Utilization of State of Illinois, IPHEC, or other approved cooperative purchasing awards is highly encouraged as it satisfies the need for competition.  Requesting departments do not need to obtain competitive quotes, or conduct solicitations, to make purchases when using approved awards. Please note:  if an approved award has been made to multiple vendors, requesting departments must evaluate offers from all awarded vendors to select the vendor that provides the best value to the University.

Where an approved award cannot be utilized, purchases of goods and/or services for $10,000 - $99,999 require the requesting department to obtain multiple competitive written price quotes from vendors.  The requesting department shall engage with the vendor that offers the best value for the goods and/or services that meet the needs of the requester.

Large purchases require solicitations such as Invitations for Bid, Requests for Proposal, and Qualification Based Selection processes as follows where an approved award cannot be utilized:

All public or State universities in Illinois, including Chicago State University, post solicitations to the Illinois Procurement Bulletin for Public Institutions of Higher Education:

Vendors are encouraged to visit the link above and review the Getting Started guide, the Using the Bulletin guide, and much more.  Vendors may create an account and select categories that apply to the goods and/or services that they offer.  Emails are automatically sent to registered vendors when opportunities are posted to the Bulletin that correspond to categories that have been selected.