State Procurement Communications Reporting System

Notice to ALL Chicago State University EMPLOYEES

Effective January 1, 2011, as required by Sec. 50-39 Of the Procurement and Public Act, all State Employees must report the following information to State Procurement Policy Board (PPB):

Any written or oral communication received by a State employee that imparts or requests material information or makes a material argument regarding potential action concerning a procurement matter, including, but not limited to, an application, a contract, or a project. These communications do not include statements by a person publicly made in a public forum; statements regarding matters of procedure and practice, such as format, the number of copies required, the manner of filing and the status of a matter; and statements made by State employees of the agency to the agency head or other employees of that agency or to the employees of the Executive Ethics Commission. The provisions of this Section shall not apply to communications regarding the administration and implementation of an existing contract, except communications regarding change orders or the renewal or extension of a contract.

Who Must Report?

Any University employee who is a party to communication as defined above.

What is Required to Submit a Report?

In order to make a report, CSU employees must obtain an Illinois.gov ID and password.

Steps for obtaining an Illinois.gov ID:

To REGISTER goto: http://pcrs.illinois.gov
Click the icon ‘SIGN UP’
Click the left side link ‘CREATE A ILLINOIS.gov ID'
Click the icon ‘ACCEPT USER AGREEMENT’
Fill-in ‘EMAIL ADDRESS VERIFICATION’
Check your work email inbox for a message from IdentityManagement@illinois.gov containing an encoded link. Clicking that link will bring you back to the site to continue with the registration process.
Fill-in requested information and submit

Who Can Assist with Technical Difficulties?

For any questions regarding Log-In/ID and Password difficulties, please call the CMS Help Desk directly at: 312-814-3648 Select Option 1 and then Option 1.

Where Do I Submit My Report?

Communications Reports must be submitted electronically to the Procurement Policy Board.

What Must Be Reported?

Reports SHOULD INCLUDE but are not limited to the following communications:

Establishing or defining a procurement need or method of source selection
Regarding preparing specification, plan or requirements
Preparing any invitation for bid, RFP, requests for information, sole source procurement justifications, emergency procurement justifications, or selection information
Regarding evaluating bids, responses, offers, letting or awarding a contract
Resolving protests
Determining inclusion on pre-qualification lists
Identifying potential conflicts of interest
Determining vendor performance evaluations
Approving change orders or renewal or extension of an existing contract

You DO NOT have to report communications:

Made in a public forum and/or during a meeting subject to the Open Meetings Act
Regarding the administration and implementation of an existing contract (Note: change order communications require reporting.)
That are unsolicited from potential vendors that are not further disseminated or used by the receiving employees in a procurement decision.

Procurement Communication Worksheet (pdf)

Use this worksheet to collect necessary information when participating in procurement-related communications. This instrument is only a tool to assist in making accurate and detailed reports to the Illinois Procurement Policy Board. Each CSU participant to a reportable communication must submit a separate report.

Who Can I Contact to Help Me Decide If Procurement Communication Is Material?

As a State employee, you are ultimately responsible for making that determination. If you think that the communication should be reported, it is incumbent on you to do so. The CSU Ethics Officer is available to assist you at EthicsOffice@csu.edu.

Where Can I Find More Information?

More information about the Procurement Communication Reporting System can be found on the Procurement Policy Board website. The Procurement Policy Board has developed Frequently Asked Questions and Tutorial.