Other Awards

Any bid or proposal that is conditioned upon receiving award of the particular contract being solicited and one or more other State contracts shall:

1)         be rejected unless the vendor removes the condition; or

2)         be evaluated and award made to that vendor if the vendor is also independently evaluated as the winner of the other IFB's or RFP's provided the University need not delay procurement actions to accommodate the vendor's all or none condition.

i)          Unsolicited Offers

1)         Processing of Unsolicited Offers.  The SPO may consider unsolicited offers.

2)         Conditions for Consideration.  An unsolicited offer must be in writing and must be sufficiently detailed to allow a judgment to be made concerning the potential utility of the offer to the University.

3)         Award.  An award may not be made based on an unsolicited offer in place of the notice and competition requirements of the Code and this Part except if that unsolicited offer meets the requirements for a small (Section 526.2020), sole source (Section 526.2025), or emergency (Section 526.2030) procurement.

j)          Clarification of Bids and Proposals

The SPO may request that a vendor clarify its bid or proposal as a part of the evaluation process.  A vendor shall not be allowed to materially change its bid or proposal in response to a request for clarification.  A clarification is not an opportunity for discussion or for submission of best and final offers as authorized elsewhere in this Part.

k)         Supplementary Purchases

1)         For procurements other than for construction or construction-related professional services, supplementary purchases will be permitted under the following conditions:

            When the University issues an award after following the sealed bid or sealed proposal procedure, it may, at any time within 90 days thereafter, issue additional purchase orders or contracts to the same contractor or amendments to the original purchase order or contract for an additional quantity at the same unit price and on the same terms and conditions, if:

A)        The contractor indicates that the additional purchase orders or contracts will be accepted if issued.

B)        The market price of the commodities, services, or equipment in question has not gone down since the original purchase.

C)        The amount of the additional purchases is not of such magnitude as to constitute a substantial or material variation from the first purchase order or contract.

2)         Notices of supplementary purchases in excess of the small purchase limits of Sections 20-20 and 35-35 of the Code shall be published in the next available Higher Education Bulletin.

3)         Supplementary purchases of construction or construction related professional services will be permitted as provided in Section 526.3005(e).

l)          Novation or Change of Name

1)         Assignment.  No University contract is transferable, or otherwise assignable, without the prior written consent of the SPO.  Assignment may require the execution of a contract with the assignee and in such cases the assignee must meet all requirements for contracting with the University.  Any purported assignment without prior written consent shall be null and void.

2)         Change of Name.  A vendor may submit to the SPO a written request to change the name in which it holds a contract with the University.  The name change shall not alter any of the terms and conditions of the contract or the obligations of the vendor.

m)        Contracting for Installment Purchase Payments, Including Interest Contracts may provide for installment purchase payments, including interest charges, over a period of time.  The interest rate may not exceed that established by law, including the Bond Authorization Act [30 ILCS 305].

n)         Use of Source Selection Method that is Not Required

If a University uses a method of source selection that it is not, by law, required to use (e.g., use of a competitive sealed bid for a small purchase), the University is not bound to strict compliance with the Code and rules governing the method of source selection used.

o)         Stringing

Dividing or planning procurements to avoid use of competitive procedures (stringing) is prohibited.  Periodic purchases of similar merchandise from several different manufacturers to maintain inventory for resale in a University retail operation is not stringing unless such purchases are planned to avoid use of competitive procedures.

p)         Confidential Data

Vendors must clearly identify any information that is exempt from the disclosure requirement of the Illinois Freedom of Information  Act [5 ILCS 140] and must request special handling of that material.