part I and part II WCC B-50108.pdf

Sole Source Justification Form

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Bulletin Reference Number 26-563WCC-WCC56-B-50108

Requesting Agency/University Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission ("IWCC")

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

Department/Bureau/Section: IWCC Chairman's Office

Need Identified Date: Jul 1, 2025 Supply/Service Need By Date: Jan 1, 2026

Project Title: WCRI CompScope Reports, 26th Edition

Vendor: Workers Compensation Research Institute ("WCRI")

Provide a description of the supplies or services required:

The IWCC seeks inclusion in WCRI's CompScope Benchmarks and CompScope Medical Benchmarks reports, 26th Edition. The CompScope reports measure the performance of the largest workers’ compensation systems. The IWCC requires ongoing data from the CompScope reports for monitoring the effects of changes within the State's workers' compensation system and making comparisons to the workers' compensation systems of other states.

Value: Actual Value of Initial Term, this Change Order or Amendment: 205,000

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 Source

Section II - Proposed Term

One-Time Purchase Term Contract

Estimated Contract Begin Date: Jan 1, 2026

Estimated Contract End Date: Jun 30, 2026

Number of Potential Renewals: 0

Length of Each Renewal in Months: 0

Total Value of All Renewals: 0

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

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Bulletin Reference Number 26-563WCC-WCC56-B-50108

Requesting Agency/University Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission ("IWCC")

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

The IWCC will use funds from a 2010 settlement of a lawsuit brought by the Illinois State Chamber of Commerce against representatives of the State of Illinois. The settlement agreement established a settlement fund to be used by the IWCC for "Capital or System Improvements" defined as a "one-time initiative for the Commission . . . [involving] a technology upgrade such as a new computer system, including electronic filing functions, or equipment which would enhance and improve current programs, together with contractual services needed to implement such a system or install such equipment, would constitute a Capital or System Improvement." The WCRI CompScope Reports are one of IWCC's best tools in enhancing and improving (as well as keeping track of progress for) IWCC's CompFile Filing System.

At the discretion and initiative of the IWCC, the IWCC must seek a court order releasing any portion of the settlement fund and granting it the authority to spend the monies for payment of relevant Capital or System Improvements. Since 2017, the IWCC has requested and received the authority from the court to pay the annual cost of WCRI's CompScope reports from the settlement fund.

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

Another justification that this purchase is only available from a sole source is because it is:

Items are Required for Research and No Other Source is Able to Meet the Researcher's Documented Need

Another justification that this purchase is only available from a sole source is because it is:

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 Apr 4, 2017 Jun 30, 2017 195,000 WCRI CompScope Reports, 17th Edition Sole Source

2 Nov 6, 2017 Jun 30, 2018 195,000 WCRI CompScope Reports, 18th Edition Sole Source

3 Sep 6, 2018 Jun 30, 2019 195,000 WCRI CompScope Reports, 19th Edition WCC56-P-3517 Sole Source

4 Aug 13, 2019 Jun 30, 2020 195,000 WCRI CompScope Reports, 20th Edition WCC56-P-11854 Sole Source

5 Aug 6, 2020 Jun 30, 2021 195,000 WCRI CompScope Reports, 21st Edition WCC56-P-19297 Sole Source

6 Sep 29, 2021 Jun 30, 2022 195,000 WCRI CompScope Reports, 22nd Edition WCC56-P-30194 Sole Source

7 Aug 15, 2022 Jun 30, 2023 195,000 WCRI CompScope Reports, 23rd Edition WCC56-P-39787 Sole Source

8 Nov 10, 2023 Jun 30, 2024 195,000 WCRI CompScope Reports, 24th Edition WCC56-P-58408 Sole Source

9 Feb 13, 2025 Jun 30, 2025 205,000 WCRI CompScope Reports, 25th Edition WCC56-P-76252 Sole Source

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

Section VI - Business Rationale

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Bulletin Reference Number 26-563WCC-WCC56-B-50108

