(2) by a contract let without advertising for bids in

    (b) In determining the lowest responsible bidder, the county board shall take into consideration the qualities of the articles supplied; their conformity with the specifications; their suitability to the requirements of the county; the availability of support services; the uniqueness of the service, materials, equipment, or supplies as it applies to networked, integrated computer systems; the compatibility to existing equipment; and the delivery terms. In addition, the county board may take into consideration the bidder’s active participation in an applicable apprenticeship program registered with the United States Department of Labor. The county board also may take into consideration whether a bidder is a private enterprise or a State-controlled enterprise and, notwithstanding any other provision of this Section or a lower bid by a State-controlled enterprise, may let a contract to the lowest responsible bidder that is a private enterprise.
     (c) This Section does not apply to contracts by a county with the federal government or to purchases of used equipment, purchases at auction or similar transactions which by their very nature are not suitable to competitive bids, pursuant to an ordinance adopted by the county board.
     (d) Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section, a county may let without advertising for bids in the case of purchases and contracts, when individual orders do not exceed $35,000, for the use, purchase, delivery, movement, or installation of data processing equipment, software, or services and telecommunications and inter-connect equipment, software, and services.
     (e) A county may require, as a condition of any contract for goods and services, that persons awarded a contract with the county and all affiliates of the person collect and remit Illinois Use Tax on all sales of tangible personal property into the State of Illinois in accordance with the provisions of the Illinois Use Tax Act regardless of whether the person or affiliate is a “retailer maintaining a place of business within this State” as defined in Section 2 of the Use Tax Act. For purposes of this subsection (e), the term “affiliate” means any entity that (1) directly, indirectly, or constructively controls another entity, (2) is directly, indirectly, or constructively controlled by another entity, or (3) is subject to the control of a common entity. For purposes of this subsection (e), an entity controls another entity if it owns, directly or individually, more than 10% of the voting securities of that entity. As used in this subsection (e), the term “voting security” means a security that (1) confers upon the holder the right to vote for the election of members of the board of directors or similar governing body of the business or (2) is convertible into, or entitles the holder to receive upon its exercise, a security that confers such a right to vote. A general partnership interest is a voting security.
     (f) Bids submitted to, and contracts executed by, the county may require a certification by the bidder or contractor that the bidder or contractor is not barred from bidding for or entering into a contract under this Section and that the bidder or contractor acknowledges that the county may declare the contract void if the certification completed pursuant to this subsection (f) is false.