La Grange Wrong On Labor Rules: State Agency

LA GRANGE, IL — La Grange officials are wrong in how they interpret a law that gives preference to Illinois companies on public works projects, a state official says.

Last month, village attorney Mark Burkland told the Village Board that the Illinois Preference Act does not apply to public works projects that are paid only with local taxpayer dollars.

With that advice, the Village Board majority voted for the low bidder, a Michigan company, for a tower painting project. This followed a debate in which one trustee urged his colleagues to support the second lowest bidder, an Illinois company.

A couple of days later, Painters District Council No. 14 asked the state Department of Labor about Burkland's advice. A top official told the union that the village was incorrect.

"Any project (municipal or state) that uses taxpayer dollars is subject to the Illinois Preference Act," Robert Parrilli, a department division manager, said in an email. "You can send this email to the municipality and if they like, I will address them on this matter."

Parrilli also said Burkland misstated state law by saying a project required 40 percent Illinois workers. Parrilli said the requirement was 90 percent.

At the board meeting, the village chose Seven Brothers of Shelby Township, Mich., which bid $568,000 for the project. A company representative, Validmir Vushaj, told the board he had documents showing his firm had paid $26,000 in Illinois sales taxes in 2019, demonstrating how his company benefits the state economically.

In his email, Parrilli said that amount pales in comparison to the effects of the 90 percent requirement.

"Employing four workers who reside in Illinois that pay sales tax, property tax, income tax and participate in the local economy for a lifetime adds up significantly more than the $26,000 in sales taxes Mr. Vushaj of Seven Brothers claims they contribute," Parrilli said.

Burkland couldn't be reached for immediate comment.

The Labor Department's email was read by a union representative at Monday's Village Board meeting, but no officials, including Burkland, responded to it.

At the meeting, union representatives urged the board to revoke its contract with Seven Brothers. The next lowest bidder is suburban Wauconda-based Jetco, which was $25,000 higher than the Michigan company's bid. The village's engineer considered both Seven Brothers and Jetco as qualified bidders. All six bidders were well under the engineer's estimate of $1.1 million.

Painters union representative Joe Cordero said Seven Brothers has been in trouble with the Department of Labor before. In 2016, the department found the company violated the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act, resulting in the company paying $27,900 for back wages and $5,600 in penalties, according to public records.

"Is this the type of company that you want to do business with just because you want to save a little money?" Cordero said. "I feel the board made a decision with incomplete and incorrect information."

Tom Carroll, a La Grange resident, urged the board to go with in-state businesses.

"I know unions have a bad name, but not everybody is bad," he said.

Village Board President Mark Kuchler responded, "I can assure you that unions do not have a bad name in the village of La Grange. We support unions 100 percent."