HB0779 Engrossed LRB103 04371 RPS 49377 b
1		AN ACT concerning State government.
2		Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3		represented in the General Assembly:
4		Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5		Reimagining Hotel Florence Act.
6		Section 5. Legislative intent. Originally built in 1881,
7		the Hotel Florence is located within the Pullman Historic
8		District and was placed on the National Register of Historic
9		Places in 1969 and was designated a National Historic Landmark
10		on December 30, 1970. To save it from demolition the Historic
11		Pullman Foundation purchased the hotel in 1975 and maintained
12		ownership until 1991 when the State of Illinois took title of
13		the building. The Hotel Florence is continually closed for
14		renovations and is a semi-closed public space.
15		The hotel sits next to the Pullman National Historic
16		Landmark District, which was designated as a National Monument
17		in 2015 and recently redesignated as Illinois's first National
18		Park on December 29, 2022 and is operated by the U.S. National
19		Park Service. This redesignation allows for the National Park
20		Service to enter into cooperative agreements with outside
21		parties for interpretive and educational programs at
22		nonfederal historic properties within the boundaries of the
23		park and to provide assistance for the preservation of

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1		nonfederal land within the boundaries of the historical park
2		and at sites in close proximity to it, which may include the
3		Hotel Florence.
4		The General Assembly has allocated $21,000,000 in capital
5		infrastructure funds to aid in the redevelopment of the Hotel
6		Florence.
7		The General Assembly finds that allowing for the
8		Department of Natural Resources to enter into a public-private
9		partnership that will allow the Hotel Florence to become a
10		fully reactivated space in a timely manner that is in the
11		public benefit of the State and the local Pullman community.
12		Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:
13		"Agreement" means a public-private agreement.
14		"Contractor" means a person that has been selected to
15		enter or has entered into a public-private agreement with the
16		Department on behalf of the State for the development,
17		financing, construction, management, or operation of the Hotel
18		Florence pursuant to this Act.
19		"Department" means the Department of Natural Resources.
20		"Hotel Florence" means real property in City of Chicago
21		located within the Pullman Historic District that is owned by
22		the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and was acquired
23		in 1991, at the address of 11111 S. Forrestville Avenue,
24		Chicago, Illinois, as well as the adjacent Hotel Florence
25		Annex building located at 537 East 111th Street, Chicago,

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1		Illinois 60628 and any associated grounds connected to either
2		property.
3		"Maintain" or "maintenance" includes ordinary maintenance,
4		repair, rehabilitation, capital maintenance, maintenance
5		replacement, and any other categories of maintenance that may
6		be designated by the Department.
7		"Offeror" means a person that responds to a request for
8		proposals under this Act.
9		"Operate" or "operation" means to do one or more of the
10		following: maintain, improve, equip, modify, or otherwise
11		operate.
12		"Person" means any individual, firm, association, joint
13		venture, partnership, estate, trust, syndicate, fiduciary,
14		corporation, or any other legal entity, group, or combination
15		thereof.
16		"Public-private agreement" means an agreement or contract
17		between the Department on behalf of the State and all
18		schedules, exhibits, and attachments thereto, entered into
19		pursuant to a competitive request for proposals process
20		governed by this Act, for the development, financing,
21		construction, management, or operation of the Hotel Florence
22		under this Act.
23		"Revenues" means all revenues, including, but not limited
24		to, income, user fees, earnings, interest, lease payments,
25		allocations, moneys from the federal government, the State,
26		and units of local government, including, but not limited to,

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1		federal, State, and local appropriations, grants, loans, lines
2		of credit, and credit guarantees; bond proceeds; equity
3		investments; service payments; or other receipts arising out
4		of or in connection with the financing, development,
5		construction, management, or operation of the Hotel Florence.
6		"State" means the State of Illinois.
7		Section 15. Authority to enter public-private agreement.
8		(a) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary,
9		the Department on behalf of the State may, pursuant to a
10		competitive request for proposals process governed by the
11		Illinois Procurement Code, rules adopted under that Code, and
12		this Act, enter into a public-private agreement to develop,
13		finance, construct, lease, manage, or operate the Hotel
14		Florence on behalf of the State, pursuant to which the
15		contractors may receive certain revenues, including management
16		or user fees in consideration of the payment of moneys to the
17		State for that right.
18		(b) The term of a public-private agreement shall be no
19		less than 25 years and no more than 75 years.
20		(c) The term of a public-private agreement may be
21		extended, but only if the extension is specifically authorized
22		by the General Assembly by law.
23		Section 20. Procurement; prequalification. The Department
24		may establish a process for prequalification of offerors. If

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1		the Department does create such a process, it shall:
2		(1) provide a public notice of the prequalification at
3		least 30 days prior to the date on which applications are
4		due;
5		(2) set forth requirements and evaluation criteria in
6		order to become prequalified;
7		(3) determine which offerors that have submitted
8		prequalification applications, if any, meet the
9		requirements and evaluation criteria; and
10		(4) allow only those offerors that have been
11		prequalified to respond to the request for proposals.
12		Section 25. Request for proposals process to enter into
13		public-private agreement.
14		(a) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary,
15		the Department on behalf of the State shall select a
16		contractor through a competitive request for proposals process
17		governed by the Illinois Procurement Code and rules adopted
18		under that Code and this Act.
19		(b) The competitive request for proposals process shall,
20		at a minimum, solicit statements of qualification and
21		proposals from offerors.
22		(c) The competitive request for proposals process shall,
23		at a minimum, take into account the following criteria:
24		(1) the offeror's plans for the Hotel Florence
25		project;

