Section 100.180  Business Entity Registration Procedures

 

a)         This Section and Section 100.185 are adopted to comply with Public Act 95-971, as amended by Public Acts 96-848, 97-411, 97-895, and 103-570.  Any business entity whose existing State contracts, whose pending bids and proposals on State contracts or whose pending bids and proposals on State contracts combined with the business entity's existing State contracts in aggregate total more than $50,000 shall register with the Board in accordance with Code Section 9-35.  A business entity that wishes to submit a bid or proposal on a State contract must register with the Board prior to submitting the bid or proposal.  The Board will provide a certificate of registration upon successful completion of the registration process.

 

b)         Definitions

 

1)         Unless otherwise indicated, any time frame involving a certain number of days shall refer to business days.  Business days shall be those days in which the Springfield office of the Board is open to the public for a minimum of 7 hours.

 

2)         "Political committee" means any political committee required to file as such under the provisions of Article 9, regardless of whether the committee has filed a Statement of Organization pursuant to Code Section 9-3.

 

3)         "Minor child" means any affiliated person who has not attained 18 years of age as of the time of registration of the business entity with which the person is affiliated.

 

c)         Business entities shall register on a secure website provided by the Board by first creating an online account.  The Board will verify the authenticity of that account at the time of registration.

 

d)         Registration Procedures

 

1)         The following information must be supplied at the time of the registration and, except as specified below, will be included in the Board's online searchable database of registration information:

 

A)        The name and address of the business entity.  The address shall be the office designated by the entity as its principal office or its headquarters.

 

B)        The name and address of each affiliated entity of the business entity, including a description of the affiliation.  The address shall be that of the principal office or headquarters of the affiliated entity.

 

C)        The name and address of each affiliated person of the business entity, including a description of the affiliation.  (Every affiliated person of a business entity that is required to register must be listed on the registration form.  If there are no affiliated persons, the person whose position within the business entity comes closest to meeting the definition of affiliated person shall be listed on the registration form.  The electronic registration system will not accept a blank entry where a name is required.)  The name and address of a minor child who must be disclosed on the business entity's registration by virtue of the fact that such person falls under the definition of affiliated person shall not be posted on the Board website.

 

D)        The Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN), if the business has obtained such a number.  If the business does not have a FEIN, an Illinois Business Tax Number (IBT) must be provided.  If the business has neither of these numbers, it must provide an identifying number unique to that business that is capable of verification by the Board.  A sole proprietorship may use a social security number as a unique identifier if it does not have a FEIN or an IBT.  The Board will not include the information submitted under this subsection (d)(1)(D) in its online searchable database.

 

2)         Registration shall be accomplished in one of the two following methods:

 

A)        A web-based program through which information may be entered, saved, and transmitted upon completion.  Changes may be made by accessing the program, making the changes, and submitting those changes to the Board via the program contained on the Board's website.

 

B)        A format, provided by the Board, designed specifically for large business entities through which data may be submitted in lieu of completion of the web-based option.

 

e)         The Board shall provide a certificate of registration to the business entity upon registration and upon any change of information submitted by the entity as required by Code Section 9-35.

 

1)         The business entity is responsible for printing and disseminating copies of the registration as required by Code Section 9-35(d).  Any business entity required to register under Section 20-160 of the Illinois Procurement Code shall provide a copy of the registration certificate, by first class mail or hand delivery within 10 days after registration, to each affiliated entity or affiliated person. [10 ILCS 5/9-35(d)]

 

2)         The delivery of the registration certificate to a minor child who is an affiliated person shall be accomplished by providing it to either parent or to the legal guardian of the minor child.  The business entity shall document the date of submission of the certificate of registration to the appropriate entities and persons and produce the documentation upon the request of the Board.

 

3)         A business entity, affiliated entity, or affiliated person shall document the date of submission of the notice to the appropriate political committee as required under Code Section 9-35(f).  A copy of the certificate of registration may serve as the required written notice.  The business entity, affiliated entity, or affiliated person shall produce a record created under this paragraph upon the request of the Board.

 

4)         In the determination of a complaint alleging a failure to comply with any notification requirement contained in this subsection (e), the failure of a party responsible for providing the required notification to submit written documentation of compliance shall create a rebuttable presumption of noncompliance against that party.

 

f)         A business entity's continuing duty to ensure that its registration data is accurate ends upon the latest of the following:

 

1)         if the business entity is not awarded a contract, then on the day after the awarding of the latest pending contract that was pending or submitted on or after the date of registration; or

 

2)         the day after the business entity's contracts with State agencies, in the aggregate, cease to total more than $50,000; or

 

3)         the day after the business entity's aggregate pending bids and proposals on State contracts combined with the business entity's aggregate total value of State contracts cease to exceed $50,000; or

 

4)         in the case of a business entity whose contracts with State agencies, in the aggregate, total more than $50,000, at the end of the term of office of the incumbent officeholder awarding the contracts or for a period of 2 years following the expiration or termination of the contracts, whichever is longer.

