Alderman Ordered To Pay $64,000 In Construction Complaint Lawsuit

EVANSTON, IL — A judge last week ordered an alderman to pay tens of thousands of dollars to an Evanston couple who accused her of abandoning construction work on their home in 2013. Ald. Robin Rue Simmons, 5th Ward, must pay more than $64,000 to the homeowners, according a default judgement issued Wednesday by Cook County Associate Judge Thaddeus Machnik.

Sophie and Tommie Jenkins filed the lawsuit last March against Simmons and her contracting company, Signature Construction Services. It alleged the company carried out shoddy work, leaving a gut rehab of their home "substantially incomplete." The couple's complaint claimed Rue Simmons violated her contractual obligations when she "walked off the job."

The judge found Rue Simmons failed to show up to court or answer discovery, according to Pioneer Press, which was first to report the judgement. Her lawyer withdrew from the case in March, writing in his motion that Rue Simmons had "failed to fulfill an obligation to counsel."

Nevertheless, he told the Evanston Review, he has "always believed that this is a frivolous case with political motives." Following her lawyer's departure, Rue Simmons missed a May court hearing and neglected to file anything

Last year, Simmons filed a counter claim against the plaintiffs, accusing them of defamation. She told the Daily Northwestern the lawsuit was a "political hit," since it was filed a few weeks before the April 2017 election when the freshman alderman won her seat.

Rue Simmons told Patch Wednesday evening a new attorney filed a motion on her behalf earlier in the day.

"I had insufficient notice," she said. "We will be back in court soon."

The Evanston Board of Ethics held a hearing Tuesday on a separate complaint filed against Rue Simmons filed by an opponent in the election involving the city and an employer of Rue Simmons who does business with the city. The board dismissed the complaint, according to newly-appointed Corporation Counsel Michelle Masoncup.

The Board found that Alderman Rue Simmons acted reasonably by recusing herself from the City Council approval of the grant payment submitted by Sunshine Enterprises in January 2018. The Board stated that the allegations in Witenberg's complaint that addressed Rue Simmons conduct prior to taking office had previously been disposed of with Betty Ester's complaint filed in April 2017.

As a reminder, the Board found: her presentation to the Economic Development Committee gave the appearance of impropriety and a personal benefit could be inferred and potential conflict of interest under 1-10-4(c)(3)(b)(2). In this case, the Board finds that her presentation to the Economic Development Committee and her position on the MWEBE Committee was sufficiently tenuous that no violation of the Code of Ethics occurred.

Rue Simmons said she respected the committee's decision and was looking "forward to serving the 5th Ward with less distractions."