(suntimes.com)
A side business run by a high-ranking Chicago firefighter received hundreds of thousands of dollars in municipal snow-plowing contracts even though city rules prohibit such deals.

An investigation by the Better Government Association found that Battalion Chief Tim Gibbons, who runs Tim’s Snowplowing, has received at least $250,000 in contracts with so-called Special Service Areas on the North Side.

Gibbons has been doing business with the service areas — neighborhoods where property owners pay extra taxes for enhanced city services — for at least five years, even though the contracts explicitly say city employees should not get such work.

“The City was made aware of accusations of potential contracting irregularities involving service providers and SSAs,” said Susan Massel, a spokeswoman for the city’s Department of Housing and Economic Development. “The City is working to determine whether there are any other City employees who are serving as SSA subcontractors.”


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