Springfield School Board Pays $125,000 Premium to Contract with Union Vendor

The Springfield School Board did not choose the lowest bidder to install a geothermal wellfield, which cost taxpayers an additional $125,000.

 by Lee Williams

The Springfield School Board did not choose the lowest bidder to install a geothermal wellfield at Southeast High School during Tuesday’s board meeting.

Instead, the board went with the second-lowest bidder, which cost taxpayers an additional $125,000, a sum that equates to roughly two starting teacher salaries plus benefits, 2,500 textbooks or the school district’s share of property taxes from 125 families.

Insiders say the school board chose the more expensive bid because the lowest bidder, Durbin Enterprises of Beecher City, is a merit shop while the winning bidder employs union workers.

Springfield School Board President William Looby, who works as political director of the Illinois AFL-CIO, did not return calls seeking comment about his board’s decision.

Folks at Durbin Enterprises weren’t told their bid was rejected because they’re a merit shop. Their bid was rejected for other reasons, although they’re still somewhat in the dark.

“We gave the board a presentation, asked them to be good stewards of the taxpayer dollars, and told them they shouldn’t spend an additional $125,000,” said Durbin spokesperson Jennifer Doedtman. “Instead, they threw our bid out. There might have been some labor organization pushing to get us out because we’re a merit shop contractor—because we’re an open shop.”

Durbin Enterprises is a privately-owned company that has drilled thousands of geothermal wellfields throughout Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Ohio. They employ 24 people, and have been in business for 12 years.

“We are a responsible bidder and we pay prevailing wage,” Doedtman said. “We’ve successfully completed school district work before, and have done work at colleges, schools, private homes—we’re a reputable company.”

Durbin Enterprises first learned there might be problems on March 1 when the bids were opened. Doedtman said school board officials told her there were “issues” with the company.

“They specifically asked if we had any Department of Labor violations,” she said.

Durbin Enterprises had one prevailing-wage violation on record from 2008. An accounting error occurred regarding an employee’s health insurance. Once her firm learned of the error, it immediately took corrective action, Doedtman said.

Durbin Enterprises disclosed this lone violation and their remedial action as part of the bidding process, and they included two letters from the Illinois Department of Labor that showed the firm was in compliance with state law, said Alicia Martin, president of the Associated Builders and Contractors Inc. of Illinois.

Martin’s association represents more than 400 industrial and commercial construction firms in Illinois.

Martin knew all along that Durbin Enterprises would probably lose the bid.

“I expected it to go this way, given the makeup of the board,” she said.

Martin pointed out this episode highlights a larger, systemic problem within the Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) regarding enforcement of the state’s Prevailing Wage Act.

Currently, IDOL provides a public hearing process for violations of the Act, but only for second violations. There is no due process available for the first violation, like the one Durbin Enterprises experienced in 2008.

“Not only did they not receive due process, they went back and paid the money owed—back pay for benefits—and still the violation was used against them,” Martin said.

Any firm receiving a second sustained violation of the Prevailing Wage Act, Martin said, could face a four-year debarment from bidding on public works projects.

More worrisome, is that third parties can lodge frivolous complaints against a firm they’re seeking to outbid, and the victim has no right to due process, she said, adding that a legislative fix is in the works.

Senate Bill 1389, sponsored by Sen. Dale Righter, R-Mattoon, would offer an investigatory process for every violation of the Prevailing Wage Act, and impose a $5,000 fine for anyone who knowingly files a false or frivolous complaint. The bill is currently assigned to the Senate Labor Committee.

“The bill would allow due process after the first violation,” Martin said. “Right now, when a company gets its first prevailing wage complaint, there’s no way to fight it.”

Contact investigative reporter Lee Williams at (217) 638-8054 or lee@illinoispolicy.org