The mayor of Riverdale is under federal investigation for allegedly receiving secret payments from a landscaping materials and recycling firm that was granted approval to open in the south suburb several years ago despite the protests of a rival company, according to records and sources familiar with the probe.
A federal grand jury subpoena sent to the village by the U.S. attorney’s office two weeks ago demanded contracts, payments, communications and other records pertaining to the company, Riverdale Materials LLC, and its owners, James and Kelly Bracken, according to a copy of the subpoena obtained by the Tribune through an open records request.
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The subpoena, which was dated May 9, also requested records pertaining to Riverdale Mayor Lawrence Jackson, including any ethics or conflict-of-interest statements he has signed during his tenure.
“Such records should include any disclosures of outside employment or records indicating additional employment,” the subpoena stated.
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Investigators also requested any an all records pertaining to Centennial Holdings LLC, a company Jackson founded in 2018 listing his Riverdale home as its principle office, records show.
One day after the subpoena was issued, the FBI raided Jackson’s small brick bungalow in the 14500 block of South Union Avenue that he shares with his wife.
Sources with knowledge of the investigation told the Tribune that it involves allegations that the Brackens were secretly funneling money to Jackson and a relative around the same time the mayor was helping approve permits the company needed to operate.
The probe is ongoing, and no criminal charges have been filed. The mayor could not immediately be reached Friday for comment. Messages left for both James and Kelly Bracken had not been returned.
Riverdale Materials, which opened in 2017, touts itself as a “well-equipped, locally-sourced aggregate material supplier” that serves the greater Chicago area, including northwest Indiana.
“Besides supplying high-quality materials, Riverdale Materials is also a transfer facility able to recycle a variety of materials including dirt, concrete, brick, and asphalt, allowing you to keep up with the best practices in the industry,” the company’s web site states.
State campaign records show companies affiliated with James and Kelly Bracken have donated more than $30,000 to Jackson’s campaign fund from 2016 to 2021, including an $8,177 in-kind contribution supporting Jackson’s 2019 golf outing at George Dunne National golf club in Oak Forest.
The donations were made through three Markham-based companies owned by the Brackens: Brackenbox Inc., KLF Excavating, and Utility Transport Services, Inc. All three of those companies were named in the subpoena sent to Riverdale.
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Another Bracken-owned company named in the subpoena, Morris Dirt, lists the Riverdale Materials site as one of its business addresses, records show. According to its web site, Morris Dirt sells topsoil and pulverized soil that has “minimal rocks to interfere with the health of plants, flowers, and grass.”
Riverdale Materials, meanwhile, is currently embroiled in a federal lawsuit filed in 2018 by Tri-State Disposal, which operates a similar facility on South Ashland Avenue and for years had contracts for garbage hauling in Riverdale, court records show.
In 2017, Tri-State opposed Riverdale Materials’ business application to the village board, arguing the company was not abiding by strict environmental requirements and was hiding illegal waste dumping on its property.
According to the lawsuit, which is pending in U.S. District Court in Chicago, Jackson stacked the deck in favor of Riverdale Materials, including firing the chairperson of the village’s Zoning Board of Appeals and loading it with “persons politically connected to the mayor.”
After the board approved the application for Riverdale Materials, Jackson had a sign with his photo posted at the company’s site stating “ANOTHER BUSINESS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE HONORABLE MAYOR LAWRENCE JACKSON,” according to the suit, which included an image of the sign.
“Despite strong opposition from the plaintiff and the public, this matter was politically rigged from the beginning in favor of Riverdale Materials and to the detriment of the people of the Village of Riverdale, and their health, safety, welfare and environment,” the lawsuit alleged.
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In addition to the zoning board allegations, the lawsuit also accused the village of breach of contract after Riverdale announced in March 2018 that it would not be renewing Tri-State’s contract for garbage pickup.
The next month, Jackson sent Tri-State a letter on official Riverdale letterhead accusing the company of a “hostile and harassing style of commination,” including “telephone calls on my personal cell phone that I deemed to be inappropriate and offensive,” according to a copy of the letter filed in court records.
“I am requesting that Tri-State Disposal cease all communication by telephone,” Jackson’s letter read. “Going forth, all communication must be in writing. This policy will ensure a respectable means of communication until we are able to sever and end our contractual obligations.”
U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis dismissed some of the claims in the lawsuit in 2019. The village, meanwhile, has asked the judge to dismiss the remaining counts, arguing in a motion for summary judgment filed in January that the allegations are “supported only by speculation and conjecture.”
An attorney representing Riverdale and the mayor in the lawsuit, John Wise, said in a statement to the Tribune that the village “is confident that the remaining counts of the complaint will be dismissed pursuant to the summary judgment motion, just as numerous other counts have previously been dismissed as baseless.”
The criminal investigation of Jackson is the latest federal probe involving Riverdale, which has a population of about 13,000 and has long been beset by budget woes and allegations of corruption.
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First elected mayor in 2013, Jackson is serving his third straight term after besting rival and former Riverdale Mayor Deyon Dean in the 2021 primary.
In 2014, Chicago real estate developer and ex-government mole John Thomas was sentenced to five years in federal prison after pleading guilty to stealing more than $375,000 in taxpayer funds earmarked for a development along the Little Calumet River in Riverdale. He admitted using the cash to pay off personal debts and other expenses.
Jackson told the Tribune in an interview at the time that even though Thomas was ordered to pay back the embezzled money, Riverdale would continue to feel the repercussions of his fraud for years.
“It’s a step in the right direction, but unfortunately the village of Riverdale will never be made whole because of the deceptive, fraudulent practices of Mr. Thomas,” Jackson said then.
In his last bid for reelection, Jackson told the Daily Southtown he had a record of cost savings, improved efficiency and greater accountability.
“When I came into office in 2013, this village was saddled in lawsuits and investigations,” Jackson said. “We couldn’t pay our bills. I’ve been able to stabilize government. We renegotiated contracts, restructured debt and got Riverdale on a path to solvency.”
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Jackson, who previously served as a Cook County corrections officer, is paid a $69,900 annual salary, plus health benefits and an automobile allowance, according to the village code.
