Chicago firm Infrastructure Engineering Inc., submitted the highest of three bids to design and build a parking lot at one of Cook County's facilities, but it won the $298,000 contract anyway.

The firm, which has made campaign donations to county board President Todd Stroger and several commissioners, was awarded the job yesterday to build a 500-space parking lot at the county's Hawthorne Warehouse.

County Commissioner Tony Peraica, R-Westchester, criticized the contract, which came in $50,000 higher than that of the lowest bidder, Dynasty Group Inc. And in discussing the issue, the Republican candidate for Cook County State's Attorney even alluded to dirty politics.

"This is highly improper," Peraica said. "With a capital 'C.'"

However, county officials yesterday strongly defended the choice of Infrastructure, pointing to the firm's experience with large parking structures similar to this job's 220,000 square feet.

The low bidder had experience with only one project of 200,000 square feet, said Bruce Washington, director of capital planning and policy.

"In the evaluation of the proposal, you look at the ability of the builder in doing the job," Washington said. "The low bidder did not meet all the requirements for the job. (Infrastructure) clearly presented the best work plan."

Infrastructure has built large lots at Midway Airport, McCormick Place and a Metra station in Crystal Lake, according to county staff.

"We felt those jobs gave them the edge," Washington said.

The contract was approved 8-7.

Commissioner John Daley, D-Chicago, who voted to approve, said the contract did not deserve such intense scrutiny.

"If we're going to micromanage every decision made, we're in for a rude awakening," he said.

Commissioner Joan Murphy, D-Crestwood, chastised Peraica for insinuating that the bid was awarded based on campaign donations.

"Contributions to election campaigns are not illegal," said Murphy, whose name was not on the list of beneficiaries from Infrastructure.

A partial listing provided by Peraica and comprised entirely of Democrats, included Stroger ($3,000) and commissioners William Beavers ($10,000), Bobby Steele ($3,725), Larry Suffredin ($750) and Jerry Butler ($500). Chicago Mayor Richard Daley ( $1,500) and Gov. Rod Blagojevich ($31,000) also made the list.

In other county commission news, the board unanimously approved a $3.2 million settlement to compensate 100 victims of patronage hiring or promotion between 2000 and 2007.

Commissioner Mario Moreno, the chairman of the litigation sub-committee, noted that most of the claims were before Stroger's administration.

“For clarity purposes, this is something that will redress wrongs of the past,” said Moreno. “And I am glad to part of this team from 2006-2010 that cleaned this up. We’re the new sheriffs in town, so lets put the right picture on its face.”

And at the Sept. 17 meeting, the board is expected to approve the hiring of Patrick Blanchard as independent inspector general. Blanchard was one of three finalists for the job selected by the Cook County Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Association. Stroger removed himself from the selection process to ensure he had no influence on the decision.

Correction: This article has been updated to reflect that Commissioner Mario Moreno was the source of the quote regarding "new sheriffs in town." An earlier version of the article used slightly different wording, and attributed the quote to another commissioner.