UpdatedWed, Feb 24, 2021 at 7:22 am CT Reply(1) La Grange Trustee Lou Gale asked his colleagues Monday to choose the second lowest bidder for a project because it is an Illinois firm. The trustees, however, voted 4-1 for the lowest bidder. (Shutterstock) LA GRANGE, IL — A La Grange trustee on Monday proposed choosing the second lowest bidder for a tower painting project because it is an Illinois company, bypassing the low bidder, an out-of-state firm. A union endorsed going that route. After a debate, the trustees went with the lowest bidder, Seven Brothers Painting of Shelby Township, Mich. All six bidders — half of them from out of state — turned in bids far lower than the engineer's estimate of $1.1 million. The bids ranged from $568,000 to $881,000. Wauconda-based Jetco was the second lowest bidder, about $25,000 above the low bid. The village's engineer considered both Seven Brothers and Jetco as qualified bidders.