DuPage Co. (ECWd) –

All indications are the COD Board of Trustees have been asleep at the wheel.  You would have to be to get to the numbers shown below for the Herricane Graphics no bid money train.

Is this Pay to Play?

Herricane Graphics contracts :

• 2012 Contract Value  – $90,340.00 (click here for board approval document)
• 2014 Contract Value – $96.022.26 (click here for board approval document)

Total two contract value – $186,362.26

Total paid to date based on Voucher documents from COD is $651,270.37, of which $16,726.06 predates the first contract. (Click here for Vouchers)

Change Orders according to COD –$411,576.15 between October 2012 and November 2014  (Click to see Change Orders) 

Just two of those change orders were for $82,326.00 and $81,118.75 each.  (See pages 29 and 34)

Who actually believes $163,444.75 in change orders in less than 60 days, tied to a single contract that was only for $90,340.00, is not a Pay to Play situation? 

How else can you explain $411,575.75 in change orders on two contracts that only totaled $186,362.26? 

Most government contracts require a whole new bidding process take place when changes exceed 20%, but not in the case of COD. According to the records, they merely have to get board approval.  I suspect Breuder and his team took full advantage of the trustee’s ignorance on such matters, and came to understand they rarely challenged such change orders, so let the money stream flow!

As our whistle blower said,   “we must use Carla for relationship purposes even though her quotes had come in significantly higher.” 

If this does not point to serious internal control problems and possible Pay to Play I don’t know what does.