7.7.1 Prohibited Conflicts of Interest
Policy Statement
In general, if an individual, their spouse, or their minor child:
- holds an elective office in this state,
- holds a seat in the General Assembly,
- is appointed or employed in any of the offices or agencies of State government (including appointments or employment at the University of Illinois) and receives compensation for such employment in excess of 60% of the Governor’s salary,
- is an officer or employee of the Capital Development Board, or
- is an officer or employee of the Illinois Toll Highway Authority,
they are prohibited from contracting with the University of Illinois System (or having any direct pecuniary interest in any contract) if the contract will be wholly or partially paid with funds appropriated by the Illinois General Assembly. An individual has a direct pecuniary interest in a contract when the individual is owed a payment or otherwise receives a direct financial benefit in conjunction with performance of a contract, including finder's fees and commission payments.
Business organizations may not enter into purchase transactions with the University of Illinois System if an individual identified above or their spouse or minor child has an ownership interest in, or is entitled to distributed income from, the organization in an amount that meets or exceeds a prescribed threshold.
Exceptions to the prohibited conflicts of interest include purchases for certain personal services, including contracts for teachers.
Reason for the Policy
This policy is intended to implement Section 50-13 of the Illinois Procurement Code by providing for the identification, review, and resolution of prohibited conflicts of interest relating to procurements by or for the University of Illinois System.
Applicability of the Policy
This policy applies to all purchases made on behalf of the University of Illinois System or a specific university within the system.
Procedure
The University of Illinois System is prohibited from making a purchase from a vendor or individual if the university knew or should have known that a prohibited conflict of interest exists.
Prohibited conflicts of interest can be identified in the following three manners.
- By completion of a Financial Disclosures and Conflicts of Interest form or registration on the Illinois Procurement Gateway, which is required for all purchases of $100,000 or more, and all competitive solicitations;
- By identification of a vendor in a Report of Non-University Activities (RNUA) process (for UIUC, UIS, and System employees);
- By identification of a vendor in the UIC Research process (for UIC employees) or,
- Through common knowledge of a prohibited relationship.
When a prohibited conflict of interest is identified, or presumed, the proposed vendor must complete a Financial Disclosures and Conflicts of Interest form or register on the Illinois Procurement Gateway. A prohibited conflict of interest exists if:
- the vendor has submitted the Financial Disclosures and Conflicts of Interest form and checked “yes” for any of the questions in Step 4; or, the vendor is registered on the Illinois Procurement Gateway and in Section I – Financial Disclosures & Conflicts of Interest has checked “yes” for any of the questions numbered 5 through 10;
- the purchase is to be made with funds appropriated by the Illinois General Assembly; and,
- the purchase is not subject to one of the statutory exceptions.
If a prohibited conflict of interest exists, the University of Illinois System must consider alternative sources for supplying the services or supplies. If the services or supplies are not available from other sources, or it is in the University of Illinois System’s best interest to proceed with the proposed purchase, the university may request a conflict of interest review for approval prior to proceeding with the purchase. See Conflict of Interest Review Process.
If a proposed vendor would present a prohibited conflict other than the purchase would not be made with funds appropriated by the Illinois General Assembly, then the conflict is considered a potential conflict of interest. See 7.7.2 – Potential Conflict of Interest.
Forms Used in this Procedure
Additional Resources
First Published: July 2017 | Last Updated: May 2023 | Last Reviewed: May 2023