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The city Inspector General’s Office is taking the Daley administration to court after issuing a subpoena last month. The IGO is demanding the city Law Department and its boss, Mara Georges, turn over documents and records concerning an unspecified no-bid contract awarded in 2006.
Chicago’s inspector general’s office sues the city
suntimes.com - 2 weeks ago - 194 views
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People: Andy Ryan | CAROL MARIN | Christopher Kozicki | Daley | David Hoffman | Jennifer Hoyle | Joseph Ferguson | Mara Georges | Mary E. Hodge
Organizations: Chancery Division | Cook County Circuit Court | Daley administration | Inspector General�s Office | Planning Department | United States Senate
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No bid or single bidder, Hugh?
The City of Chicago Inspector General may find that this contract attracted few respondents, creating the impression that it was a "no-bid" contract.
If this were the case, procurement professionals must then decide whether to award the contract to the sole bidder or to rebid the contract.
Why is it very common for few prospective contractors to bid dozens of requests for bid, requests for information or requests for proposal each year? One explanation may be the project's technical complexity, schedule, performance penalties or bidder qualification criteria. Short-order cooks might recognize a political "set aside" in the guise of abbreviated project completion schedule, out-sized insurance requirements, certifications, minority business set aside requirements, or responsibility assumed for environmental remediation.
One such example of a recent Chicago Park District bid on the new Soldier's Field parking control system, included a provision for replacing the nearby Burnham Harbor surface parking lot electronic gates & connecting this to the new parking structure (several hundred feet distant). On a recent Lake Michigan cruise visit to Burnham Harbor, the antiquated system was found to remain in place.
Contracts to install fence required bidders to propose pricing for a variety of different types of fence, including fencing which was seldom installed. With advance knowledge, the successful bidder might "low ball" that aspect of the work & win the contract.
O'Hare Airport construction required that bidder demonstrate that a liability insurance company would write a $5Million umbrella insurance policy to cover prospective contractors.
The 1990's extension of fiber optic cable to provide a data communications network for the State of Illinois Toll Highway Authority attracted just three bidders.
The 1997 Cook County Department of Corrections fire detection bid attracted just three bidders, one of which claimed to be a precinct captain for an influential member of the Chicago City Council.
In short, the City of Chicago Inspector General's Office may find fertile ground in their subpoenaed inquiry.
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