Section 680.20  Definitions

 

The following definitions are applicable to this Part.

 

"Act" means the Illinois Works Jobs Program Act [30 ILCS 559/Art. 20].

 

"Agency" means each officer, board, commission, and agency created by the Constitution, whether in the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of State government, but other than the circuit court; each officer, department, board, commission, agency, institution, authority, university, and body politic and corporate of the State; each administrative unit or corporate outgrowth of the State government that is created by or pursuant to statute, other than units of local government and their officers, school districts, and boards of election commissioners; and each administrative unit or corporate outgrowth of these entities and as may be created by executive order of the Governor.  [5 ILCS 100/1-20]

 

"Applicant" means a person, business, public or private corporation, partnership, individual, union, committee, club, unincorporated association, or other organization or group of individuals, or other legal entity corporation, partnership, limited liability company, or joint venture that applies for a grant or contract from appropriated capital funds to finance, in whole or in part, a public works project.

 

"Apprentice" means a participant in an apprenticeship program approved by and registered with the United States Department of Labor's Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training.  [30 ILCS 559/20-10]

 

"Apprenticeship program" means an apprenticeship and training program approved by and registered with the United States Department of Labor's Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training. [30 ILCS 559/20-10]

 

"Appropriated capital funds " means moneys appropriated by the General Assembly from either a fund holding State of Illinois bonds proceeds or any other fund that receives and holds public funds for use in funding capital programs and projects.  "Appropriated capital funds" are those appropriations designated as capital appropriations in the Governor's Office of Management and Budget document entitled "Enacted Budget – Enacted Appropriations by Line Item", produced for each Fiscal Year and posted on the GOMB website at https://www2.illinois.gov/sites/budget/Pages/BudgetBooks.aspx.

 

"Awarding authority" is the State, an agency of the State, or a grantee or loan recipient of the State that ultimately awards a bid and enters into an agreement for a public works project. This term shall not be construed to denote direct involvement or assent by the Chief Procurement Office.

 

"Base bid" means the value of a bid before any available credits are applied.

 

"Bid credit" means a virtual dollar for a contractor or subcontractor to use toward future bids on contracts with the State for public works projects.  [30 ILCS 559/20-10]

 

"Bid credit certificate" is the certificate issued by the Department to the contractor or subcontractor identifying the total amount of bid credits a contractor or subcontractor may use to bid on a public works project.

 

"Community-based Organization" means a nonprofit organization, including an accredited public college or university, industry associations, chambers of commerce, local workforce areas, community colleges, technical schools and school districts, selected by the Department to participate in the Illinois Works Preapprenticeship Program.  To qualify as a "community-based organization", the organization must demonstrate the following:

 

the ability to effectively serve diverse and underrepresented populations, including by providing employment services to those populations;

 

knowledge of the construction and building trades;

 

the ability to recruit, prescreen, and provide preapprenticeship training to prepare workers for employment in the construction and building trades; and

 

a plan to provide the following:

 

preparatory classes;

 

workplace readiness skills, such as resume preparation and interviewing techniques;

 

strategies for overcoming barriers to entry and completion of an apprenticeship program; and

 

any prerequisites for acceptance into an apprenticeship program.  [30 ILCS 559/20-10]

 

"Construction trades" means any trade or occupation involved in the building, altering, repairing, improving, or demolishing any structure or building, or making improvements of any kind to real property. Construction trades do not include the routine operation, routine repair, or routine maintenance of existing structures, buildings, or real property.

 

"Contractor" means a person, corporation, partnership, limited liability company, or joint venture entering into, or seeking to enter into, a contract to construct a public work, or non-public work, whether the contract is entered directly with an agency or indirectly with a grantee using appropriated capital funds to pay for the contract.  [30 ILCS 559/20-10]

 

"Department" means the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. [30 ILCS 559/20-10]

 

"Estimated Total Project Cost" means a good faith approximation of the costs of an entire project being paid for in whole or in part by appropriated capital funds to construct a public work.  Operational costs are not included in the calculation of estimated total project costs.

 

"GATA" means the Grant Accountability and Transparency Act [30 ILCS 708].

