Section 500.390  Cancellation of Solicitations; Rejection of Offers

a)         Scope of this Section

The provisions of this Section shall govern the cancellation of any solicitations whether issued by the OAG under competitive sealed bidding, competitive sealed proposals, small purchases, or any other source selection method, and rejection of offers in whole or in part.

b)         Policy

Any solicitation may be canceled before or after opening when the Procurement Officer believes cancellation to be in the OAG's best interest.  Nothing shall compel the award of a contract.

c)         Cancellation of Solicitation; Rejection of All Offers

A solicitation may be canceled in whole or in part when the Procurement Officer determines in writing that such action is in the OAG's best interest for reasons including, but not limited to:

1)         the OAG no longer requires the supplies, services or construction;

2)         the OAG no longer can reasonably expect to fund the procurement;

3)         proposed amendments to the solicitation would be of such magnitude that a new solicitation is desirable;

4)         ambiguous or otherwise inadequate specifications;

5)         the solicitation did not provide for consideration of all factors of significance to the OAG;

6)         prices exceed available funds and it would not be appropriate to adjust quantities to come within available funds;

7)         all otherwise acceptable offers received are at clearly unreasonable prices; or

8)         there is reason to question whether the offers may not have been independently arrived at in open competition, may have been collusive, or may have been submitted in bad faith.

d)         Documentation

The reasons for cancellation or rejection shall be made a part of the procurement file and shall be available for public inspection.

e)         Rejection of Individual Offers

1)         General.  This subsection (e) applies to rejections of individual offers in whole or in part.

2)         Notice in Solicitation.  Each solicitation shall provide that any offer may be rejected in whole or in part when in the best interest of the OAG as provided in this Section.

3)         Reasons for Rejection

            Reasons for rejecting an offer may include, but are not limited to:

A)        the business that submitted the offer is nonresponsible as determined under Section 500.430 (Responsibility) of this Part;

B)        the offer is not responsive, that is, it does not conform in all material respects to the solicitation;

C)        the offer ultimately (that is, after any opportunity has passed for alteration or clarification) fails to meet the announced requirements of the OAG in some material respect;

D)        the supply, service or construction item offered is unacceptable by reason of its failure to meet the requirements of the specifications or permissible alternates or other acceptability criteria set forth in the solicitation; or

E)         the proposed price is clearly unreasonable.

4)         Notice of Rejection.  Upon request, unsuccessful offerors shall be advised of the reasons for rejection.

(Source:  Amended at 35 Ill. Reg. 5307, effective April 1, 2011)