Summary
CHICAGO, May 15, 2026 — John Stamps, owner of Allied Services Group Inc. (ASG), today announced a lawsuit against the City of Chicago after the City stripped his company of its longstanding contract to transport deceased persons for the Chicago Police Department — awarding it instead to a bidder whose submission was riddled with disqualifying deficiencies.
Filed May 11, 2026 in Cook County Circuit Court (Case No. 2026CH04532), the complaint alleges the City violated Illinois procurement law, selected a company that was not the lowest responsible bidder, and abruptly cut off ASG weeks before its contract was set to expire — without providing the written notice required under the agreement. The result: grieving Chicago families waiting hours for their loved ones to be collected, and police officers stranded at scenes for hours at a time, unable to respond to other emergencies.
Allied Services Group Says City Awarded Lucrative Contract to Unqualified Bidder While Forcing Out 14-Year Incumbent; Grieving Families Left in Limbo, Police Tied to Scenes for Hours as Delays Mount
CHICAGO, May 20, 2026 — John Stamps, owner of Allied Services Group Inc. (ASG), today announced a lawsuit against the City of Chicago after the City stripped his company of its longstanding contract to transport deceased persons for the Chicago Police Department — awarding it instead to a bidder whose submission was riddled with disqualifying deficiencies.
Filed May 11, 2026 in Cook County Circuit Court (Case No. 2026CH04532), the complaint alleges the City violated Illinois procurement law, conducted an unfair bidding process, and abruptly cut off ASG weeks before its contract was set to expire — without providing the written notice required under the agreement. The result: grieving Chicago families waiting hours for their loved ones to be collected, and police officers stranded at scenes for hours at a time, unable to respond to other emergencies.
“We did everything right for 14 years,” said John Stamps. “We picked up bodies within 75 minutes — sometimes in as little as 20. We met every requirement. And the City threw all of that out the window to give the contract to a company that couldn’t even fill out the bid correctly. The people of Chicago deserve better.”
“The City of Chicago ignored its own rules, handed a multimillion-dollar contract to a company that couldn’t fill out the paperwork correctly, and then cut off a 14-year partner without a single word of written notice,” said John D. Scheflow, attorney for Allied Services Group at Gardiner Koch Weisberg & Wrona.
“That’s not a procurement process — that’s a betrayal of the public trust. We are going to court to make this right, and we are going to win.”
A Trusted Partner — Abruptly Discarded
ASG has served the City of Chicago since 2011, transporting deceased persons to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office. In 2017, the City awarded ASG a formal contract valued at $7.13 million, which was later extended through August 14, 2025, for an additional $4.17 million.
Stamps and his team maintained rapid response times, consistently meeting the City’s 75-minute standard — and frequently far exceeding it. ASG employed 20 full-time workers and maintained all required insurance coverage and compliance documentation.
A Flawed Bid That Should Have Been Rejected
When the City issued a new solicitation in 2024, both ASG and Wallace Harrison Funeral Home, Inc. (WHFH) submitted bids by the October 16, 2024 deadline. According to the complaint, WHFH’s bid contained multiple, facially apparent deficiencies, including:
• Missing required Workers’ Compensation, Automobile Liability, and Umbrella insurance certificates
• Failure to provide MBE/WBE certification letters from the City of Chicago or Cook County, as required
• No MBE/WBE subcontractor identified — only a note stating “our WBE is in progress”
• No request for a reduction or waiver of MBE/WBE goals, as required when goals are not met
• Only five (5) employees listed to serve all of Chicago’s 2.7 million residents, with no subcontractors and a workforce listing that reads simply “TBD”
Despite these deficiencies, the City awarded the $4.45 million contract to WHFH on May 9, 2025.
A Human Cost: Families Left Waiting, Officers Tied Up, City Left Exposed
The consequences of the City’s decision are not abstract. Since WHFH took over the contract, media reports have documented body removal delays of four to eight hours — a devastating contrast to ASG’s standard of 75 minutes or less, often as fast as 20.
For families who have just lost a loved one, those hours matter enormously. Whether a death occurs at home, at a crime scene, or in a hospital, families are left in anguish — unable to begin the grieving process, unable to make funeral arrangements, and unable to find any measure of closure — while they wait for a response that should come in minutes.
Former ASG employees report still receiving calls from grieving families asking where help is.
The toll on law enforcement is equally serious. Chicago police officers — already stretched thin across a city of 2.7 million — are being forced to stand post at scenes for hours waiting for body removal, pulling them away from active calls and other emergencies. What should be a dignified, efficient handoff has become a prolonged drain on public safety resources at a time when the city can least afford it.
Concerns have also been raised about a potential conflict of interest at the heart of the City’s decision. Wallace Harrison Funeral Home is not a neutral transport provider — it is an active funeral home business with a direct financial interest in the families whose loved ones it removes.
Questions have been raised about whether a contractor that transports bodies from homes and crime scenes, and is simultaneously in the business of selling burial and funeral services, creates an inappropriate opportunity to solicit grieving families at their most vulnerable. ASG, by contrast, operated exclusively as a transport company with no such conflict. Those questions merit scrutiny from the City, oversight bodies, and the public.
On approximately July 1, 2025, while its contract was still in effect, ASG was prevented from continuing its work — without the written termination notice explicitly required under the contract. The complaint alleges this constitutes a breach of contract causing damages in excess of $150,000.
Legal Claims and Relief Sought
The complaint brings two counts against the City of Chicago:
Count I — Statutory Violation: Under 65 ILCS 5/8-10-3(a), Illinois municipalities must award contracts to the lowest responsible bidder. The complaint alleges that ASG was that bidder, and that awarding the contract to WHFH violated the law.
Count II — Breach of Contract: The City failed to provide contractually required written notice before terminating ASG’s contract, cutting off work weeks before the agreement was set to expire.
ASG is seeking injunctive relief to stop the City from continuing under the WHFH contract, a declaration that ASG is the rightful awardee, and damages exceeding $150,000. A hearing is scheduled for July 13, 2026 before Judge Doretha Renee Jackson in Cook County Circuit Court, Courtroom 2305.
About Allied Services Group Inc.
Allied Services Group Inc. is a Chicago-based company specializing in the dignified transportation of deceased persons on behalf of law enforcement and government agencies. Founded and led by John Stamps, ASG has served the City of Chicago for more than 14 years, operating from its principal office at 600 W. Cermak Road, Suite 202, Chicago, IL 60616.
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Case: Allied Services Group Inc. v. City of Chicago, Case No. 2026CH04532, Cook County Circuit Court, Chancery Division. Represented by Thomas G. Gardiner and John D. Scheflow of Gardiner Koch Weisberg & Wrona, Chicago, IL.