JPMC SS - Official State Newspaper

The Illinois Department of Central Management Services (CMS), in agreement with the Chief Procurement Officer for General Services, is establishing a sole-source contract with the Illinois Press Association for newspaper publication and public notice placement services available to governmental units and qualified not-for-profit agencies, with a public hearing comment deadline of September 18, 2026 at 4:00 p.m. CST and a proposal due date of September 23, 2026.

This is a sole-source procurement with no competitive bidding. The Illinois Press Association is designated the sole vendor based on its exclusive distribution and verification infrastructure spanning 375+ member publications across all 102 Illinois counties, positioning it as the only entity capable of simultaneously placing and legally certifying notices in hyper-local rural newspapers statewide. Pricing is governed by the Legal Advertising Rate Act (715 ILCS 15/1), which establishes a statutory minimum of 20 cents per column line and caps rates at the lowest classified rate paid by commercial users.

The contract scope covers placement of public notices as display advertisements in newspapers statewide and operates on an as-needed basis. The services directly support state agencies' statutory mandates under the Notice by Publication Act (715 ILCS 5/1) and the Newspaper Legal Notice Act (715 ILCS 10/) to publish public notices, legal advertisements, and procurement opportunities within affected local jurisdictions. The Illinois Press Association also operates and funds publicnoticeillinois.com, a centralized digital repository with searchable archives, smart-search capabilities, and automated notifications, at no additional cost to the state.

The estimated contract value is $450,000 in state funds over a three-year initial term from October 27, 2026 through October 26, 2029, with no renewal options. Interested parties may submit written comments or a written request for a public hearing by the September 18 deadline to the designated contact; the hearing will be canceled if no comments or hearing requests are received.