City Hall's light punishment of deceptive contractor stinks

There's always been two sets of rules in Chicago — one for the politically connected, and one for everybody else — and it's past time for that to end.

Sun-Times Watchdogs reporters Tim Novak and Robert Herguth gave the city yet another example of this truism in their latest investigation on Benchmark Construction, which over the years has gotten tens of millions in city contracts by falsely claiming to be a Chicago-based company.

The city has a program that gives Chicago companies an advantage when bidding for contracts, so suburban-based Benchmark's dishonesty was a clear attempt to game the system — and it carried the potential of getting the company booted from the city's procurement program.

In fact, the city's Inspector General Deborah Witzburg suggested that very thing, proposing that Benchmark be banned from getting future municipal water and sewer work.

But Mayor Brandon Johnson's administration instead decided to reach a settlement with Benchmark last month that allows the company to keep getting city business.

Wrong move.

Misrepresentations ‘to obtain bidding advantage’

Witzburg's office found Benchmark was awarded five sewer contracts under Mayors Rahm Emanuel and Lori Lightfoot while claiming to be a Chicago company. The city's program gives Chicago companies looking to land municipal contracts a 4% competitive advantage over other bidders.

But according to records, most of the employees on the city projects Benchmark won were assigned to the company's office in Barlett, a suburb 35 miles northwest of downtown Chicago.

"The contractor made these misrepresentations to obtain a bidding advantage on infrastructure contracts of significant value — specifically, the contractor was awarded all five contracts, which were collectively valued over $50 million," the inspector general wrote in her latest report.

That report makes it all crystal clear, accusing the company of “making false statements to obtain a bid ... using false statements to obtain some benefit ... falsely claiming to be eligible for the Chicago Business Preference.”

Benchmark isn't some struggling business, by the way. The company has been involved in $1 billion in city infrastructure projects since 2002.

So what were the conditions of the settlement?

According to the terms, Benchmark agreed to pay $100,000 to fund Department of Procurement Services efforts to promote women- and minority-owned businesses. In addition, Benchmark's president, Mark Atkins Sr., agreed to retire, leaving his son Mark Atkins Jr. in charge.

The company will also hire an auditor and an attorney to advise on submitting bid packages to City Hall and will stop claiming to be a Chicago business when it applies for city work for the next two years.

The department's chief, Sharla Roberts, is entitled to reach settlement agreements, though disbarment proceedings against Benchmark began during the Lightfoot administration and continued under Johnson. But, a DPS spokesperson told Novak and Herguth, the company "negotiated in good faith with DPS and agreed to take corrective actions."

No kidding. We can see why: Benchmark's "punishment" seems light enough to make a slap on the wrist seem like cruel and unusual punishment.

And even while the inspector general investigated Benchmark, the Johnson administration awarded the company three lead pipe replacement projects — crucial work the city must carry out — that could be worth as much as $39 million each, according to the city.

‘Business as usual’ once again

That Benchmark would essentially put its thumb on the scale to get city work should be outrageous to anyone who cares about fairness and good government.

A city employee who gets their job by falsely claiming to be a Chicago resident would be fired, and rightly so. Benchmark received the kid glove treatment for doing essentially the same thing.

Johnson took office last year with the promise there would be no more "business as usual." But allowing politically connected contractors — Benchmark has made ample donations to politicians over the years — to essentially skate after flagrantly defying guidelines is very much the usual business.

And letting Benchmark off the hook so easily — it's not a stretch to view it as rewarding dishonesty — is an insult to honest companies that participate in the Chicago Business Preference program.

An insult to Chicago's taxpayers as well.

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