From the Aurora Beacon News:

Lobbyist for Aurora says his past not 'relevant,' but current work is
April 22, 2008
By Dan Campana
AURORA -- How and when lobbyist Dan Shomon met Mayor Tom Weisner doesn't really matter.
The same goes for his connections to Gerry Galloway, Weisner's former campaign manager and special mayoral assistant.
On Monday, a day before his $84,000-a-year contract with Aurora goes to the City Council for a vote, Shomon declined comment on those issues and instead chose to focus on the work he's doing for the city.
"I don't think it's relevant," Shomon responded when asked about those relationships.
Shomon's latest contract renewal, which is up for a council vote tonight, prompted calls for him to provide more detailed and frequent accounts of his activities. At least one alderman asked for an ethics clause in the contract.
Shomon began his work for the city in November and December 2005. In 2006, he received his first yearly contract to lobby state and federal legislators as part of efforts to promote Aurora. All of that occurred in the months after Shomon made donations to Weisner's campaign.
"If there are people who want to believe that had something to do with that (a lobbying contract), God bless them," Weisner said Monday. "The reason he's working for the city of Aurora is because he knows ... Springfield inside and out."
Weisner said he didn't remember when or how he first met Shomon during his run for mayor.
Previous accounts of Shomon's relationship to Weisner were generally tied to Sen. Barack Obama, for whom Shomon worked at the time, and Obama's support for Weisner.
Campaign records indicate Shomon's consulting firm -- Dan Shomon Inc. -- donated $350 to the mayor's campaign. He made contributions on Feb. 10 and March 20, 2005, and Obama's endorsement of Weisner followed later in March.
Eight months later, "immediate legislative issues" -- namely an eminent domain matter -- prompted the city to hire Shomon for roughly $7,000 for two months of work, assistant chief of staff Carie Anne Ergo said. The amount is low enough that it did not require City Council approval other than the one regularly given to pay several bills at once.
Shomon was not registered as a lobbyist before then, state records show.
"It seemed like the right time to make that decision," Ergo said of bringing on a lobbyist. "Generally, those decisions are discussed among the leadership team."
That group, in November 2005, might have included one-time chief of staff Bob Vaughan, assistant chief of staff Alicia Lewis and Galloway, Weisner offered.
"Again, you're asking me to have total recall," Weisner said. "I'm sure he (Galloway) was part of those meetings."
Galloway, who could not be reached for comment, left the city in December 2005 and appears as one of Shomon's "contractual firms" in 2006 and 2007 lobbyist registration filings with the Illinois Secretary of State's Office.
The City Council approved Shomon's first $84,000 contract on Feb. 28, 2006. Ergo said professional and consulting services are generally not put out for bids. In Shomon's case, the city had a "good experience" and "felt comfortable" with him, Ergo explained as to why he was recommended.
At renewal time in 2007, some aldermen wanted more details of Shomon's work.
"At that time, I was pretty insistent we have an idea of what this person was doing," Alderman Leroy Keith said. "(The reports) just never happened."
Shomon has been in regular contact with the mayor's office, but not the council, Ergo said. The proposed contract extension to be voted on tonight requires quarterly written updates from Shomon.
"I don't know if he's the best qualified for the job, but I think he's doing a good job for us," said Keith, who plans to vote for the renewal.
Alderman and mayoral candidate Stephanie Kifowit recently sought the addition of ethics language to Shomon's contract, a move she described as benefitting the city by increasing transparency. Shomon told aldermen last week that he is bound by state ethics rules.
Kifowit said she is concerned about the relationship between Shomon and Weisner. Weisner dismissed that concern, pointing to the city's success since Shomon arrived.
"I think he's been exceedingly effective. We are a known quantity in Springfield," Weisner said.
The mayor also wasn't concerned by a reference on Shomon's company Web site that lists "Mayor of Aurora, Illinois (Tom Weisner), Illinois' second largest city" under its clients. Shomon's biography on the site states, "Shomon also served as a liaison from Senator Obama to the successful mayoral campaign in April of Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner."
The lobbyist registry lists Aurora as Shomon's client, and any problem with the Web site reference is "mincing words," Shomon contends.
Added Ergo, "It's certainly the city of Aurora" Shomon works for.
Keith said the listing should be fixed.