FY27-32 travel magazine development and printing

The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Office of Tourism is soliciting a vendor through Request for Proposal (RFP B-50441) to develop, produce, manage advertising sales for, promote, and print the state's biannual travel magazine, Enjoy Illinois. The vendor will be responsible for producing 500,000 copies of the spring/summer issue (delivery by March 1) and 200,000 copies of the fall/winter issue (delivery by September 1) annually, with each issue consisting of 84 pages measuring 8-1/8" x 10-3/4" in full-color format with specifications including 7-point cover stock with UV gloss coating and 40-pound text weight gloss interior pages. The contract will commence July 1, 2026, and continue through June 30, 2032 (six-year initial term with no total term exceeding ten years). Mandatory vendor qualifications include submission of two examples of previous publications with digital presence and two examples of advertising sales with travel destination clients, along with detailed plans addressing digital and social marketing opportunities at no cost, with the expectation that advertising sales will offset total production costs. Evaluation will be conducted on a maximum of 1,000 points across three independent scored components: technical requirements (694 points), commitment to diversity (139 points), and pricing (167 points). A non-mandatory pre-bid conference was held January 14, 2026, with a recording available to prospective bidders; written questions must be submitted by January 23, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. CST to Amanda.S.Gray@illinois.gov, and proposals are due February 9, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. CST through the BidBuy e-procurement system.

This procurement includes a Business Enterprise Program (BEP) participation goal of 7%, requiring offerors to either meet the goal through certified BEP vendor utilization or submit a Good Faith Effort Waiver documenting reasonable outreach and negotiation attempts with certified firms; all BEP-certified vendors must perform commercially useful functions within the identified scope of work including editorial services, journalistic services, photography, advertising consulting, and offset printing. The State of Illinois aspirational goal is to award not less than 30% of total state contract dollar amounts to certified BEP vendors, with an additional 3% goal for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses and Veteran-Owned Small Businesses. Vendors must complete a comprehensive Commitment to Diversity submission demonstrating compliance across BEP participation, documented contracting relationships with women, minority, and disability-owned businesses from the prior calendar year, percentage of overall business spend allocated to such firms, hours dedicated to diversity and inclusion initiatives, adoption of written diversity policies, and diversity representation across all staffing levels. All vendors must be registered in BidBuy and comply with vendor disclosure requirements, and the contract is contingent upon appropriation of funds by the Illinois General Assembly or applicable federal funding sources. No incumbent vendor information or current contractor details are identified in the solicitation materials, and no specific budget or award value range is disclosed; pricing is estimated rather than firm, with vendors required to submit all pricing through the BidBuy Items Tab.