B-51005 STACS DNA SSJF Signed~1.pdf

Sole Source Justification Form

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Bulletin Reference Number B-51500

Requesting Agency/University Illinois State Police

Sole Source Justification Form - Part I Section I - General Information

Department/Bureau/Section: DFS/FSC/DNA Indexing Laboratory

Need Identified Date: Jan 6, 2026 Supply/Service Need By Date: Mar 27, 2026

Project Title: Support and Maintenance Agreement for existing Sample Tracking and Control System (STACS) Laboratory Information Management System

Vendor: STACS DNA, Inc.

Provide a description of the supplies or services required:

A Maintenance and Support agreement for proprietary software developed by the STACS DNA, Inc. Support and Maintenance to include phone and web-based incident tracking on technical issues related to the STACS software.

Value: Actual Value of Initial Term, this Change Order or Amendment: 105,293.55

Will this Sole Source amend a Professional or Artistic Services contract? Yes No

*Sole Source may not be used for amendments for Professional or Artistic Services if the amendment would increase the value by more than 5% of the initial award or extend the term by more than 60 days.

Type: New Sole Economically Feasible Source

Section II - Proposed Term

One-Time Purchase Term Contract

Estimated Contract Begin Date: Mar 27, 2026

Estimated Contract End Date: Mar 28, 2027

Number of Potential Renewals:

Length of Each Renewal in Months:

Total Value of All Renewals:

If a Term Contract, does the term, including renewals, exceed 12 months? Yes No

Section III - Funding Source Select the type of funding to be used (Check all that apply): State Appropriate Funds Federal Funds Other (Explain):

Section IV - Sole Source Justification

This purchase is economically only available from a single source primarily because it is: (If "Other" explain in one sentence)

Items are Copyrighted or Patented and the Items are Only Available from the Holder

Are there secondary justification(s) for this sole source? Yes No

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Bulletin Reference Number B-51500

Requesting Agency/University Illinois State Police

Section V - Purchase History

Has the Agency or University Purchased these supplies or services in the past? Yes No

Term Term From Term To Value Description Contract Number Type

1 03/28/2025 03/27/2026 100,279.58 1-Year Support and Maintenance P-78779 Sole Source

2 02/28/2024 02/27/2025 117,419.26 1-Year Support and Maintenance P-63057 Sole Source

3 10/13/2022 10/12/2023 90,956.54 1-Year Support and Maintenance P-42460 Small Purchase

4 07/01/2021 06/30/2022 89,173.08 1-Year Support and Maintenance P-28001 Small Purchase

5 07/01/2020 06/30/2021 107,204.05 1-Year Support and Maintenance w/ upgrades for Familial Search P-17709 Sole Source

6 07/01/2019 06/30/2020 85,710.38 1-Year Support and Maintenance P-11144 Small Purchase

7 05/30/2019 05/30/2020 35,716.02 Critical revisions of STACS for Familial Search Capabilities R-31761 Small Purchase

8 07/01/2018 06/30/2019 84,029.78 1-Year Support and Maintenance PBC111157 Small Purchase

9 07/01/2017 06/30/2018 82,382.14 1-Year Support and Maintenance PBC105246 Small Purchase

10 07/01/2016 06/30/2017 80,766.88 1-Year Support and Maintenance PBC98500 Small Purchase

If more than 10, or if other comments, explain:

07/01/2015 to 06/30/2016 $78,796.88, 1-Year Support and Maintenance, PBC93007;

07/01/2014 to 06/30/2015 $76,875, 1-Year Support and Maintenance, PBC81153;

03/13/2014 to 03/11/2018 $502,882.52 Custom software modifications, PBC81121, Sole Source; 07/01/2011 to 06/30/2014 $225,000 3-Year Support and Maintenance, PBC57030, Sole Source; 07/01/2010 to 06/2011 $148,200 Licensing for labs, PBC10-51866, Sole Source; 07/01/2008 to 06/30/2011 $225,000 3-Year licensing and support, PBC08-34244, Sole Source; Since 2004, the DNA Indexing Laboratory has used the STACs software. ISP had paid for annual licensing, support, and maintenance as well as four additional customizations of the software.

Section VI - Business Rationale

1. Provide a detailed explanation of the need for the supplies or services:

STACS (Sample Tracking and Control System) is an information management system which allows the ISP to meet the FBI Quality Assurance Standards (QAS) by tracking the convicted offender samples, which are collected by legislative mandate, during all stages of the DNA analysis process at the Illinois State Police DNA Indexing Laboratory. Continued supported and maintenance of the STACS system is necessary to manage the process of DNA analysis. STACS acts as an interface between DNA instrumentation and the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) without interfering with CODIS functions. STACS creates efficient tracking of samples, reagents, quality control information, and electronic data. It is also integrated directly with the laboratory's data analysis system. The services required of STACS DNA, Inc, and being sought in this procurement, include technical support by telephone, fax, electronic mail, web-based incident tracking on technical issues related to the STACS product line. Support for technical issues will be available between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on business days. The vendor will also provide workarounds, error corrections, and software fixes for reported problems with in a commercially reasonably period of time, taking into consideration the priority level of the reported problem. Software updates will be made available securely via a secure website or .ftp site.

