Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Chicago Tribune

The Cook County Board Tuesday rejected a short-term contract with a politically connected company to clean the County Building, citing concerns that the county was handing out a sweet-heart deal just weeks after laying off dozens of janitors

Board President Todd Stroger said the county needed the four-month, $357,000 contract with We-Clean Maintenance & Supplies Inc. of Berwyn until competitive bids could be received for a longer-term deal.
As part of budget cuts approved in February, the board cut 83 janitorial positions from the sheriff's department. Sheriff Tom Dart in response reassigned all 34 janitors from the downtown County Building to various courthouses.

Stroger said although the contract was rejected, the county did not have the funds to rehire the laid-off janitors. A Stroger spokesman said the administration would work with the sheriff's department to keep the County Building clean until a bid is accepted on a new contract.