Clout-heavy contractor linked to federal investigations at Chicago City Hall and in the suburbs

At the heart of James Bracken’s multifaceted trucking, demolition and excavation operation is a small office in south suburban Markham surrounded by piles of dirt and rigs rumbling in and out of a trucking yard.

Out front, a reserved parking spot is the only obvious sign of Bracken’s authority. But the unassuming office and dusty parking lot belie the clout Bracken and his family wield throughout Chicago and Cook County.

The businesses have garnered government contracts from across Cook County worth up to $250 million for demolition services, equipment rental and materials. At the same time, Bracken and the businesses themselves have contributed nearly $375,000 over the past two decades to a wide array of local elected officials, including a half-dozen who have been charged or come under federal investigation.

Now it’s Bracken who finds himself embroiled in two separate federal criminal probes, both tied to his business enterprise.

The first concerns the south suburbs of Riverdale and Harvey where indictments in just the past few weeks involve Bracken and his companies, though he’s not charged in either case. The second is focused around possible fraud in the city of Chicago’s minority-owned business programs where federal authorities have sought scores of records for Bracken city contracts.

In the south suburbs, Riverdale Mayor Lawrence Jackson earlier this month on charges he accepted secret funding for his trucking business from Bracken and his wife and then lied about it in a civil deposition. He pleaded not guilty at an arraignment Tuesday at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse and was released on a recognizance