Questions Due Date: Oct 2nd 2024, 12:00 PM CDT Online Portal When required in the Contract Documents, the Bid Proposal shall be accompanied by, cashier's check, certified check, bank draft or surety bond in the amount shown in the legal advertisement or as may be prescribed in these Contract Documents. A certified or cashier's check shall be drawn on a responsible bank doing business in the United States and shall be made payable to the order of the County of Cook. The surety issuing the bond must have a general rating of "A", and shall be a Class VII or higher in the financial size category as defined by Best Company Inc., Moody's Investor Services, Standard & Poor's Corporation or similar rating agency. The surety must be licensed by the State of Illinois Department of Insurance and be listed in the current U.S. Treasury Circular 570 when federal funds are being used. Failure to submit the bid deposit shall constitute a non-responsive Bid Proposal and such Bid Proposal shall be rejected. When required in Bid Documents, the successful Bidder shall furnish a Performance and Payment Bond in the full amount of the Contract on the County Form, a specimen of which shall be provided. The Surety issuing the Performance and Payment Bond must have a general rating of "A" and shall be a Class VII or higher in the financial size category as defined by Best's Key Rating Guide-Property and Casualty, or have such ratings as specified in the Contract Documents. In the event that the Bidder fails to furnish the Performance and Payment Bond within fourteen (14) calendar days after service of the Notice of Award, the County may elect to retain Bidder's bid deposit as liquidated damages and not as a penalty and reject the Bid. The parties agree that the sum of the bid deposit is a fair estimate of the amount of damages that the County will sustain due to the Bidder's failure to furnish the Performance and Payment Bond and the termination of the Contract. In the case of Contracts not approved by the Board, the Chief Procurement Officer may amend a contract provided that any such amendment does not extend the Contract by more than one (1) year, and further provided that the total cost of all such amendments does not increase the total amount of the Contract beyond $150,000. Such action may only be made with the advance written approval of the Chief Procurement Officer. If the amendment extends the Contract beyond one (1) year or increases the total award amount beyond $150,000, then Board approval will be required.