Title: Going Private: How privatization and social enterprise ... - JD Supra
Title: Cook County Gives Social Enterprises an Edge! By: Marc J. Lane Copyright: 2017 The Law Offices of Marc J. Lane, P.C. Date: November 1, 2017
Cook County, Illinois, the second most populous county in the United States, continues to lead by example. On October 11, the Cook County Board passed the first procurement ordinance in the nation to encourage financially self-sustaining social enterprises. The Cook County Social Enterprise Ordinance, which I was privileged to draft, favors organizations that are supplementing the charitable donations and grants they receive with revenue earned by the businesses they own and run, instrumentalities of mission in their own right; and for-profit social-purpose businesses that define success in terms of both financial and social returns. Under the terms of the Ordinance, a County contract is to be awarded to a social enterprise when its bid is no more than five percent higher than the bid of the lowest bidder that’s not a social enterprise. To qualify, the bidder must have its principal place of business and a majority of its regular, full-time work force located in the “County Marketplace” – including Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will Counties. The bidder must also establish that it’s both driven by mission and earning business revenue. Illinois low-profit limited liability companies automatically qualify since they are bound by charitable or educational priorities that can’t be waived or negotiated away. And so do Illinois benefit corporations, mandated by law and charter to pursue a public benefit. But the Ordinance is agnostic as to form. So any nonprofit or for-profit entity – or even any business unit that maintains its own book and records – can qualify for the procurement preference as long as it relies on earned-revenue strategies and directly addresses social needs through its goods or services, through its employment of “disadvantaged people,” or both. “Disadvantaged” is defined expansively to include people who are mentally, physically or economically disadvantaged – those who are living below the poverty line, the developmentally disabled, the mentally ill, substance abusers, recovering substance abusers, the elderly in need of hospice care, gang members, those on welfare, and people with arrest or conviction records. The Ordinance was enacted by the Cook County Board on the recommendation of the Cook County Commission on Social Innovation, which is chaired by Cook County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia and which I’m honored to serve as Vice Chair. The Commission is a permanent agency of 70 W. Madison Street, Suite 2050 • Chicago, IL 60602-4256 • Phone: 312.372.1040 • Nationally: 800.372.1040 • Fax: 312.346.1040 • www.marcjlane.com
County government whose role is to incubate actionable social policy recommendations for consideration by the Cook County Board. The Commission sees the Cook County Social Enterprise Ordinance as transformative. Not only will it promote the growth and development of social enterprises as they directly address the social needs of the County’s residents. It is also likely to lead to the adoption of socially impactful procurement policies by other government units within Illinois and beyond. And it should inspire businesses which already require their vendors to conduct themselves in an ethical, socially responsible and environmentally friendly manner to give special consideration to mission-driven vendors. Together, we can replace supply chains with "value chains" – for the benefit of all of us, including the most vulnerable among us.
Marc Lane is an attorney, financial adviser and the author of Profitable Socially Responsible Investing? An Institutional Investor’s Guide, published by Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC, and Representing Corporate Officers, Directors, Managers, and Trustees, published by Aspen Publishers. We invite you to reach out to Marc in confidence and learn how Marc J. Lane Investment Management, Inc. can add value to your investment portfolio. He can be reached at [email protected] or 312-372-5000. Reprinted from Marc Lane's November 1, 2017 newsletter, The Lane Report. Copyright © 2017 The Law Offices of Marc J. Lane, a Professional Corporation. All rights reserved. Read more: http://www.marcjlane.com/news/2017/11/01/2017-lane-reports/cook-county-gives-social-enterprises-an-edge/
70 W. Madison Street, Suite 2050 • Chicago, IL 60602-4256 • Phone: 312.372.1040 • Nationally: 800.372.1040 • Fax: 312.346.1040 • www.marcjlane.com
Cook County, Illinois, the second most populous county in the United States, continues to lead by example. On October 11, the Cook County Board passed the first procurement ordinance in the nation to encourage financially self-sustaining social enterprises. The Cook County Social Enterprise Ordinance, which I was privileged to draft, favors organizations that are supplementing the charitable donations and grants they receive with revenue earned by the businesses they own and run, instrumentalities of mission in their own right; and for-profit social-purpose businesses that define success in terms of both financial and social returns. Under the terms of the Ordinance, a County contract is to be awarded to a social enterprise when its bid is no more than five percent higher than the bid of the lowest bidder that’s not a social enterprise. To qualify, the bidder must have its principal place of business and a majority of its regular, full-time work force located in the “County Marketplace” – including Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will Counties. The bidder must also establish that it’s both driven by mission and earning business revenue. Illinois low-profit limited liability companies automatically qualify since they are bound by charitable or educational priorities that can’t be waived or negotiated away. And so do Illinois benefit corporations, mandated by law and charter to pursue a public benefit. But the Ordinance is agnostic as to form. So any nonprofit or for-profit entity – or even any business unit that maintains its own book and records – can qualify for the procurement preference as long as it relies on earned-revenue strategies and directly addresses social needs through its goods or services, through its employment of “disadvantaged people,” or both. “Disadvantaged” is defined expansively to include people who are mentally, physically or economically disadvantaged – those who are living below the poverty line, the developmentally disabled, the mentally ill, substance abusers, recovering substance abusers, the elderly in need of hospice care, gang members, those on welfare, and people with arrest or conviction records. The Ordinance was enacted by the Cook County Board on the recommendation of the Cook County Commission on Social Innovation, which is chaired by Cook County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia and which I’m honored to serve as Vice Chair. The Commission is a permanent agency of 70 W. Madison Street, Suite 2050 • Chicago, IL 60602-4256 • Phone: 312.372.1040 • Nationally: 800.372.1040 • Fax: 312.346.1040 • www.marcjlane.com
County government whose role is to incubate actionable social policy recommendations for consideration by the Cook County Board. The Commission sees the Cook County Social Enterprise Ordinance as transformative. Not only will it promote the growth and development of social enterprises as they directly address the social needs of the County’s residents. It is also likely to lead to the adoption of socially impactful procurement policies by other government units within Illinois and beyond. And it should inspire businesses which already require their vendors to conduct themselves in an ethical, socially responsible and environmentally friendly manner to give special consideration to mission-driven vendors. Together, we can replace supply chains with "value chains" – for the benefit of all of us, including the most vulnerable among us.
Marc Lane is an attorney, financial adviser and the author of Profitable Socially Responsible Investing? An Institutional Investor’s Guide, published by Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC, and Representing Corporate Officers, Directors, Managers, and Trustees, published by Aspen Publishers. We invite you to reach out to Marc in confidence and learn how Marc J. Lane Investment Management, Inc. can add value to your investment portfolio. He can be reached at [email protected] or 312-372-5000. Reprinted from Marc Lane's November 1, 2017 newsletter, The Lane Report. Copyright © 2017 The Law Offices of Marc J. Lane, a Professional Corporation. All rights reserved. Read more: http://www.marcjlane.com/news/2017/11/01/2017-lane-reports/cook-county-gives-social-enterprises-an-edge/
70 W. Madison Street, Suite 2050 • Chicago, IL 60602-4256 • Phone: 312.372.1040 • Nationally: 800.372.1040 • Fax: 312.346.1040 • www.marcjlane.com