 

g)         A business entity shall update the information using the same platform provided by the Board under subsection (d)(2).  The Board will require that any updates include:

 

1)         the effective date of changes to the registration information; and

 

2)         an indication of whether the update is made:

 

A)        with respect to a pending bid pursuant to Section 20-160(c) or (d) of the Illinois Procurement Code; or

 

B)        under the continuing duty to update under Section 20-160(e) of the Illinois Procurement Code.

 

h)         The Board will make information in the database available to the chief procurement officer as needed to allow the chief procurement officer to fulfill its duties under Section 20-160 of the Illinois Procurement Code.

 

i)          The business entity's verification of accuracy required by Section 20-160(h) of the Illinois Procurement Code will be included as part of the registration procedure outlined in subsection (d)(2).  The Board will include as part of the registration process a written admonishment that the information submitted by the business entity as part of the registration process is subject to the penalties of the laws of Illinois for perjury. (See 30 ILCS 500/20-160(h).)

 

j)          The requirements of this Section apply regardless of the method of source selection used in awarding the contract. [30 ILCS 500/20-160(i)]

 

k)         Inactive Status

 

1)         A business entity that is registered with the Board may change its status to "inactive" if:

 

A)        the business entity's continuing duty to ensure that its registration data is accurate has ended under subsection (f); or

 

B)        the entity was not required to register as a business entity but did so anyway, if the reason for the registration was to qualify for use of the Illinois Procurement Gateway (IPG) offered by the Chief Procurement Officer − General Services.  The entity may not change its status to "inactive" until its registration through the IPG has expired.

 

2)         Nothing in this subsection (k) affects the duty of a business entity to update its registration, to provide notices required under Code Section 9-35, or to refrain from making political contributions prohibited under Section 50-37 of the Illinois Procurement Code.

 

3)         The "inactive" designation shall be determined by the business entity. The Board shall provide an electronic form accessible on the Board website for the entity to indicate that it is currently in inactive status.  The application shall include the name and address of the entity; the contract or bid that created the obligation to register with the Board, the agency or office that was responsible for awarding the contract, or, if the entity was not required to register with the Board, a designation that registration was not required; and the date on which the obligation to update the entity's registration relative to each contract or bid ended.  The form shall be signed by the chief executive officer of the business entity or the officer's designee, or a person who serves in that capacity, indicating that the entity qualifies to be in inactive status based on the criteria contained in this subsection. A false statement of eligibility for inactive status is prima facie evidence that the business entity has made a willful failure to disclose information concerning the business entity's registration. 

 

4)         If a business entity that has declared its inactive status via the method prescribed by subsection (k)(3) intends to submit a bid for a State contract with a value exceeding $50,000 or otherwise becomes obligated to register, the entity shall rescind its inactive status.  The business entity shall rescind its inactive status and shall update its registration so that the information required by Code Section 9-35 is current before submitting a qualifying bid.  In addition, the entity shall abide by the contribution prohibitions contained in Section 50-37(b) and (c) of the Illinois Procurement Code. The Board shall make an electronic means available on the Board website by which a business entity may rescind its inactive status.

 

l)          Enforcement

 

1)         As used in this Section:

 

A)        "Intentional" means that the business entity acted with the conscious objective to accomplish a result or engage in conduct that results in a failure to disclose information listed in Section 100.180(d)(1).

 

B)        "Material" means an omission of information of such a significant nature that knowledge of the information would affect a person's understanding of the relationship of the business entity, affiliated entity, or affiliated person to campaign finance matters.

 

C)        "Willful" means:

 

i)          that the business entity was consciously aware that the conduct of the business entity was of a nature or accompanied by circumstances such as to cause the business entity to fail to disclose information listed in Section 100.180(d)(1); or

 

ii)         that the business entity was consciously aware that its conduct was practically certain to result in a failure to disclose information required by Section 100.180(d)(1).

 

2)         A person may file a complaint before the Board if the person has knowledge of the failure of a business entity to comply with the requirements of Section 100.180.

 

3)         The complaint provisions contained in Code Sections 9-20 through 9-22 shall apply to complaints filed alleging a violation of this Section.  The Board will process the complaint under the procedures set forth in 26 Ill. Adm. Code 125 and will impose civil penalties in accordance with Section 100.185.

 

(Source:  Amended at 49 Ill. Reg. 8938, effective June 27, 2025)