The Tennessee House and Senate speakers say they will seek a review of a no-bid contract with a real estate firm because it once counted Governor Bill Haslam among its investors.
The Haslam administration hired Chicago-based Jones Lang LaSalle for a $1 million contract to consult on office space issues. That deal has since evolved into a five-year, $38 million contract to manage all state-owned and leased properties outside of higher education.
Before his election in 2010, Haslam included Jones Lang LaSalle among the dozens of companies in which he held investments of more than $10,000. He has since placed his investments other than family-owned Pilot Flying J into a blind trust. Haslam's office denies the stake in the company influenced the contract.
