The University is seeking the professional services of a financial advisor to assist with ongoing needs in financial matters related to the University's debt and capital structure. Revenue bonds are regularly issued to finance construction and improvement of auxiliary facilities such as residence halls, recreation centers, student centers and other student service facilities and School of Medicine medical practice facilities. Certificates of Participation are occasionally issued to finance facilities and equipment for which there is not established revenue source for repayment of debt. In addition, the University may consider other types of funding for capital investments and other needs including but not limited to Public Private Partnerships ("P3"). The financial advisor(s) selected will not be eligible to serve as an underwriter of revenue bonds or other financial obligations of the University during the duration of the financial advisory contract.

A pre-submission phone conference will be held October 10, 2019 at 2:00 PM. The call in number is 877-937-7966, passcode 1398794. Questions regarding technical requirements will not be answered during this call and should be submitted as directed in Section 1.4. This conference call is to discuss BEP requirements and State of Illinois requirements for submission of the solicitation only. Please have the solicitation document available for reference purposes. Attendance is highly recommended.

Registration for conducting business with the State of Illinois: (30 ILCS 500/20-43) Sec. 20-43. Bidder or offeror authorized to do business in Illinois. In addition to meeting any other requirement of law or rule, a person (other than an individual acting as a sole proprietor) may qualify as a bidder or offeror under this Code only if the person is a legal entity authorized to do business in Illinois prior to submitting the bid, offer, or proposal. The legal entity must be authorized to transact business or conduct affairs in Illinois prior to execution of the contract. Do not confuse this requirement with the Board of Elections certification. You may register to do business at http://cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/business_services/howdoi.html

If you do $50,000 worth of business annually with the State of Illinois, including the state universities, you are required to register with the State Board of Elections and obtain from them a certificate confirming your registration. If it is discovered that the vendor is non-compliant, but made a good faith effort to comply with registration efforts prior to the date the bid or offer is due, a chief procurement officer may provide the bidder 5 business days to achieve compliance. A chief procurement officer may extend the time to prove compliance by as long as necessary in the event that there is a failure within the State Board of Elections?s registration system. Responses to Invitations to Bid, Requests for Proposals, Requests for Information, and all other types of procurement solicitations are included in the calculation of this $50,000 annual amount, whether you receive a resulting award or not. If you do less than $50,000 worth of business annually, you may be exempt from the registration requirement.

Effective January 1, 2011 communications regarding the specifications of this solicitation, which are not given in a public forum, are subject to public reporting. Questions regarding where the bid is to be mailed, the date and time of the opening or how to obtain a copy of the solicitation or any other procedural question will not need to be reported. The disclosure of the inquiries that need to be reported will include the name, address, phone number and email address of the person and firm making the inquiry. The reporting of this information will be published on the Procurement Policy Board website: https://www.illinois.gov/ppb/Pages/procurement-communications-reporting.aspx

Please include your Illinois Procurement Gateway registration number. If you are not registered, it is highly recommended that you do so. You may register at https://ipg.vendorreg.com. You do not have to be registered at the time of bid opening to be in compliance.

Please download the RFP and both Exhibit A and Exhibit B.

Submit 4 copies of the response as defined in the specifications. The University reserves the right to accept or reject any and all responses or parts thereof. Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) eligibility number is required on all proposals, if applicable. The contract(s) for this solicitation could exceed $50,000 annually.