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1		(2) the offeror's current and past business practices;
2		(3) the offeror's poor or inadequate past performance
3		in developing, financing, constructing, managing, or
4		operating historic landmark properties or other public
5		assets;
6		(4) the offeror's ability to meet and past performance
7		in meeting or exhausting good faith efforts to meet the
8		utilization goals for business enterprises established in
9		the Business Enterprise for Minorities, Women, and Persons
10		with Disabilities Act;
11		(5) the offeror's ability to comply with and past
12		performance in complying with Section 2-105 of the
13		Illinois Human Rights Act; and
14		(6) the offeror's plans to comply with the Business
15		Enterprise for Minorities, Women, and Persons with
16		Disabilities Act and Section 2-105 of the Illinois Human
17		Rights Act.
18		(d) The Department shall not include terms in the request
19		for proposals that provide an advantage, whether directly or
20		indirectly, to any contractor presently providing goods,
21		services, or equipment to the Department.
22		(e) The Department shall select one or more offerors as
23		finalists.
24		(f) After the procedures required in this Section have
25		been completed, the Department shall make a determination as
26		to whether the offeror should be designated as the contractor

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1		for the Hotel Florence project and shall submit the decision
2		to the Governor and to the Governor's Office of Management and
3		Budget. After review of the Department's determination, the
4		Governor may accept or reject the determination. If the
5		Governor accepts the determination of the Department, the
6		Governor shall designate the offeror for the Hotel Florence
7		project.
8		Section 30. Provisions of the public-private agreement.
9		(a) The public-private agreement shall include all of the
10		following:
11		(1) the term of the public-private agreement that is
12		consistent with Section 40;
13		(2) the powers, duties, responsibilities, obligations,
14		and functions of the Department and the contractor;
15		(3) compensation or payments to the Department, if
16		applicable;
17		(4) compensation or payments to the contractor, if
18		applicable;
19		(5) a provision specifying that the Department:
20		(A) has ready access to information regarding the
21		contractor's powers, duties, responsibilities,
22		obligations, and functions under the public-private
23		agreement;
24		(B) has the right to demand and receive
25		information from the contractor concerning any aspect

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1		of the contractor's powers, duties, responsibilities,
2		obligations, and functions under the public-private
3		agreement; and
4		(C) has the authority to direct or countermand
5		decisions by the contractor at any time;
6		(6) a provision imposing an affirmative duty on the
7		contractor to provide the Department with any information
8		the contractor reasonably believes the Department would
9		want to know or would need to know to enable the Department
10		to exercise its powers, carry out its duties,
11		responsibilities, and obligations, and perform its
12		functions under this Act or the public-private agreement
13		or as otherwise required by law;
14		(7) the authority of the Department to enter into
15		contracts with third parties pursuant to Section 40;
16		(8) the authority of the Department to request that
17		the contractor reimburse the Department for third party
18		consultants related to the monitoring the project;
19		(9) a provision governing the contractor's authority
20		to negotiate and execute subcontracts with third parties;
21		(10) the authority of the contractor to impose user
22		fees and the amounts of those fees;
23		(11) a provision governing the deposit and allocation
24		of revenues including user fees;
25		(12) a provision governing rights to real and personal
26		property of the State, the Department, the contractor, and

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1		other third parties;
2		(13) grounds for termination of the agreement by the
3		Department or the contractor and a restatement of the
4		Department's rights under this Act;
5		(14) a requirement that the contractor enter into a
6		project labor agreement;
7		(15) a provision stating that construction contractors
8		shall comply with the requirements of Section 30-22 of the
9		Illinois Procurement Code;
10		(16) rights and remedies of the Department if the
11		contractor defaults or otherwise fails to comply with the
12		terms of the agreement;
13		(17) procedures for amendment to the agreement; and
14		(18) all other terms, conditions, and provisions
15		acceptable to the Department that the Department deems
16		necessary and proper and in the public interest.
17		Section 35. Time limitations. The Department shall issue a
18		request for proposals within 6 months after the effective date
19		of this Act. The Department shall have 6 months from the date
20		of issuance of the request for proposals to select a
21		contractor.
22		Section 40. Term of agreement; reversion of property to
23		the Department.
24		(a) The Department may terminate the contractor's

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1		authority and duties under the public-private agreement on the
2		date set forth in the public-private agreement.
3		(b) Upon termination of the public-private agreement, the
4		authority and duties of the contractor under this Act cease,
5		except for those duties and obligations that extend beyond the
6		termination, as set forth in the public-private agreement, and
7		all interests in the Hotel Florence shall revert to the
8		Department.
9		Section 45. Prohibited local action; home rule. A unit of
10		local government, including a home rule unit, may not take any
11		action that would have the effect of impairing the
12		public-private agreement under this Act. This Section is a
13		denial and limitation of home rule powers and functions under
14		subsection (h) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois
15		Constitution.
16		Section 50. Powers liberally construed. The powers
17		conferred by this Act shall be liberally construed in order to
18		accomplish their purposes and shall be in addition and
19		supplemental to the powers conferred by any other law. If any
20		other law or rule is inconsistent with this Act, this Act is
21		controlling as to any public-private agreement entered into
22		under this Act.
23		Section 55. Full and complete authority. This Act

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1		contains full and complete authority for agreements and leases
2		with private entities to carry out the activities described in
3		this Act. Except as otherwise required by law, no procedure,
4		proceedings, publications, notices, consents, approvals,
5		orders, or acts by the Department or any other State or local
6		agency or official are required to enter into an agreement or
7		lease.
8		Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are
9		severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.