As the old cliche goes, there are two seasons in Chicago: winter, and road construction.
But there’s a chill over the construction season in parts of the region as 20 projects totaling more than $50 million are now on hold — with their groundbreaking likely not happening until next year or beyond — amid an ongoing, year-long dispute between the Illinois Department of Transportation and the apparent low bidder on the jobs, Builders Paving LLC.
Those projects are planned for parts of Chicago and 30 suburbs, including: Arlington Heights, Aurora, Berwyn, Bloomingdale, Broadview, Buffalo Grove, Cicero, Des Plaines, Elburn, Elgin, Elk Grove Village, Glencoe, Kenilworth, Lincolnwood, Lockport, Lyons, Maywood, Morton Grove, Niles, North Riverside, Park Ridge, Riverwoods, Rosemont, St. Charles, Schaumburg, Skokie, Stickney, Sugar Grove, Wheeling and Winnetka.
Much if not all of the work — which involved resurfacing and other infrastructure improvements — was slated to start in 2025, but now that’s probably not happening, meaning some communities will have to deal with bad pavement for a while longer.
Communities with impacted road projects
Note: Map markings are approximations of project locations.
Source: Illinois Department of Transportation
“As result of recent lettings” — bid solicitations — “the number of contracts in which Builders Paving is the low bidder but awards have not been made is now 20, valued at more than $50 million,” an IDOT spokeswoman says.
Referring to a pending lawsuit by Builders against IDOT, the spokeswoman adds, “It is likely that construction activities may not proceed on any of those projects this construction season due to the ongoing litigation and approaching winter season.”
Those projects involve more than 40 miles of roadway, records show.
Based in Hillside, Builders is allowed to bid on IDOT construction projects but the state government agency is not formalizing contracts with the company because officials say they’re still conducting an internal investigation to try to determine whether felon Sebastian “Sam” Palumbo is, or has been, secretly involved in the business.
Top Builders executives include a Palumbo daughter, Kaitlyn Palumbo Gandy, and her husband Ryan Gandy.
Sebastian “Sam” Palumbo was banned from state and federal projects after he and several other construction firms were caught up in a massive fraud case in the 1990s that revealed taxpayers, and employees, were ripped off. Palumbo, a brother and their father did prison time.
A lawyer for Builders and Palumbo has denied Palumbo has anything to do with Builders, but he’s declined to answer certain questions, including whether Palumbo helped seed the company or served in any kind of advisory role.
Builders sued IDOT this year to try to force the agency to award road contracts the company says it’s entitled to — undoing the “pause” IDOT has placed on the business.
IDOT officials countered in court filings they “received reports that Palumbo is involved in the day-to-day operation of plaintiff’s business” and are continuing their internal review.
The Builders lawsuit has gone after IDOT’s top lawyer, Michael Prater, who the company has been trying to make sit for a sworn deposition. The agency has resisted.
A court hearing is scheduled for next month.
Builders officials haven’t responded to questions in recent weeks.
In previous hearings, they’ve asserted the delays are not only harming the company — which is believed to be growing, and has done work for numerous other government agencies including Cook County’s highway department and the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority — but also depriving local towns of needed road improvements for residents.
In northwest suburban Wheeling, municipal officials completed a more-than-$3 million water main replacement project on Dundee Road on an “accelerated basis” so it would be ready in time for IDOT to break ground on a resurfacing initiative along the same stretch this past summer.
But then, the village got word from IDOT that its bid process would be moved to September and the start date on the resurfacing work would be delayed to next year, though no explanation was given.
Builders appears to have been the low bidder.
“I don’t know if there’s any correlation between their contractors and the timeline,” said Wheeling’s deputy village manager and public works director, Dan Kaup, adding that while it’s not costing the village additional money, “our residents will have to live with bad pavement for at least another year.”