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Bulletin Reference Number B-51500

Requesting Agency/University Illinois State Police

2. Provide a list and describe in detail the specifications required to satisfy the need:

Annual support and maintenance of STACS software is required to allow the successful and continued use of STACS in the tracking of samples at the DNA Indexing Laboratory. This software product has been customized specifically to the Illinois State Police DNA Indexing Laboratory workflow. The Support and Maintenance contract being sought must provide the technical support assistance, problem resolution, adjustments to allow for new equipment, software fixes and updates as required throughout the normal course of business such as the annual CODIS software upgrade, and computer operating system upgrades. Access to the STACS software source code is proprietary to STACS, DNA. No reseller, subcontractor, or any organization or individual other than STACS DNA , Inc. has the right to make changes to the software.

3. Provide detail explaining the justification selected in Section IV to explain why the requested supplies or services are the only ones available that can satisfy the agency or university requirements?

STACS DNA Inc. has been providing information technology consulting and software services to the Illinois State Police since 2004.

STACS DNA are the only manufacturers of the STACS-DB Enterprise, a specialized forensic DNA databasing software application used at the DNA Indexing Laboratory.

4. What are the unique features of the supplies or services that are not available in any other product or by any other vendor? Provide specific quantifiable factors/qualifications:

The STACS software can only be purchased from STACS DNA, Inc. as there are no resellers or subcontractors for licenses or support and training for their product. As such, no other vendors can provide the Support and Maintenance contract being sought in this procurement.

In 2004 part of the Illinois State Police customization was to have the STACS software complete a custom query, daily, that creates an export file which is transfered to an Illinois State Police web page used by law enforcement agencies across Illinois to look up individuals prior to buccal swab collection.

In 2020 STACS customized the Hit Tracking Module to allow the Indexing Lab to move to a paperless system which both streamlined the Hit writing process and saved the State of Illinois money by going paperless.

In 2020 additional customization allowed the Indexing Lab to begin a pilot project for Familial Search cases which serves the Illinois community in investigating cold case files.

5. Has the Agency or University considered alternative supplies or services to satisfy their need? Yes No

5a. If no, why weren't alternatives evaluated?

The STACS software specifically is an integral part of the work ISP DNA Indexing Lab's work flow. Due to the customizations that have occurred over the twenty-two years of use, the Illinois State Police version of the STACS software has tailor-made reports such as the "Check Name" and "Missing Information" reports automatically generated based on Sample Receipt data entry. These reports are user agency ready. The QA/QC Module, Sample Expungement Module, and duplicate handling have all been personalized and fashioned to follow Illinois State Police Policy. The alternative to support and maintenance of this vendor would be to start anew with another. No other vendor or subcontractor is licensed to access or make changes to the STACS software. The ISP DNA Indexing Laboratory spent over two years working closely with an already contracted forensic LIM system vendor to try to approach a comparable product to meet the basic need of analyzing convicted offender samples. No success was had. The Indexing Laboratory workflow processes can be broken down most simplistically into Receiving, Extraction, Amplification, Post Analysis, Data Analysis, CODIS Upload, Hit Tracking, and Letter Writing. In two years time, we could not successfully proceed past Receiving and Extraction. The most effective consideration is the continued support and maintenance of STACS.

6. Are there resellers or distributors?

Yes No N/A

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Requesting Agency/University Illinois State Police

7. What efforts were made to get the best possible price (i.e. did the agency/university negotiate) and how did you determine the price for this purchase is considered fair and reasonable?

Over the years, the DNA Indexing Laboratory's Technical Leader (TL) has worked closely with the STACS DNA support staff to ensure the services provided by STACS DNA meet the specific needs of the Illinois State Police DNA Indexing Lab on a technical level. Bureau Chief Tim Tripp and Assistant Laboratory Director (ALD) Beth Patty have worked with the finance department of STACS toward ensuring the best pricing and structure of contract have been quoted for ISP needs. An analysis of each fiscal year shows an increase in the past of about 2.5% each year for the annual support an maintenance, a fair market increase considering the rate of inflation during some years.

Two years ago the cost was higher due the the ISP request of a quarterly payment schedule. The last two years have reflected a 5% increase, reasonable to the cost of inflation. Due to operational requirements, the ISP FSC can not go without a service contract due to potential interruptions of service to the enforcement community so it was determined this price is the best pricing option available for the required sole source service.

