65 ILCS 5/ Illinois Municipal Code.

(65 ILCS 5/11-135.5-40)

Sec. 11-135.5-40. Property.

(a) Generally. A commission may (i) acquire, hold, sell, lease as lessor or lessee, transfer, or dispose of real or personal property, or interest therein, and (ii) acquire by gift, legacy, or grant any real estate or personal property, or rights therein, in all such instances as it deems appropriate in the exercise of its powers for its lawful purposes, whether the land or personal property is located within or outside the boundaries of the members of the commission. The commission also may accept any grant, subsidy, or contribution from the United States, the State of Illinois, a unit of local government, or any other governmental entity, or any combination thereof.

(b) Private property. Whenever a commission passes an ordinance for the construction or acquisition of any waterworks properties, or improvements or extension or mains, pumping stations, reservoirs, or other appurtenances thereto, which such commission is authorized to make, the making of which will require that private property be taken or damaged, such commission may cause compensation therefor to be ascertained and may condemn and acquire possession thereof in the same manner as nearly as may be, as provided for the exercise of the right of eminent domain under the Eminent Domain Act. However, proceedings to ascertain the compensation to be paid for taking or damaging private property shall be instituted in the circuit court of the county where the property sought to be taken or damaged is situated.

(c) Public property. When a commission created under this Division requires that public property be taken or damaged for the purposes specified in this Section, the commission may condemn and acquire possession of public property and cause compensation for such public property to be ascertained in the same manner provided for the exercise of the right of eminent domain under the Eminent Domain Act while the commission has the power to initiate action in the manner provided by Article 20 of the Eminent Domain Act.

(d) Highways and public ground. A commission may construct, maintain, alter, and extend its water mains as a proper use of highways along, upon, under, and across any highway, street, alley, or public ground in the State, including highways within a municipality, but so as not to inconvenience the public use thereof, and the commission may construct, maintain, and operate any conduit or conduits, water pipe or pipes, wholly or partially buried or otherwise in, upon, and along any of the lands owned by the State and under any of the public waters therein. However, the right, permission, and authority hereby created shall be subject to all public rights of commerce and navigation and the authority of the United States in behalf of such public rights and also the laws of the State to regulate and control the same. Notice shall be given to the highway authorities of a municipality, county, township, road district, or township district in which such highway, street, or public way may be situated at least 60 days before any construction or installation work in such highway or street shall commence. All laws and ordinances pertaining to such work for the protection of the public and of public property shall be complied with, except that no fee may be charged such commission for the construction or installation of such facilities in such public places.

(e) Surplus property. When, in the opinion of a commission, real estate owned by it, however acquired, is no longer necessary, appropriate, required for the use of, profitable to, or for best interest of the commission, such commission may, by resolution, lease such surplus real estate for a period not to exceed 99 years or sell such surplus real estate, in accordance with procedures established in the intergovernmental agreement or bylaws or adopted by resolution by such commission.

(f) Tax exemption. All property, income, and receipts of or transactions by a commission shall be exempt from all taxation, the same as if it were the property, income, or receipts of or transaction by the member municipalities.

(g) Agricultural impact mitigation agreement. For any private property that is used for agricultural purposes, as defined in Section 1-60 of the Property Tax Code, that is damaged or taken by a commission created under this Division, the commission shall enter into an agricultural impact mitigation agreement with the Illinois Department of Agriculture to ensure any negative impacts to private property are properly mitigated.

(Source: P.A. 102-684, eff. 12-16-21.)

(65 ILCS 5/11-135.5-45)

Sec. 11-135.5-45. Laws not applicable. The provisions of this Division: (i) are not subject to Division 135 or Division 136 of Article 11 of this Code or the Water Commission Act of 1985; and (ii) do not apply to any commission formed or operating under Division 135 or Division 136 of Article 11 of this Code or the Water Commission Act of 1985.

(Source: P.A. 102-684, eff. 12-16-21.)

(65 ILCS 5/11-135.5-50)

Sec. 11-135.5-50. Solicitation of proposals.

(a) A commission may enter into design-build contracts. In addition to the requirements set forth in its local ordinances, when the commission elects to use the design-build delivery method, it must issue a notice of intent to receive proposals for the project at least 14 days before issuing the request for the proposal. The commission must publish the advance notice in the manner prescribed by ordinance, which shall include posting the advance notice online on its website. The commission may publish the notice in construction industry publications or post the notice on construction industry websites. A brief description of the proposed procurement must be included in the notice. The commission must provide a copy of the request for proposal to any party requesting a copy.

(b) The request for proposal shall be prepared for each project and must contain, without limitation, the following information:

(1) The name of the commission.

(2) A preliminary schedule for the completion of the contract.

(3) The proposed budget for the project, the source of funds, and the currently available funds at the time the request for proposal is submitted.

(4) Prequalification criteria for design-build entities wishing to submit proposals. The Commission shall include, at a minimum, its normal prequalification, licensing, registration, and other requirements; however, nothing precludes the use of additional prequalification criteria by the commission.

(5) Material requirements of the contract, including, but not limited to, the proposed terms and conditions, required performance and payment bonds, and insurance.

(6) The performance criteria.

(7) The evaluation criteria for each phase of the solicitation. Price may not be used as a factor in the evaluation of Phase I proposals.

(8) The number of entities that will be considered for the technical and cost evaluation phase.

(c) The commission may include any other relevant information that it chooses to supply. The design-build entity shall be entitled to rely upon the accuracy of this documentation in the development of its proposal.

(d) The date that proposals are due must be at least 21 calendar days after the date of the issuance of the request for proposal. If the cost of the project is estimated to exceed $12,000,000, then the proposal due date must be at least 28 calendar days after the date of the issuance of the request for proposal. The commission shall include in the request for proposal a minimum of 30 days to develop the Phase II submissions after the selection of entities from the Phase I evaluation is completed.

