SSJF Pt I B-53999 JPMC SS Official State Newspaper.pdf

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Sole Source Justification Form 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

1. Sole Source Status Per Section 1.2025 of the Illinois Procurement Rules, a sole source procurement is justified because these mandatory statewide public notice services are available from only a single supplier. The Illinois Press Association (IPA) maintains an exclusive distribution and verification infrastructure across its 375+ member publications. Because no other vendor or broker in the marketplace has the capability to simultaneously place and legally certify notices in hyper-local rural newspapers statewide, the vendor landscape is entirely static.

2. Absence of Market Competition or Price Fluctuations because the IPA holds a unique, non-proprietary monopoly over this specific rural network, the State gains no economic advantage by forcing an annual procurement cycle. Conducting the exact same procurement process every 12 months cannot yield alternative bidders, introduce market competition, or result in lower pricing. The services, statutory mandates under 715 ILCS 5/1, and the vendor's exclusive capabilities will remain entirely unchanged throughout the proposed three-year period.

3. Operational Continuity and Prior CPO Authorization. The primary benefit to the State for a multi-year designation is contract continuity and the elimination of unnecessary transactional friction for an unchanging requirement. The CPO has granted two individual procurements totaling two years. Securing a three-year contract ensures that the agency remains in continuous statutory compliance with its public notice mandates without facing annual operational interruptions.

Statewide Print Infrastructure and Local Jurisdictional Reach: The vendor must possess a unified, statewide distribution network consisting of more than 375 verified daily and weekly newspapers. The network must have the specific operational infrastructure to simultaneously place, track, and manage public notices within every individual rural and urban county jurisdiction across all of Illinois.

Statutory Compliance Maintenance: For the duration of the contract term, the complete newspaper distribution network must strictly fulfill all structural criteria established by the Notice by Publication Act (715 ILCS 5/) and the Newspaper Legal Notice Act (715 ILCS 10/).

Legal Affidavit Authority: The vendor must have the administrative and organizational authority to execute and guarantee uniform certificates of publication across all member newspapers in accordance with 715 ILCS 5/1. This certificate must serve as a legally binding, sworn affidavit that can withstand legal scrutiny and provide evidence of compliance to courts and units of local government.

Physical Layout Thresholds: Each utilizing print publication within the network must consist of no less than 4 pages of printed matter and maintain a minimum of 100 square inches of printed space per page.

Production Standards: All print editions must be produced utilizing conventional, recognized printing processes, specifically limited to letterpress, lithography, or gravure.

Editorial Content Minimums: The publications must annually average at least 25% non-advertising news content per issue, or alternatively maintain an annual average of at least 1,000 column inches of news content per issue.

Continuous Publication Verification: The newspapers must demonstrate continuous publication at regular intervals of at least once per week, completing a minimum of 50 issues per calendar year. This operational baseline must have been active for at least one full year prior to contract execution. Any title successor, merger, or consolidation must validate continuity under 715 ILCS 5/5(e) and 715 ILCS 10/1(e).

Circulation Integrity: The vendor must distribute all mandated public notices across the total circulation of every edition published on the designated publication date.

Centralized Digital Repository Integration: At no additional operational cost to the State, participating governmental units, or qualified not-for-profit agencies, the network must automatically cross-publish all print notices to a singular, free-access, searchable statewide public notice website. This digital archive must provide users with smart-search capabilities, automated email notifications, and daily search result tracking to maximize public transparency.

Printer Liability Protection: In accordance with the Notice by Publication Act, the system must ensure that all legal notices remain valid for all statutory purposes if any web-placement errors on the centralized statewide repository are determined to be the exclusive fault of the printer.

Exclusive 102-County Distribution Infrastructure: The IPA maintains a unique, non-proprietary monopoly over a unified distribution network representing more than 375 daily and weekly newspapers across all 102 counties in Illinois. No other vendor or media placement broker possesses the logistical infrastructure to place, track, and manage public notices simultaneously across this complete statewide network of local print operations.

Unified Statutory Affidavit Authority: Under 715 ILCS 5/1, public notices require a uniform certificate of publication to serve as a legally binding sworn affidavit for courts and local government units. The IPA is the only entity with the administrative authority to execute, aggregate, and legally guarantee these uniform certificates across its entire 375+ member network under a single, centralized contract.

Centralized Taxpayer-Free Repository: The IPA exclusively owns, funds, and operates the statewide digital repository publicnoticeillinois.com (PNI). No other vendor has access to, or operational control over, this mandated centralized database, which automatically indexes and cross-publishes every print notice at zero additional cost to the State or its taxpayers. Because alternative brokers would be forced to individualize contracts, billing, and affidavit tracking across hundreds of independent publishers—a process that cannot guarantee uniform legal compliance—the IPA is uniquely qualified as the only vendor capable of fulfilling this statewide scope.