Cook County takes aim at M/WBE fraud
Published on 03/17/2014
Cook County is amending its minority and women-owned business (M/WBE) program in an effort to eliminate fraud in its contracts.
On March 12th, the County Board increased penalties for contractors that fail to meet M/WBE program requirements. For instance, companies that fall short of their M/WBE participation goals may be required to pay the difference between the contractual goal and the actual goal achieved.
Furthermore, the changes take aim "pass-throughs", which are M/WBEs that receive kickbacks for allowing prime contractors to list them as subcontractors when in reality they perform no commercially useful function on a project. M/WBEs that misrepresent their status can be fined up to $2,500, have their contracts terminated, and be barred from county contracts for up to five years.
"My administration remains committed to ensuring that M/WBEs share an equal footing with larger companies seeking to do business with Cook County," County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said. "These changes will ultimately promote greater participation of M/WBEs on County contracts and enhance our ability to hold contractors who cut corners accountable."