(Source: P.A. 102-1134, eff. 2-10-23.)

(65 ILCS 5/11-135.5-55)

Sec. 11-135.5-55. Development of scope and performance criteria.

(a) The commission shall develop, with the assistance of a licensed design professional or public art designer, a request for proposal, which shall include scope and performance criteria. The scope and performance criteria must be in sufficient detail and contain adequate information to reasonably apprise the qualified design-build entities of the commission's overall programmatic needs and goals, including criteria and preliminary design plans, general budget parameters, schedule, and delivery requirements.

(b) Each request for proposal shall also include a description of the level of design to be provided in the proposals. This description must include the scope and type of renderings, drawings, and specifications that, at a minimum, will be required by the commission to be produced by the design-build entities.

(c) The scope and performance criteria shall be prepared by a design professional or public art designer who is an employee of the commission, or the commission may contract with an independent design professional or public art designer selected under the Local Government Professional Services Selection Act to provide these services.

(d) The design professional or public art designer that prepares the scope and performance criteria is prohibited from participating in any design-build entity proposal for the project.

(e) The design-build contract may be conditioned upon subsequent refinements in scope and price and may allow the commission to make modifications in the project scope without invalidating the design-build contract.

(Source: P.A. 102-1134, eff. 2-10-23.)

(65 ILCS 5/11-135.5-60)

Sec. 11-135.5-60. Procedures for selection.

(a) The commission 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 commission 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 commission 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 commission. The commission must maintain a record of the evaluation scoring to be disclosed in event of a protest regarding the solicitation.

The commission 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; and (vii) commitment to assign personnel for the duration of the project and qualifications of the entity's consultants.

The commission may include any additional relevant criteria in Phase I that it deems necessary for a proper qualification review. The commission 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 commission, 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.

Upon completion of the qualifications evaluation, the commission shall create a shortlist of the most highly qualified design-build entities. The commission, 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 commission 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 commission must allow sufficient time for the shortlist entities to prepare their Phase II submittals considering the scope and detail requested by the commission.

(c) The commission 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 commission. The commission must maintain a record of the evaluation scoring to be disclosed in event of a protest regarding the solicitation.

The commission 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 commission may include any additional relevant technical evaluation factors it deems necessary for proper selection.

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

(Source: P.A. 102-1134, eff. 2-10-23.)

(65 ILCS 5/11-135.5-65)

Sec. 11-135.5-65. Small projects. In any case where the total overall cost of the project is estimated to be less than $12,000,000, the commission may combine the two-phase procedure for selection described in Section 11-135.5-60 into one combined step, provided that all the requirements of evaluation are performed in accordance with Section 11-135.5-60.

(Source: P.A. 102-1134, eff. 2-10-23.)

(65 ILCS 5/11-135.5-70)

Sec. 11-135.5-70. Submission of proposals. Proposals must be properly identified and sealed. Proposals may not be reviewed until after the deadline for submission has passed as set forth in the request for proposals. All design-build entities submitting proposals shall be disclosed after the deadline for submission, and all design-build entities who are selected for Phase II evaluation shall also be disclosed at the time of that determination.

Proposals shall include a bid bond in the form and security as designated in the request for proposals. Proposals shall also contain a separate sealed envelope with the cost information within the overall proposal submission. Proposals shall include a list of all design professionals, public art designers, and other entities to which any work may be subcontracted during the performance of the contract.

Proposals must meet all material requirements of the request for proposal or they may be rejected as non-responsive. The commission has the right to reject any and all proposals.

The drawings and specifications of the proposal may remain the property of the design-build entity.

The commission shall review the proposals for compliance with the performance criteria and evaluation factors.

Proposals may be withdrawn prior to evaluation for any cause. After evaluation begins by the commission, clear and convincing evidence of error is required for withdrawal.

(Source: P.A. 102-1134, eff. 2-10-23.)

(65 ILCS 5/11-135.5-75)

Sec. 11-135.5-75. Award; performance. The commission may award the contract to the highest overall ranked entity. Notice of award shall be made in writing. Unsuccessful entities shall also be notified in writing. The commission may not request a best and final offer after the receipt of proposals. The commission may negotiate with the selected design-build entity after award but prior to contract execution for the purpose of securing better terms than originally proposed, provided that the salient features of the request for proposal are not diminished.

A design-build entity and associated design professionals shall conduct themselves in accordance with the relevant laws of this State and the related provisions of the Illinois Administrative Code.

(Source: P.A. 102-1134, eff. 2-10-23.)

(65 ILCS 5/Art. 11 Div. 136 heading) DIVISION 136. JOINT ACQUISITION AND OPERATION OF WATER AND SEWAGE SYSTEMS

(65 ILCS 5/11-136-1) (from Ch. 24, par. 11-136-1)

Sec. 11-136-1. Any 2 or more municipalities, except cities of 500,000 or more inhabitants, may acquire either by purchase or construction a waterworks system or sources of supply of water or sewer systems, or any combination thereof, and may operate jointly a waterworks system or sources of supply of water or sewer systems, or any combination thereof, and improve and extend the same, as provided in this Division 136. The corporate authorities of such municipalities desiring to avail themselves of the provisions of this Division 136 shall adopt a resolution or ordinance determining and electing to acquire and operate jointly a waterworks system or sources of supply of water or sewer systems, or any combination thereof, as the case may be. This Division 136 shall not be construed as limiting, amending or repealing any other laws with respect to joint acquisition and operation of a waterworks system or sources of supply of water or sewer systems, or any combination thereof, but shall be considered as an additional grant of power for the purposes herein set out.

(Source: Laws 1961, p. 576.)