8. Will this purchase obligate the State to this vendor for future purchases such as maintenance, licensing or continuing need?

Yes No

9. What will be the financial or other impact to the State if this sole source is not approved and a competitive bid is required?

If the Support and Maintenance contract is not procured, the ISP DNA Indexing Laboratory would not be secure in the continued, successful use of the STACS software. Any technical issue that arises could cause a slow down or shutdown of operations as it would not have support coverage. ISP would be billed at a higher rate for any service required and would received the lowest priority rating from the STACS service team. ISP would risk serious backlog of services for the people of Illinois. Loss of STACS software usage would make it extremely difficult in regards to sample tracking, reagent tracking, quality assurance, and instrument maintenance. It may also endanger the accreditation of the laboratory since STACS is relied upon for all of these tasks. STACS allows for the automation of many of the time consuming tracking and logging functions, standards required for accreditation by the FBI QAS and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for DNA analysis. Without STACS, a backlog would occur and the laboratory would not be able to fully comply with Illinois State statute 730 ILCS 5/5-4-3 which compels convicted offender DNA testing.

Alternative services were not considered at this time because no other vendor has the proprietary rights to the STACS DNA, Inc.

software to provide the necessary support and maintenance. There are no comparable services since the software is proprietary and has been customized to the ISP requirements over the last 20 years. ISP has invested over $1,389,000 in customized enhancements to the STACS software to meet ISP's needs. This customized programming is designed to enhance efficiency, improve capacity, and meet the changing needs of FBI Quality Assurance Standards (QAS) and CODIS requirements. There would be a significant time and financial impact to the State of Illinois by taking away forensic scientist resources to develop a different LIM system as an alternative. No other LIM system exists that can be purchased ready to function as STACS. Companies exist to write programing, to develop software that may perform some of the the functions of STACS. But, it would take years and money already spent to establish a comparable system, just as it took years to cultivate STACS into its current form.

10. Is there any additional information you would like to add to justify this sole source?

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Bulletin Reference Number B-51500

Requesting Agency/University Illinois State Police

Section VII

Requesting Department Representative

Requesting Department Signature Required

I know and understand the contents of this Sole Source Justification and attest that all statements are true and correct and the fairness and reasonableness of the price was adequately confirmed.

Date 02/20/2026

Printed Name Heather Knop E-mail Address heather.knop@illinois.gov

Phone Number 217-710-1455

State Agency Bureau/Division Head or University Purchasing Director Approval and Signature Required

I know and understand the contents of this Sole Source Justification and attest that all statements are true and correct and the fairness and reasonableness of the price was adequately confirmed. (All prior form fields will lock once this e-signature is completed)

E-mail Address Amanda.Olinger@illinois.gov

Phone Number 217-524-8437 Date Mar 11, 2026

Printed Name Amanda Olinger

Agency Bureau/Division Head or University Purchasing Director and Not a Designee

SPO Approval and Signature Required

I have reviewed and understand the contents of this Sole Source Justification and agree with the State Agency or University determination.

I have reviewed and understand the contents of this Sole Source Justification and do not agree with the State Agency or University determination. As a result, the State Agency or University must explore other sourcing methods to satisfy their need.

State Purchasing Officer Signature Phone Number 217-720-2206 Date Mar 11, 2026

Printed Name Brianna Lopez E-mail Address Brianna.lopez@illinois.gov

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Bulletin Reference Number B-51500

Requesting Agency/University Illinois State Police

Sole Source Justification Form - Part II Section I - General Information

Project Title

Vendor

Initial Date of Procurement Bulletin Posting

Was a Sole Source hearing held per 30 ILCS 500/20-25?

Yes - Complete Section II and III below (Section II will only be visible when this option is selected)

No - Section II not required, go to Section III below Section III - CPO Approval and Signature Required

Based on my review, I authorize the Agency/University to proceed in accordance with the published Notice referenced above.

Based upon my review, I authorize the Agency/University to proceed with the following Changes.

Based on my review, the Agency/University is not authorized to proceed with this sole source as presented and my recommendation is that it be cancelled.

Other

CPO Signature CPO Phone

Printed Name Date

CPO E-mail

Version 7.01 Page of Sole Source Justification Form - Part I Section I - General Information Will this Sole Source amend a Professional or Artistic Services contract?

If yes, what was the original contract value?

*Sole Source may not be used for amendments for Professional or Artistic Services if the amendment would increase the value by more than 5% of the initial award or extend the term by more than 60 days.

Section II - Proposed Term If a Term Contract, does the term, including renewals, exceed 12 months?

