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$479,000 pothole in Dan Ryan ad billings(Chicago Tribune (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Mar. 28--State auditors are questioning nearly $500,000 paid to advertising agencies retained by the state to inform motorists about the Dan Ryan Expressway reconstruction project that starts Friday, according to documents obtained by the Tribune. The audit documents, obtained through sources at the Illinois Department of Transportation, say little or no documentation backs up thousands of dollars in taxpayer money paid by IDOT to politically connected ad firms to sponsor events such as the Bud Billiken Day Parade and Today's Black Women Expo. The auditors questioned how those events helped educate drivers on how to steer clear of the massive $600 million highway project. Taxpayers also paid $25,000 as reimbursement for sweat suits, polo shirts, T-shirts, pens, bracelets and key chains with no documentation that the items were ever purchased, the audit documents said. Another $150 covered the costs for an ad agency official to attend a dinner honoring Robin Black, who had been IDOT's chief of staff. Black, who resigned in December, signed off on many of the payments in question, auditors noted. The public also paid former state Rep. Charles Morrow (D-Chicago) $23,566 in questionable reimbursements for insurance premiums and alleged overbillings for work at an advertising agency, auditors said. In all, at least $479,400 in questionable billings and expenditures were cited by state auditors in reviewing IDOT's contracts with Danielle Ashley Communications, Universal MazJac Enterprises Inc. and E.Morris Communications for public relations and community outreach work for the Ryan project and related highway construction upgrades. The three firms were paid a total of $3.7 million for work dating to late 2003, IDOT said. The review by Auditor General William Holland, which is to be made public Tuesday, covers July 1, 2004, and June 30, 2005. Though an agency audit is scheduled once a year, this one comes at a critical time for IDOT, which is gearing up for the area's biggest road reconstruction project amid hopes that many South Side drivers will find alternate routes. Holland said he does not comment on audits before they are publicly released. An IDOT spokesman acknowledged there were "irregularities" with the contracts and that the agency as a rule investigates questionable contracts. In addition, spokesman Matt Vanover said the agency accepts some responsibility for the lack of documentation, saying staffers didn't request the proper information from the ad firms. "Part of that is IDOT's fault," he said. "Some of our staff were not properly trained. Plus, when you are working with some new and emerging companies, they are not always accustomed to bureaucratic red tape that comes with working for a state agency." IDOT staff members have since undergone training to make sure contractors supply the proper documentation. Vanover said that the three firms are "uniquely qualified" for the public outreach work and that IDOT looks to hire minority firms, especially on a project that directly affects minority neighborhoods. "It's important to work with small companies, minority-owned companies, and to work with them in order to communicate our message and to have diversity within our workplace and in our projects and with our communications," he said. But the review by state auditors raised questions about the selection of the ad firms. Auditors said records showed that the Ashley firm ranked lowest among potential bidders in terms of its technical expertise and third-highest in price. Auditors also said IDOT provided no documentation to show why the public relations duties were split among three vendors, which combined received more money than each firm individually bid to do the entire job. Officials at Ashley and E. Morris did not return calls. Mazonne Jackson, the president of Universal Mazjac, said he has not "been privy to any of the information" in the audit. "Everything you're telling me is news to me," Jackson said. Ashley and the firm's president, Tracey Alston, have donated more than $68,000 to Democratic politicians in the last six years, including $7,500 to Gov. Rod Blagojevich and $22,400 to Senate President Emil Jones (D-Chicago), state campaign finance records show. Ashley got $76,000 from Blagojevich's 2002 campaign for governor for media work, the records show. Among questionable state payments cited by auditors was $60,600 to three Ashley subcontractors, including Resolute Consulting. No supporting documents for the billings were provided, and auditors said that because they weren't listed on Ashley's contract, auditors were unable to verify what the payments were for. Resolute's president, Greg Goldner, was the Chicago and Cook County director of Blagojevich's 2002 campaign and campaign manager for Mayor Richard Daley's 2003 re-election. Goldner previously worked for the embattled mayoral Office of Intergovernmental Affairs under Victor Reyes and has consulted for Reyes' political group, the Hispanic Democratic Organization. MazJac lists the Illinois Democratic Party among its clients, along with IDOT and the Illinois secretary of state's office, Ald. Walter Burnett (27th) and his wife, Democratic State Central Committeewoman Darlena Williams-Burnett. Blagojevich used the firm for $15,000 worth of consulting in his 2002 campaign, state records show. Auditors also said that due to a lack of documentation involving the purchase of broadcast time, they could not determine whether commercials involving the Ryan reconstruction were ever aired. Those media buys were made by E. Morris Communications, which donated $3,000 to Blagojevich in 2002 and $1,000 to Jones in January 2005. More than $390,000 in questionable billings and expenditures cited by auditors involved Ashley, which recently saw its contract with IDOT increased by more than $1 million after the ad agency spent its three-year contract allotment in one year. Auditors raised questions about Ashley reimbursements ranging from a $5 cab ride to $47,500 in event sponsorship fees for such events as the Billiken parade and concerts such as the NeoSoul Explosion, with no supporting documents. [email protected] [email protected] Tribune staff reporter Todd Lighty contributed to this report |