When
a controversy about accounting treatment of certain design firm expenses
factored into contract overhead rates turned up after IDOT neglected to audit
the billings of consultant McDonough Associates for nine years, IDOT’s chief
Procurement Officer Bill Grunloh suspended the firm for three years in a fit of
pique, and held back nearly $2 million in contract payments billed by McDonough.
Now a Chicago U. S. District Judge Milton Shadur has ordered IDOT to cough up
the money and lift the suspension.
Describing
the suspension as violating the procedures provided for in the Illinois
Administrative Code for contractor suspension, Judge Shadur said “Grunloh’s
actions were in clear absence of jurisdiction and exceeded his authority.” Last
Friday Judge Shadur chided IDOT’s lawyers for the agency’s suspension of
McDonough for “an illegitimate reason.” He went on to say “this is the way the
agency performs on a continuing and regular basis … If applied to every project
… we would still be operating with horse and buggy because IDOT would never get
anything done.”
Judge
Shadur’s orders put an end to what McDonough’s lawyers describe as “an abuse of
power,” and yesterday IDOT began paying out the $2 million owed to McDonough.
