Sole Source: Levi, Ray, & Shoup VPS LICENSES

The Illinois Secretary of State intends to enter into a sole source contract with Levi, Ray, and Shoup for VPS, VPS/TCIP, DRS, and VMCF web access printer licenses valued at $498,804, with a public hearing scheduled for June 22, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. in Springfield and written comments due by June 18 at 12:00 p.m. This is a sole source procurement — no competitive bidding will occur.

The justification rests on copyright and patent protections; Levi, Ray, and Shoup holds exclusive ownership of the source code and is the sole provider of maintenance and support for these proprietary mainframe applications. The Secretary of State has a ten-year purchase history with the vendor, with annual license costs ranging from $83,730 in 2016–2017 to $156,678 in 2025–2026. The agency evaluated no alternative solutions, citing the significant cost and resource burden of system replacement, migration, and staff retraining.

The software enables the Secretary of State to remotely manage and control printers across enterprise servers and all state locations. The contract term runs July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2029, with no renewal options. The agency elected a multi-year term to obtain a greater discount compared to annual purchasing. Funding is through state appropriated funds. The State Purchasing Officer approved the sole source determination on June 8, 2026.

Interested parties may submit written comments or formal requests for a public hearing by June 18 at 12:00 p.m. to Katherine Tople in the Budget and Fiscal Management office. The hearing will be cancelled if no comments or requests are received by the deadline. The Chief Procurement Officer will determine whether to approve the sole source method following consideration of all testimony presented.