State Rep. Ed Sullivan, R-51st, of Mundelein, has asked Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office to investigate the dramatic rise in the price local towns are paying for rock salt compared to last year.
“Obviously, there has been some issues regarding the price of road salt throughout the state of Illinois, and specifically in Lake and McHenry counties,” he said. “We’ve seen a 300 percent increase in the price of salt in our area.”
Sullivan said last year most Lake County communities paid $41.65 per ton for salt, and this year they will pay $138.52 per ton.
Sullivan is chief sponsor of House Resolution 1579, which would direct the state’s Auditor General to conduct a public audit of the procurement process used by the Illinois Department of Central Management Services (CMS) to purchase rock salt for more than 700 units of local governments for snow and ice removal for the 2008-2009 season.
Sullivan said he is asking that his resolution for a public audit of CMS procurement procedures be called during the General Assembly’s fall veto session next week.
“Most of the communities that participated in CMS’s joint purchasing pool will be forced to pay exorbitant and unprecedented prices in order to maintain safe roads this winter,” he said. “This is a serious problem that needs to be explained and corrected by those in charge.”
Sullivan said there have been wide variances in what different communities in the state are paying for salt through the state’s procurement process. He said communities in some areas of the state will pay less than $60 a ton, while other areas will pay as much as $171 a ton. He said most communities in Lake and McHenry counties will pay $138.52 cents a ton.
“We need to find out why there is such a large discrepancy in those numbers,” he said.
Robin Ziegler, a spokesperson for Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office, said the attorney general supports Sullivan’s call for an audit of state procurement procedures of rock salt.
“The attorney general absolutely supports the resolution and is sending a letter to each member of the Legislative Audit Commission to urge the Auditor General to conduct the audit,” she said.
Ziegler said a number of communities have contacted the attorney general’s office about the high salt prices and have asked them to look into the cause.
She said the attorney general’s office is investigating whether there may have been any antitrust violations by suppliers for price fixing, but so far has not found evidence of that. She said high demand for salt because of last year’s severe winter and shortages caused by problems with barges getting salt shipments up the Mississippi River during summer floods seem to be the major reasons for the high prices.
By JOHN ROSZKOWSKIjroszkowski@pioneerlocal.com
http://www.pioneerlocal.com/highlandpark/news/1272604,G3-saltprobe-111108-s1.article
