Hired Truck Firms Brought In For Blizzard Cleanup
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The cost to clean up Chicago's third-largest snowstorm is beginning to add up, as the city starts receiving a flurry of bills.
The Chicago Sun-Times reports the city awarded $8 million in emergency contracts, three of them to companies involved in the infamous Hired Truck scandal.
The 32 contracts were all ordered on Feb. 3, the day after the blizzard ended, the Sun-Time reported.
Among the firms that received contracts was Power Sports Rental network of Appleton, Wis., which supplied the snowmobiles used by the Fire Department for rescues on Lake Shore Drive and other emergency calls, the Sun-Times reported.
The firms connected to the Hired Truck scandal were G.G. Connections of Willow Springs, S.A.S. Dump Inc., and KLF Trucking, the Sun-Times reported.
In an investigation launched by the Sun-Times last decade, it was discovered that the several trucking companies – some tied to organized crime – were being hired and asked to do little or no work.
The $8 million in contracts does not include Phase 4 of the city's snow plan, which calls for leasing heavy equipment and bringing in more crews during heavy snowfalls.
It is not known how the companies were chosen, or why the city chose companies involved in the Hired Truck program.
Meanwhile, north suburban Deerfield is asking the Federal Emergency Management Agency to reimburse some of its costs for blizzard response.
The village estimates it spent about $175,000 for snow removal, but it can only include costs from the most expensive 48 hours of emergency response.
Gov. Pat Quinn declared the entire state a disaster area following the blizzard.
The final total for the blizzard on Feb. 1 and 2 was 21.2 inches of snow.
