Gov't Relations Corner: New City Bid Incentive For Hiring Ex-Offenders

Mayor Emanuel introduced a new bid incentive on July 20, 2016, designed to assist ex-offenders in acquiring gainful employment and also give city contractors a break on locally-funded construction projects with an estimated contract value of at least $100,000. Per the press release, "contractors who employ ex-offender apprentices will be awarded a bid incentive on future bids, based on the total number of labor hours performed by the individuals under the contract. The bid will be applied on a sliding scale: if five to 10 percent of the total labor hours are performed by ex-offender apprentices, the bid incentive will be 0.5 percent of the contract base bid; and if 11 to 15 percent of the total labor hours are performed by ex-offender apprentices, the bid incentive will be one percent of the contract base bid." Read the full press release for more information on this incentive.