§ 10 — Definitions

As used in this Act: "Approved proposal" means the proposal that is approved by the responsible public entity pursuant to subsection (j) of Section 20 of this Act. "Approved proposer" means the private entity whose proposal is the approved proposal. "Authority" means the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority. "Contractor" means a private entity that has entered into a public-private agreement with the responsible public entity to provide services to or on behalf of the responsible public entity. "Department" means the Illinois Department of Transportation. "Design-build agreement" means the agreement between the selected private entity and the responsible public entity under which the selected private entity agrees to furnish design, construction, and related services for a transportation facility under this Act. "Develop" or "development" means to do one or more of the following: plan, design, develop, lease, acquire, install, construct, reconstruct, rehabilitate, extend, or expand. "Maintain" or "maintenance" includes ordinary maintenance, repair, rehabilitation, capital maintenance, maintenance replacement, and any other categories of maintenance that may be designated by the responsible public entity. "Operate" or "operation" means to do one or more of the following: maintain, improve, equip, modify, or otherwise operate. "Private entity" means any combination of one or more individuals, corporations, general partnerships, limited liability companies, limited partnerships, joint ventures, business trusts, nonprofit entities, or other business entities that are parties to a proposal for a transportation project or an agreement related to a transportation project. A public agency may provide services to a contractor as a subcontractor or subconsultant without affecting the private status of the private entity and the ability to enter into a public-private agreement. A transportation agency is not a private entity. "Proposal" means all materials and documents prepared by or on behalf of a private entity relating to the proposed development, financing, or operation of a transportation facility as a transportation project. "Proposer" means a private entity that has submitted an unsolicited proposal for a public-private agreement to a responsible public entity under this Act or a proposal or statement of qualifications for a public-private agreement in response to a request for proposals or a request for qualifications issued by a responsible public entity under this Act. "Public-private agreement" means the public-private agreement between the contractor and the responsible public entity relating to one or more of the development, financing, or operation of a transportation project that is entered into under this Act. "Request for information" means all materials and documents prepared by or on behalf of the responsible public entity to solicit information from private entities with respect to transportation projects. "Request for proposals" means all materials and documents prepared by or on behalf of the responsible public entity to solicit proposals from private entities to enter into a public-private agreement. "Request for qualifications" means all materials and documents prepared by or on behalf of the responsible public entity to solicit statements of qualification from private entities to enter into a public-private agreement. "Responsible public entity" means the Department of Transportation, the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, and the 5 most populous counties of Illinois, as of the most recent publicly available decennial census. "Revenues" means all revenues, including any combination of: income; earnings and interest; user fees; lease payments; allocations; federal, State, and local appropriations, grants, loans, lines of credit, and credit guarantees; bond proceeds; equity investments; service payments; or other receipts; arising out of or in connection with a transportation project, including the development, financing, and operation of a transportation project. The term includes money received as grants, loans, lines of credit, credit guarantees, or otherwise in aid of a transportation project from the federal government, the State, a unit of local government, or any agency or instrumentality of the federal government, the State, or a unit of local government. "Shortlist" means the process by which a responsible public entity will review, evaluate, and rank statements of qualifications submitted in response to a request for qualifications and then identify the proposers who are eligible to submit a detailed proposal in response to a request for proposals. The identified proposers constitute the shortlist for the transportation project to which the request for proposals relates. "Transportation agency" means (i) the Department or (ii) the Authority. "Transportation facility" means any new or existing road, highway, toll highway, bridge, tunnel, intermodal facility, intercity or high-speed passenger rail, or other transportation facility or infrastructure, including the South Suburban Airport but excluding all other airports, under the jurisdiction of a responsible public entity, except those facilities for the Illiana Expressway. The term "transportation facility" may refer to one or more transportation facilities that are proposed to be developed or operated as part of a single transportation project. "Transportation project" or "project" means any or the combination of the design, development, construction, financing, or operation with respect to all or a portion of any transportation facility under the jurisdiction of the responsible public entity, except those facilities for the Illiana Expressway, undertaken pursuant to this Act. "Unit of local government" has the meaning ascribed to that term in Article VII, Section 1 of the Constitution of the State of Illinois and also means any unit designated as a municipal corporation. "Unsolicited proposal" means a written proposal that is submitted to a transportation agency on the initiative of the private sector entity or entities for the purpose of developing a partnership, and that is not in response to a formal or informal request issued by a transportation agency. "User fees" or "tolls" means the rates, tolls, fees, or other charges imposed by the contractor for use of all or a portion of a transportation project under a public-private agreement.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 103-570, eff. 1-1-24; 103-864, eff. 8-9-24; 103-865, eff. 1-1-25; 104-417, eff. 8-15-25.)