Clarendon Hills Pushes $1.9M No-Bid Downtown Project, Drawing Opposition

CLARENDON HILLS, IL – Clarendon Hills officials are pushing a $1.9 million no-bid project to improve downtown, a plan that is already drawing opposition.

The latest proposal comes two months after a board majority rejected a nearly $3.3 million no-bid project, with a trustee calling it "too spendy." The amount was nearly three times the village's estimate during the spring.

The Village Board plans to vote on the new proposal at its meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Village Hall.

As before, the proposed contract would go to Rosemont-based Christopher Burke Engineering, which works for many area towns.

Eliminated from the new plan are street pavers, a zero-grade design, light poles and string lights.

However, it still includes what has proven controversial – removable bollards that would keep cars from entering the Sloan Triangle on Prospect Avenue. This "flexible gathering space" would be for special events, officials say.

Originally, the village proposed replacing the triangle with a permanent plaza. But many residents opposed that idea, saying it would cause traffic backups.

In July, residents, including a former village trustee, argued against going with a no-bid contract. But officials argued they had done design-build deals before with engineering firms, resulting in high-quality work.

"Burke chose contractors that have a track record of expeditiously completing projects in suburban downtown business districts on time and under budget," Village Manager Paul Dalen said in a memo released Thursday. "The contractors have been sensitive to limiting the impacts of construction on local businesses. Staff would not recommend bidding this project out as the area is too important to be left to whomever offers the lowest price."

On Thursday, Angela Sartori, a leading opponent of the village's downtown proposals, asked trustees to reject the latest plan. She called it "rushed" with "ZERO proof of safety."

"Test this first," she said in a Change.org post. "They could have conducted a test all year long, but this board already knows that last year's pilot test closure caused 'vehicles stuck on the tracks,' 'back-ups almost to the railroad tracks' and 'delivery trucks blocking southbound lanes.'"