 

"Grant" means a grant award issued under the Illinois Works Jobs Program Act. [30 ILCS 559]

 

"Grantee" means the recipient of a grant award from an agency paid from appropriated capital funds for the purpose of funding a public works project.

 

"Illinois Works Credit Bank" means the electronic system used by the Department to track the bid credits of each contractor and subcontractor participating in the bid credit program.

 

"Intentional failure to comply" or "intentional violation" means an act or omission by a contractor, grantee or loan recipient that violates the Illinois Works Apprenticeship Initiative, for which a reduction or waiver was not granted, and which remains uncured despite receiving notice from the State agency.  Seeking a waiver or a reduction will not be considered evidence of an intentional failure to comply or intentional violation. If a contractor, grantee or loan recipient makes its best efforts to cure an act or omission, then that act or omission will not be considered an intentional violation.

 

"Labor hours" means the total hours for workers who are receiving an hourly wage and who are directly employed for the public works project.  "Labor hours" includes hours performed by workers employed by the contractor and subcontractors on the public works project.  "Labor hours" does not include hours worked by the forepersons, superintendents, owners, and workers who are not subject to prevailing wage requirements.  [30 ILCS 559/2-10]

 

"Lowest effective bid" means the value of the base bid minus available bid credits on the bid credit certificate. The awarding authority shall utilize this value for the purpose of determining which party submitted the lowest bid amount. The use of this value is not intended to supersede or disrupt existing procurement procedures relating to any other selection criteria.

 

"Minorities" means minority persons as defined in the Business Enterprise for Minorities, Women, and Persons with Disabilities Act [30 ILCS 575].  [30 ILCS 559/2-10]

 

"NOFO" or "Notice of Funding Opportunity" means an agency's formally issued announcement of the availability of State, federal or federal pass-through funding through one of its financial assistance programs. A NOFO will provide eligibility and evaluation criteria, funding preferences/priorities, the submission deadline, and information on how to obtain an application for the funding opportunity, among other information.

 

"Non-public works" means any construction project that is paid for without the use of State appropriated capital funds.

 

"North region" means the region comprised of the following counties: Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will.

 

"Participant" is an individual enrolled in a Preapprenticeship Program.

 

"Preapprenticeship Program" is a program funded under the Illinois Works Jobs Program Act that has a documented partnership or relationship with employers (including union and non-union contractors) and trade unions, and is designed to prepare individuals to enter and succeed in a registered apprenticeship program.

 

"Project" means the activities established by the agency and set forth in the grant agreement or contract that are funded, in whole or in part, by appropriated State funds.

 

"Public Works" means all projects, contracted or funded by the State or any agency of the State, in whole or in part, from appropriated capital funds (as defined in this Section), that constitute public works under the Prevailing Wage Act [820 ILCS 130].  [30 ILCS 559/2-10]

 

"Qualified apprentice" means an apprentice who:

 

has graduated the Illinois Works Preapprenticeship Program;

 

is actively enrolled in a USDOL-registered apprenticeship program in the construction trades or construction professional services; and

 

is six years or less from the date the person first enrolled in a USDOL-registered apprenticeship program.

 

"Qualified and Responsible" means a contractor or offeror that meets all required evaluation criteria and requirements outlined in the solicitation or invitation for bid documentation disseminated by the awarding agency; and has the capability in all respects to fully performance the contract requirements, and the integrity and reliability that will assure good faith performance.

 

"Region" means either the north region or the south region.

 

"South region" means the region comprised of all Illinois counties not contained in the north region.

 

"State" means the State of Illinois.

 

"Stipend" is a sum of money fixed by the Department and paid to a participant in a preapprenticeship program in accordance with the participant's performance in the program. The stipend is to be used for living expenses while the participant is enrolled in the program.

 

"Subcontractor" means a person, corporation, partnership, limited liability company, or joint venture that has contracted or intends to contract with the contractor to perform all or part of the work to construct a public work or non-public work by a contractor.  [30 ILCS 559/2-10]

 

"Underrepresented Populations" means populations identified by the Department that historically have had barriers to entry or advancement in the workforce.  "Underrepresented populations" includes, but is not limited to, minorities, women, and veterans.  [30 ILCS 559/2-10]

 

(Source:  Amended at 49 Ill. Reg. 7298, effective May 7, 2025)