Rosemont firm run by mayor’s brother loses longstanding contracts at Allstate Arena

For the first time in some four decades, a Rosemont janitorial services company run by a member of the Stephens family won’t have the contracts to clean the village-run Allstate Arena and manage its parking lots.

Bomark Cleaning, headed by Mayor Brad Stephens’ brother Mark Stephens, has had the janitorial contracts for a number of municipal-owned venues since the 1980s, when their father Donald E. Stephens was mayor.

But village officials decided last October to put out a request for proposals to see if they could get a better deal.

Of the four firms that responded, the pricing offered by Elgin-based BAC Restoration was “a little better,” said Village Attorney John Donahue.

Bomark submitted the highest bid for nonsupervisory staff to clean the 18,500-seat indoor stadium and nearby box office — a rate of $37 per hour — compared with BAC, which had the low bid of $30.95 per hour.

BAC also had the low bid for supervisors’ wages — $32.90 an hour — while Bomark was second lowest: $42.95 an hour.

Other bidders were facilities firms Metro and Midway, which had the $47.97-an-hour high bid for supervisors, according to bid tabulation results released Tuesday following a Freedom of Information Act request.

For the parking contract, Midway had the lowest bids, followed by BAC. Bomark was either third or fourth highest, depending on supervisory or nonsupervisory rates.

The job includes directing vehicles, collecting cash and operating arena-issued credit devices, then reconciling the payments to stadium’s accounting department after events.

The Northwest suburban municipality — run for decades by members of the Stephens family and other longtime village residents — has a long history of no-bid deals and working with preferred contractors. But on occasion, under Brad Stephens — who has been mayor since 2007 — the village goes out to bid.

The mayor wasn’t part of the internal village hall selection committee to review the four proposals and interview their managers, and he deferred comment to two people who were on the panel: Donahue and Village Trustee Jack Dorgan.

They, along with financial adviser Steve Hoopes, Allstate Arena Executive Director Pat Nagle and Operations Director George Theo, held a series of meetings before the village board Monday inked new one-year agreements for cleaning and parking with BAC Restoration.

“They were all good companies,” Dorgan said.

Mark Stephens, who founded his cleaning company in 1981, didn’t respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Village board meeting minutes show officials last re-upped with Bomark for cleaning at the arena, Rosemont Theatre and Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in 2024.

Dorgan said cleaning contracts for all village facilities were looked at, and new agreements could be approved at upcoming board meetings.

Bomark has cleaned the village-owned stadium — then known as the Rosemont Horizon — since the mid-1980s.

In a 2014 interview with the Daily Herald, Mark Stephens said he was proud of his work with village government and companies he cleans for.

“We do a fantastic job. I’m proud of my affiliation with Rosemont,” he said. “I'm going to make no secret about the fact that I own Bomark Cleaning, and I’m proud to have the village of Rosemont as a customer.”

The new cleaning and parking contracts take effect May 1, and include options for three successive one-year renewal periods at the village’s choosing.