Section 4.13  Additional Exemptions Applicable to Higher Education

a)         Except as provided in this Section, the Code shall not apply to procurements made by or on behalf of universities for any of the following:

1)         Memberships in professional, academic, research, or athletic organizations on behalf of a university, an employee of a university, or a student at a university.

2)         Procurement expenditures for events or activities paid for exclusively by revenues generated by the event or activity, gifts or donations for the event or activity, private grants, or any combination thereof.

3)         Procurement expenditures for events or activities for which the use of specific potential contractors is mandated or identified by the sponsor of the event or activity, if the sponsor is providing a majority of the funding for the event or activity.

4)         Procurement expenditures necessary to provide athletic, artistic or musical services, performances, events, or productions by or for a university.

5)         Procurement expenditures for periodicals, books, subscriptions, database licenses, and other publications procured for use by a university library or academic department, except for expenditures related to procuring textbooks for student use or materials for resale or rental.

6)         Procurement expenditures for placement of students in externships, practicums, field experiences, and for medical residencies and rotations.

7)         Contracts for programing and broadcast license rights for university-operated radio and television stations.

8)         Procurement expenditures necessary to perform sponsored research and other sponsored activities under grants and contracts funded by the sponsor or by sources other than State appropriations.

9)         Contracts with a foreign entity for research or other educational activities, provided the foreign entity either does not maintain an office in the United States or is the sole source of the service or product. [30 ILCS 500/1-13(b)]

b)         Except as provided in this Section, the provisions of the Code shall not apply to contracts for:

1)         medical supplies;

2)         medical services necessary for the direct delivery of patient care and treatment at medical, dental, or veterinary teaching facilities utilized by:

A)        Southern Illinois University;

B)        the University of Illinois; or

C)        any university-operated health care center or dispensary that provides care, treatment, and medications for students, faculty and staff. [30 ILCS 500/1-13(b-5)]

c)         Procurements made on or behalf of universities for the fulfillment of a grant shall be made in accordance with the Code to the extent practicable.  [30 ILCS 500/1-13(c)].

1)         A university may request a waiver of contract, registration, certification, and hearing requirements if compliance is impracticable. 

2)         A university shall provide the CPO-HE with specific reasons for the waiver, including the necessity to contract with a particular contractor, and shall certify the university's good faith efforts to comply with the provisions of the Code.  The CPO-HE shall provide a written justification for any waiver granted to a university.

3)         Notwithstanding any waiver of the registration requirements of Section 20-160 of the Code, no business entity and any affiliated entity or person may make campaign contributions if otherwise prohibited under Section 50-37 of the Code.

4)         For purposes of this Section, "grant" means non-appropriated funding provided by a federal or private entity to support a project or program administered by a public institution of higher education and any non-appropriated funding provided to a sub-recipient of the grant. [30 ILCS 500/1-13(f)]

d)         Notice of each contract entered by a university identified in subsections (a) and (b) and each waiver issued in subsection (c) shall be published in the Bulletin within 14 calendar days after contract execution. The CPO-HE shall prescribe the form and content of the notice.

e)         The CPO-HE shall submit a report to the Governor and General Assembly no later than November 1 of each year that shall include, at a minimum, an annual summary of the monthly information reported to the CPO-HE by the universities. The CPO-HE will structure the required Bulletin publication to serve as the university's report, but the CPO-HE may request a report or additional information from a university if Bulletin publication is insufficient.  At a minimum, this information published to the Bulletin shall include:

1)         the name of the contractor;

2)         a description of the supply or service provided;

3)         the total amount of the contract,

4)         the term of the contract;

5)         the exception to the Code utilized; and

6)         the justification for any waiver granted under subsection (c).

f)         A copy of any or all of these contracts shall be made available to the CPO-HE within 14 days after request, unless a more immediate response is required.

(Source:  Former Section 4.13 repealed at 40 Ill. Reg. 456, effective January 15, 2016; new Section 4.13 added at 43 Ill. Reg. 1781, effective February 15, 2019)