Saying the $340 million price tag was “over the estimate of our staff,” Cook County President John Stroger announced Monday that he was rejecting the lone bid for building the new Cook County Hospital.
The bid, opened Thursday, was submitted by a joint venture formed by the politically connected firms of Walsh Construction and Riteway Construction.
Stroger said his staff is reviewing a county ordinance, adopted last March, requiring businesses based outside the county to be lower than local bidders by 2 percent. In the case of the new hospital, that could mean at least $6 million.
Stroger said “a misunderstanding” among contractors about which companies qualify under the ordinance coupled with a strong construction market that is keeping builders busy may have contributed to the low number of bids.
Though disappointed with the delay, which officials do not expect will affect the 2002 opening of the new hospital, Stroger said the amount of the bid forced him to reject the proposal. The proposal was approximately $40 million more than county estimates.
“I could not live with that,” said Stroger, a Democrat.
Stroger added that with additional time and with the review of the local preference ordinance, the county hoped to attract both local and out-of-state contractors who can meet the target price. Although he stopped short of saying he would seek to have the ordinance repealed, Stroger apparently intends to seek its revision.
“We’re going to use the necessary time to get somebody who wants to do the project without robbing the people of Cook County,” Stroger said.
Stroger said he had contacted the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board, the state agency that oversees hospital construction, about seeking a three-month extension to the agreement under which the county is building the 464-bed facility.
According to its agreement with the state, the county needs to have a construction contract signed by Dec. 1. Stroger said County Hospital officials will make a presentation before the Planning Board in late November seeking the extension.
Officials with the Health Facilities Planning Board said requests for extensions are common. The state board approved the 464-bed hospital and also would have to approve any delay in building it.
Ray Passeri, executive secretary of the board, declined to speculate on whether the extension would be granted so that the project could be rebid. “Every case is evaluated individually,” Passeri said.
To receive approval for delaying the project without having to go through a time consuming, and potentially politically explosive, project review, hospital officials must submit a formal written request to the planning board.
The $340 million bid from Walsh/Riteway that was opened last week covered construction of the hospital building, utility hookups and roadways. The total cost for the new hospital, including equipment, is slated at $551 million.
County Board members, both Republican and Democrat, praised Stroger’s decision.
“I’m delighted he saw the light,” said Republican Commissioner Richard Siebel, a critic of Stroger’s new hospital plan.
Democratic Commissioner Jerry Butler agreed, saying, “I think the president did a wise thing.”
County officials said the delay in signing a construction contract is unlikely to mean the opening date of the new facility, early 2002, would be delayed.
“I don’t think it automatically translates into a delay down the road,” said Michael LaMont, director of capital planning for the county. “And while we’re asking for a three-month extension with the state, it doesn’t mean we’re going to have to take three more months to get this going.”