Requesting Agency/University Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission ("IWCC")

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

The IWCC requires objective and credible evidence on the current performance of the State of Illinois workers' compensation system and consequences of proposed changes to make informed decisions that create more efficient, more equitable, and better designed outcomes for meeting the needs of workers and employers. WCRI will include Illinois in new editions of its two annual CompScope reports. The CompScope Benchmarks report provides ongoing annual monitoring of how indemnity benefits, medical payments, and benefit delivery expenses per claim change over time, as well as how the State of Illinois workers’ compensation system compares with other study states on these key metrics. The CompScope Medical Benchmarks report examines medical payments, prices, and utilization in Illinois compared with 17 other states.

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

WCRI is an independent not-for-profit research organization that offers statistical, economic, and legal analysis on workers’ compensation systems. WCRI's CompScope reports provide the only multi-state benchmarking program for measuring the performance of different state workers’ compensation systems, how different state workers’ compensation systems compare with each other, and how different state workers’ compensation systems have changed over time. The annual CompScope reports provide a baseline for tracking the effectiveness of policy changes and identifying important trends. The annual CompScope reports examine how income benefits, overall medical payments, costs, use of benefits, duration of disability, litigiousness, benefit delivery expenses, timeliness of payment, and other metrics of system performance have changed over a specific time period.

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?

WCRI's CompScope reports study more than 22 million claims filed in 18 states that together represent about 65 percent of the nation’s workers’ compensation benefits paid. The 18 states in the study are Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin. In the coming years, WCRI expects to include the 20-25 largest state systems. The WCRI CompScope reports are copyrighted and are a trademark of the WCRI. WCRI is the only organization that has the ability to compile and publish the WCRI CompScope Reports. There is no other organization that compiles and analyzes the data in the WCRI CompScope reports and there are no resellers, distributors, or other sources who provide access to or inclusion in the CompScope reports, except WCRI, itself.

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:

There is no similar service that does what WCRI does and WCRI data and reports are proprietary. WCRI is the only organization that possesses and has access to the data sources and analytic capability necessary to conduct multi-state comparisons of the nation’s largest state workers’ compensation systems. No other organization has access to the data sources that WCRI uses so no other organization can perform the statistical research that WCRI does. No other organization compiles this data and it could not be readily duplicated. This data and the reports compiled therefrom are proprietary. The CompScope reports use data from 24 data sources, including national and regional insurers, claims administration organizations, state funds, and self-insured employers. The data are collected in the Detailed Benchmark/Evaluation database, which includes over 7.5 million claims that are reasonably representative of the entire system in each of the 18 states, including all market segments: self-insurance, residual market, voluntary insurance, and state funds. There is not another organization in the world with access to this database or the sources used to populate it. This data and the methods created and implemented by WCRI researchers permit valid comparisons across states. All of the largest and most important WC systems use WCRI analytics which makes WCRI the only source of meaningful research data for IWCC’s goals. Using data from another source would render the comparisons meaningless as the methodology would be different. WCRI’s proprietary data is the data that best serves the IWCC’s mission and allows it to serve its constituents.

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?

WCRI is the publisher and copyright holder of the CompScope reports. No other organization offers the research and data found in the CompScope reports. There are no resellers, distributors, or other sources who provide access to or inclusion in the CompScope reports, except WCRI, itself.

6. Are there resellers or distributors?

Yes No N/A

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Bulletin Reference Number 26-563WCC-WCC56-B-50108

Requesting Agency/University Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission ("IWCC")

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?

