Ex tollway chair: No ownership, pay for Wheeling Station deal

Former Illinois tollway chairman John Mitola said Sunday he didn't publicly disclose a Wheeling development deal with a construction company because he wasn't making money on it and had no ownership stake.

Mitola described his ties to Wheeling Station LLC, a condo and commercial proposal, as amounting to an unpaid favor for investors Rossi Contractors and Michael Rumman, who once headed Gov. Rod Blagojevich's procurement and hiring department.

Mitola is listed as a manager on incorporation records, pitched the development to Wheeling officials, gained village approval and acts as a contact person for village officials.

"It is literally something I help out with once every three months," Mitola said Sunday. "My primary goal there is that they are friends of mine."

The Daily Herald reported on the undisclosed Wheeling Station development Saturday. Mitola didn't respond to repeated attempts to reach him at the time and said Sunday he was busy with family issues.

However, good government groups say Mitola's connections to a major construction company, a suburb surrounded by the tollway and Rumman - a former business partner of convicted influence peddler Tony Rezko - should have been made public to at least dispel any concerns about potential conflicts of interest.

The development deal has been in the works since at least 2007. Mitola resigned the tollway board Thursday after six years at the helm.

"If he has these relationships or even the hope of future earnings and these ongoing business ties, that is exactly the sort of thing the public ought to know," said David Morrison, deputy director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, which has pushed for stricter disclosure requirements.

Mitola said every year he ran his economic interest statement by an attorney to be sure he was following the law.

Mitola said Sunday he doesn't have any ownership interest in the project and he said he hasn't been paid for any of his services on the deal as a manager or consultant. The economic interest statements require the disclosure of any "ownership interest" of $5,000 or more in an entity doing business in the state or from which $1,200 or more in income was gained.

"I think the laws are clear and you follow the laws and the rules," Mitola said in defending his ethics statements.

Mitola said he had a role in introducing the two principle investors, Rumman and Rossi Contractors.

Construction on Wheeling Station remains on hold due to the economy.

Mitola said he would have disclosed the deal had Rossi been a tollway contractor.

Tollway spokeswoman Joelle McGinnis said Rossi, who operates out of Northlake, has not been a primary tollway contractor since 1998.

Mitola said that he is not aware of Rossi ever doing work for the tollway, as a primary contractor or subcontractor, while he was in charge.

"If Rossi were active contractors for the tollway, I would have clearly disclosed it in numerous ways, but it was my understanding they were not," he said. "The entire arrangement was completely outside of anything to do with the tollway."

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=313957">Former tollway chairman's undisclosed land deal raises flags <span class="date">[8/15/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>