From the Rockford Register Star

Mayor hired lobbyist to push sales tax
The city’s legal director said it was necessary to help move the initiative.
By Aaron Chambers
RRSTAR.COM
Posted Apr 21, 2008
SPRINGFIELD —
When Rockford Mayor Larry Morrissey called on lawmakers last spring to allow the city to begin early collection of a higher sales tax, he hired a professional political insider to help fix the deal.
His administration paid $5,000 for a contract lobbyist. City legal director Patrick Hayes said the hired clout was necessary to get the mayor’s office through to state Senate President Emil Jones Jr., D-Chicago.
“We needed help with being able to speak directly or indirectly with the Senate president’s staff and/or the Senate president,” Hayes said Monday. “So the lobbyist
ended up being an effective conduit for that conversation.”
More than $5M on lobbyists
The city’s contract with the Zack Stamp lobbying firm emerged Monday in a government watchdog’s study of lobbying by local governments around Illinois. The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, using public records, concluded that local government and state agencies spent more than $5 million on contract lobbyists last year.
The ICPR said its study underscored the need for a state law mandating “similar disclosure by the private sector.” Under current law, lobbyists must identify the private entities they represent but they are not required to disclose their fees.
Morrissey’s successful push for a change in state law allowed the city to begin collecting an additional 1 percentage point sales tax last July 1, six months earlier than state law would have otherwise allowed.
Sen. Dave Syverson, R-Rockford, was surprised to learn Monday that Morrissey had hired a contractor to help move his initiative in the Senate. Syverson said he and Rep. Chuck Jefferson, D-Rockford, talked to Jones and that the city’s expense was unnecessary.
“If a time comes up that I think that we need to have a lobbyist help get an issue through, I would certainly let the city know and they could use one,” Syverson said. “But that’s where they have to trust us to know.”
Rockford Global Alliance
Morrissey has long sought to retain a full-time lobbyist in Springfield, and formed a group called the Rockford Global Alliance, which includes other public bodies such as the MetroCentre and Park District. The mayor, who is chairman of the nonprofit, wants to hire a lobbyist to represent the members’ interests.
Separately, the City Council’s Legislative Lobbying Committee is now in the process of finding a lobbyist to work on its behalf.
The MetroCentre, the Rockford Park District and Winnebago County also hired lobbyists to press their interests in Springfield during that time. The MetroCentre has long used John Holub, a former Rockford alderman, as its lobbyist. Last year, it paid him $4,000. The Park District also used Holub, paying him $7,500.
“It’s just very helpful to have someone who is experienced and knows people in Springfield and knows their way around the various offices,” said Tim Dimke, the Park District’s executive director. “The key to having a good lobbyist is having someone who knows what’s going on down there.”
Knowing the ins and outs
Winnebago County Board Chairman Scott Christiansen used a lobbyist to help win approval of a plan to boost local freight-rail traffic at Chicago Rockford International Airport.
The county paid Kip Kolkmeier’s firm $25,000, through a third-party consulting firm, to shepherd its plan through the Legislature. The airport’s board has not adopted the freight-rail plan.
“The bottom line is we had to have someone down there knowing the ins and outs and making sure all of our legislators were being talked to,” Christiansen said.
Staff reporter Sean F. Driscoll contributed to this report.