WCRI charges each state a standard price; for eight years, that price was $195,000.00 for inclusion in new editions of its CompScope reports. However, in 2024, for the 25th Edition, the price was increased to $205,000.00 an increase of approximately 5%. Using the Federal Government's Bureau of Labor and Statistics CPI Inflation Calculator, over this same period of 8 years, purchasing power has decreased to 77.65%, meaning the $195,000.00 cost of the 2017 edition would equate to $251,173.25 in 2024 dollars. Even going back just 2 years to the 23rd Edition in 2022, the value of the $195,000.00 in 2024 dollars would be $207,521.69 from inflation, alone. Thus, though the previous price had remained flat for many years, the increase in the cost of inclusion beginning last year is clearly more than justified by inflation, alone. The cost for inclusion in the 26th Edition has remained flat at $205,000.00 for FY26. The IWCC will receive both the CompScope Benchmarks report and CompScope Medical Benchmarks report as well as one on-site public presentation or formal testimony on the results of those two CompScope reports. The $205,000.00 breaks down in the following manner: $63,000.00 for delivery of a status report and on-site public presentation; $63,000.00 for the draft CompScope Medical Benchmarks, 26th edition;

$8,000.00 for the published CompScope Medical Benchmarks, 26th edition; $63,000.00 for the draft CompScope Benchmarks, 26th edition; and $8,000.00 for the published CompScope Benchmarks, 26th edition.

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?

A failure to approve this sole source would leave the IWCC without the statistical data needed to measure the performance of the Illinois workers’ compensation systems and make interstate comparisons. The IWCC does not possess the data from other states that is needed to perform such comparisons. Furthermore, the continued participation in the CompScope reports assists stakeholders with monitoring the effects of legislative and administrative changes and to look at the legislative and administrative strategies of other states that contribute to better outcomes, including reduced overall system costs, improved time to delivery of benefits payments, medical services, and payment for medical services, greater market participation by insurers and medical providers, and faster return to work times for injured employees. The IWCC believes that the comparative analysis contained in the CompScope reports can help it achieve its goal of providing the most efficient and effective delivery of benefits to injured workers. Finally, competitive sealed bidding will not result in a lower price or any alternative bidders for the requested supplies because no other organization offers the research and data found in the CompScope reports.

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

The IWCC launched a Digital Transformation Project that has modernized all agency systems and created easy online filing, standardized electronic data submissions, efficient workflows, reduced paper processing and storage, decreased mailing costs, and improved data analytics and metrics. The data and analysis from the CompScope reports provides a foundation and ongoing reference points for improving the IWCC’s data analytics and metrics through development of new information technology systems that better track the effectiveness of policy changes and identify important trends within the workers' compensation system. This creates and ensures better outcomes for workers and employers that rely on the workers' compensation system and helps ensure the success of a high-profile project touted as another step in the efforts to modernize state government.

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Bulletin Reference Number 26-563WCC-WCC56-B-50108

Requesting Agency/University Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission ("IWCC")

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 Dec 15, 2025

Printed Name Cole D. Garrett E-mail Address Cole.Garrett@illinois.gov

Phone Number (312) 814-6620

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 michael.brennan@illinois.gov

Phone Number (312) 814-7268 Date Dec 15, 2025

Printed Name Michael J. Brennan

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 Date Dec 15, 2025

Printed Name Dereck Reeves E-mail Address dereck.reeves@illinois.gov

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Bulletin Reference Number 26-563WCC-WCC56-B-50108

Requesting Agency/University Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission ("IWCC")

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

Project Title WCRI CompScope Reports, 26th Edition

Vendor Workers Compensation Research Institute ("WCRI")

Initial Date of Procurement Bulletin Posting Dec 15, 2025

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 217-622-1857

Printed Name Ellen H. Daley Date Dec 30, 2025

CPO E-mail Ellen.H.Daley@illinois.gov

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 Ellen.H.Daley@illinois.gov

At the discretion and initiative of the IWCC, the IWCC must seek a court order releasing any portion of the settlement fund and granting it the authority to spend the monies for payment of relevant Capital or System Improvements. Since 2017, the IWCC has requested and received the authority from the court to pay the annual cost of WCRI's CompScope reports from the settlement fund.