Wide tires, proper fit, good gloves and padded cycling shorts and/or spring saddle eliminate most of the issues of riding on rough roads.
Chicago is by no means the only place in the US with bad pavement!
Agree that suspesnion fork on a $1,200 tandem will not be the greatest.
A good tandem specific suspension fork will set you back a thousand bucks . . .
The Scwinn tandem frame looks sturdy enough and the odd tube arrangement makes for easy step-through mounting (great for shorter folks).
Give KHS a seious look!
Just our input.