Section 1.2045  Vendor Prequalification

a)         The SPO may prequalify prospective vendors when prequalification or preliminary evaluation of supplies or services prior to procurement would promote the effective conduct a procurement.

b)         The SPO shall identify by publication in the Bulletin the qualifications or categories of supplies and services (including professional and artistic services) for which vendors of those supplies and services may prequalify. 

c)         Any opportunity to prequalify shall be announced in the Bulletin.  The notice shall alert vendors of the consequences of failure to participate in the prequalification process.

d)         When prequalifying a vendor, the SPO may limit prequalification to particular matters (e.g., determining whether a vendor has been and is likely to be "responsible" or whether the vendor manufactures domestically). 

e)         The fact that a prospective vendor has been prequalified generally does not necessarily represent a definitive finding of responsibility for a particular procurement.

f)         When prequalifying a vendor, the SPO may consider factors tailored to a specific procurement or type of procurement, which shall be announced in the prequalification notice in the Bulletin.

g)         Except in the case of professional and artistic services, distribution of and responses to the solicitation may be limited to prequalified vendors and award of a contract may be denied because a vendor was not prequalified.  If eligibility for the procurement will be limited to prequalified vendors, the solicitation shall state that fact.

h)         The prequalification may provide that any vendor who completes prequalification may refer to that prequalification when submitting responses to solicitation or in other procurement situations instead of submitting the same information with a response.  This does not alleviate a vendor from providing updated certifications and other information as part of the prequalification process.

(Source:  Amended at 46 Ill. Reg. 10208, effective June 2, 2022)