If yes, provide a detailed justification including any economic benefit received for agreeing to a multi-year term:

Section III - Funding Source Select the type of funding to be used (Check all that apply):

Section IV - Sole Source Justification Are there secondary justification(s) for this sole source?

Section V - Purchase History Has the Agency or University Purchased these supplies or services in the past?

Term Term From Term To Value Description Contract Number Type Section VI - Business Rationale

1. Provide a detailed explanation of the need for the supplies or services:

2. Provide a list and describe in detail the specifications required to satisfy the need:

3. Provide detail explaining the justification selected in Section IV to explain why the requested supplies or services are the only ones available that can satisfy the agency or university requirements?

4. What are the unique features of the supplies or services that are not available in any other product or by any other vendor? Provide specific quantifiable factors/qualifications:

5. Has the Agency or University considered alternative supplies or services to satisfy their need?

5a. If yes, name the alternative vendors whose supplies or services were evaluated:

5b. If yes, what were the alternatives for each vendor and why were they unacceptable? Be specific with regard to features, characteristics, requirements, capabilities and compatibility:

5c. Explain how the market evaluation was conducted?

*This evaluation is to determine available options within a market. If the evaluation is to determine quality or best suited option, this is not the appropriate source selection. Under no circumstances shall the evaluation consist of testing alternative options. These activities must be conducted in a competitive transparent environment (i.e. IFB or RFP).

5a. If no, why weren't alternatives evaluated?

6. Are there resellers or distributors?

7. What efforts were made to get the best possible price (i.e. did the agency/university negotiate) and how did you determine the price for this purchase is considered fair and reasonable?

8. Will this purchase obligate the State to this vendor for future purchases such as maintenance, licensing or continuing need?

8a. If yes, please provide details regarding future obligations and/or needs:

9. What will be the financial or other impact to the State if this sole source is not approved and a competitive bid is required?

10. Is there any additional information you would like to add to justify this sole source?

Section VII Requesting Department Signature Required I know and understand the contents of this Sole Source Justification and attest that all statements are true and correct and the fairness and reasonableness of the price was adequately confirmed.

State Agency Bureau/Division Head or University Purchasing Director Approval and Signature Required I know and understand the contents of this Sole Source Justification and attest that all statements are true and correct and the fairness and reasonableness of the price was adequately confirmed. (All prior form fields will lock once this e-signature is completed) SPO Approval and Signature Required Sole Source Justification Form - Part II Section I - General Information Was a Sole Source hearing held per 30 ILCS 500/20-25?

Section II - Sole Source Hearing Details The State posted to the Illinois Procurement Bulletin a description of the State's need, the justification for the sole source decision, and information regarding the opportunity to submit comments and testify at a public hearing. Notice of the hearing was also posted outside of the hearing room 48 hours prior to the hearing.

The public hearing was conducted for the purpose of receiving testimony regarding the sole source determination. The Hearing Officer recommends the following:

The following relevant documents are attached:

Section III - CPO Approval and Signature Required 9.0.0.2.20101008.1.734229

STACS DNA are the only manufacturers of the STACS-DB Enterprise, a specialized forensic DNA databasing software application used at the DNA Indexing Laboratory.

Q4Answer: The STACS software can only be purchased from STACS DNA, Inc. as there are no resellers or subcontractors for licenses or support and training for their product. As such, no other vendors can provide the Support and Maintenance contract being sought in this procurement.

In 2004 part of the Illinois State Police customization was to have the STACS software complete a custom query, daily, that creates an export file which is transfered to an Illinois State Police web page used by law enforcement agencies across Illinois to look up individuals prior to buccal swab collection.

In 2020 STACS customized the Hit Tracking Module to allow the Indexing Lab to move to a paperless system which both streamlined the Hit writing process and saved the State of Illinois money by going paperless.

In 2020 additional customization allowed the Indexing Lab to begin a pilot project for Familial Search cases which serves the Illinois community in investigating cold case files.

Alternative services were not considered at this time because no other vendor has the proprietary rights to the STACS DNA, Inc. software to provide the necessary support and maintenance. There are no comparable services since the software is proprietary and has been customized to the ISP requirements over the last 20 years. ISP has invested over $1,389,000 in customized enhancements to the STACS software to meet ISP's needs. This customized programming is designed to enhance efficiency, improve capacity, and meet the changing needs of FBI Quality Assurance Standards (QAS) and CODIS requirements. There would be a significant time and financial impact to the State of Illinois by taking away forensic scientist resources to develop a different LIM system as an alternative. No other LIM system exists that can be purchased ready to function as STACS. Companies exist to write programing, to develop software that may perform some of the the functions of STACS. But, it would take years and money already spent to establish a comparable system, just as it took years to cultivate STACS into its current form.