From the Southtown Star:
Why Oak Lawn needs a lobbyist
March 30, 2008
By Kristen McQueary
Cook County Board member Larry Suffredin, of Evanston, often jokes about the virulent nature of his multiple titles: politician, lawyer and, perhaps most offensive, lobbyist.
When you lobby public officials for your cause, whether it's Special Olympics or the tobacco industry, there's a stink factor involved. Just close your eyes and say "lobbyist."
Do images of pinky rings, cigars, ugly neckties and dirty deals spring to mind? I thought so.
But if you've been around politics long enough, you understand the essential role lobbyists play in the sausage-making process of government. Especially in Washington, where hundreds of moving parts churn on a daily basis, it is impossible for a congressman or congresswoman to know everything. Lobbyists help funnel and foster information and relationships. As long as elected officials maintain a level of distance and integrity, there is no shame in working with lobbyists.
The village of Oak Lawn wants to hire a lobbyist to represent its interests in Washington, D.C. The village feels abandoned. On one hand, money in Washington is tight. On the other hand, the spigot never dries for certain special interests. Oak Lawn wants a piece of the action.
Keep in mind we're talking about money for roads, public safety, parks. This is not a billion-dollar industry hiring clout-heavy lobbyists to further the unworthy cause of creating corporate tax loopholes.
But mention the word "lobbyist," and the public tends to pinch its collective nose.
Complicating the issue is Oak Lawn's toxic political climate. Mayor Dave Heilmann and his allies are at war with Trustee Jerry Hurckes, whose full-time job happens to be chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-3rd).
Why would Oak Lawn, of all places, need to spend taxpayer money on a lobbyist when it has the congressman's chief of staff on its village board?
For precisely that reason. To avoid conflicts of interest moving forward, fistfights about who deserves credit for what, and because Hurckes shouldn't be blending his roles of trustee and chief of staff, Oak Lawn should consider hiring a Washington, D.C.-based firm.
As long as the firm is paid a reasonable retainer fee with an easy exit clause and the firm proves its usefulness through structured accountability measures - a quarterly, precise summary of its activities, for example - the move could prove to be a wise one for taxpayers.
"There are probably hundreds of potential program dollars somebody could get access to that a local congressman, who doesn't serve on the committee of jurisdiction, doesn't know about," said Suffredin, whose clients have included municipalities.
While Congressman Lipinski is responsible for advocating and advancing the interests of his Oak Lawn constituents, he is only one man.
"(Lipinski) represents 35 communities. How big is his staff? Do the math," said Oak Lawn village manager Larry Deetjen, who supports hiring a "federal advocate" to lobby on behalf of the village.
But as is the case with most issues in Oak Lawn, both sides of this fight are missing the bigger picture.
Heilmann and his supporters are using hiring a lobbyist as a political tool to discredit Lipinski and Hurckes rather than taking the issue off the political bonfire and considering it on its merits.
Hurckes, meanwhile, opposes hiring a lobbyist because he doesn't want his political enemies to do an end-run around him. It's a silly argument for him to make, considering the elder Lipinski, former U.S. Rep. William Lipinski, is a lobbyist who does work for local governments, including Bedford Park.
Now, if Oak Lawn was considering hiring a lobbying firm to represent its interests in Springfield, I would oppose it. Many villages, including Oak Lawn, pay membership fees to the Illinois Municipal League, have at least two state representatives and a senator to advocate for them and often are members of other groups such as Southwest Council of Mayors, South Suburban Mayors and Managers, various chambers of commerce and Township Officials of Illinois, to name a few.
Villages don't have that multi-layered representation in Washington. In Oak Lawn's case, it has a junior congressman and two U.S. senators, one of whom is busy running for president.