Federal Janitorial RFPs in the Chicago Metro (2026)

Federal contracting authority in Chicago

Chicago is the headquarters of GSA Region 5 (Great Lakes Region) at 230 S. Dearborn St., covering federal real estate procurement for Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Region 5 administers janitorial service contracts at GSA-managed federal buildings through the Public Buildings Service (PBS). Independent procurement authorities also operate within the metro: the Department of Veterans Affairs (Network Contracting Office 12), NAVFAC Midwest at Naval Station Great Lakes, and the U.S. Courts (Northern District of Illinois) for federal courthouse facilities.

Major Chicago-metro federal facilities procuring janitorial services

• John C. Kluczynski Federal Building — 230 S. Dearborn St., Chicago (~1.2M sq. ft.; GSA PBS).
• Everett McKinley Dirksen Federal Courthouse — 219 S. Dearborn St., Chicago (~245,000 sq. ft.; U.S. District Court NDIL procurement). A FY25 carpet cleaning RFQ was issued July 14–25, 2025 with a base year (September 10, 2025 – September 9, 2026) plus three option years.
• Ralph H. Metcalfe Federal Building — 77 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago (GSA PBS).
• Jesse Brown VA Medical Center — 820 S. Damen Ave., Chicago, IL 60612.
• Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital — 5000 S. 5th Ave., Hines, IL 60141.
• Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center — 3001 Green Bay Rd., North Chicago, IL 60064 (combined DoD/VA contracting).
• Naval Station Great Lakes — 2601 Paul Jones St., Great Lakes, IL 60088 (NAVFAC Midwest).

Service Contract Act wage determinations for Cook County

Federal janitorial contracts over $2,500 employing service employees are governed by the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act (41 U.S.C. §§ 6701–6707; 29 CFR Part 4). The applicable occupation code is SCA Code 11150 — Janitor under SCA Directory Category 11000 (General Services and Support). Current wage determinations for Cook County are published on SAM.gov in the 2015-series format (e.g., WD 2015-5xxx); the exact revision number must be pulled fresh from SAM.gov immediately before bid. Note: On March 14, 2025, EO 14236 revoked EO 14026, ending the $15/hr federal contractor minimum wage floor. Underlying SCA prevailing rates remain in effect. See the GSA MAS SCLS wage determination refresh #27 (June 26, 2025) for MAS-specific updates.

Illinois state prevailing wage (state contracts only)

State and local government janitorial contracts in Cook County (not federal SCA contracts) fall under the Illinois Procurement Code prevailing wage regime administered by IL DOL. Effective July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026 in Cook County:

• Janitor: $22.40/hr
• Head Custodian: $22.60/hr
• Health & Welfare: $967.20/month (employee only)
• Pension: $56.00/week

Source: IL DOL FY2026 Cook County Janitorial Wages.

AbilityOne mandatory source review

Before any open-market solicitation at a federal facility, contracting officers must check the AbilityOne Procurement List under the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act (41 U.S.C. §§ 8501–8506). If janitorial services at the facility are on the list, the contract is a mandatory set-aside through SourceAmerica or the National Industries for the Blind. The program generated approximately $4.7 billion in federal sales in FY 2025 (~41,000 workers with disabilities employed; FY 2024 awards totaled $4.58B). Chicago-area AbilityOne nonprofits include Challenge Unlimited, Inc. (Alton, IL).

SBA size standard and set-aside thresholds (NAICS 561720, 2026)

• Size standard: $22 million in average annual receipts (5-year average) per the SBA Table of Size Standards (last updated December 26, 2024). An August 2025 SBA proposed rule to increase receipts-based standards is still under review.
• 8(a) Business Development: ≤$22M, SBA-certified.
• HUBZone: ≤$22M; principal office and ≥35% of employees in a HUBZone-designated tract.
• SDVOSB: ≤$22M; verified through SBA VetCert (mandatory since January 1, 2023).
• WOSB / EDWOSB: ≤$22M; NAICS 561720 is an underrepresented industry eligible for EDWOSB sole-source up to $7M.
• FAR Part 19: Contracts under $250,000 are automatically set aside for small business competition (subject to two-firm rule of two).

Practical first steps for Chicago-area bidders

• Register in SAM.gov with NAICS 561720 as a primary code and pull the active Cook County WD before every bid — wage determinations are revised multiple times per year.
• Verify AbilityOne status on the target facility before investing bid time. If the building is on the Procurement List, only AbilityOne nonprofits can compete.
• Get on the GSA Region 5 small business outreach list via the GSA Office of Small & Disadvantaged Business Utilization. Industry days for janitorial are typically announced 60–90 days before major recompetes.
• Build past-performance evidence for federal scale: CPARS ratings, square-footage cleaned, security clearance experience (HSPD-12 PIV-ready staff is a discriminator at Dirksen and the VA).

Data sources: GSA Region 5 · SAM.gov SCA Wage Determinations · DOL WHD Service Contract Act · IL DOL Prevailing Wage · AbilityOne Commission · SBA Size Standards Table · USAspending.gov. Last reviewed: June 2026. Author: Opora Editorial Team.