Just last week, the Feds alleged that minorities and women were scammed out of city contracts worth $100 million. The allegation is not new to followers of city contracts in Chicago. It is the drumbeat since Mayor Richard Daley?s ascension to the role almost 15 years back.
As the business editor of the Chicago Defender, I followed most of the city contracts in the past four years and continue to blame minorities, especially African Americans as well as first generation African immigrants for their problems, especially the high rate of joblessness in their communities.
Blacks served and are still serving as consultants in the award of these contracts to these fronts. Instead of standing firm on the line of truth, ?you know how it is here in Chicago,? is what these consultants will tell you.
Erstwhile Executive Director, Black Contractors United (BCU) Rev. Ralph Andrew Tolbert was sacked when he called to question the questionable activities of some BCU members fronting for established non Black contractors for pennies. Besides, many of them are interested in using you to secure some jobs to keep body and soul together and thus compromise the overall interest of the people they represent.
A good example is the just-completed Soldier Field Stadium, home of the Chicago Bears. It was built for $680 million and $135 million of the construction cost was to go to minorities and women under the 25 and five percent minority participation in city and other contracts.
I dare anyone to show me that $5 million worth of the $135 million reserved for minority truly got to Black companies. On paper, over $100 million would have been credited to Blacks and other minority groups. Across Chicagoland over $10 billion construction jobs are going on and are expected to be completed in 10 years.
Going by city edit, 30 percent of the $10 billion or $300 million worth of contracts should go to minorities. Think of the job opportunities and economic development that will spring up on the South Side and West Side of the city if front companies camouflaging as genuine minority firms would allow the real Black and minority firms to get the contracts.
