State Journal-Register
April 22, 2008
Chatham, sanitary district pay lobbyists $2,000 a month
Price is part of $5M per yearspent by local governments
By BERNARD SCHOENBURG
POLITICAL WRITER
The Springfield Metro Sanitary District is among more than 100 local governments and public agencies in Illinois spending more than $5 million annually on contracts with outside lobbyists registered to deal with state government, the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform reported in a study released Monday.
The sanitary district pays $2,000 a month to Dorgan-McPike & Associates Ltd., while the Prairie Capital Convention Center pays $1,000 per month to Zack Stamp Ltd.
Chatham continues to pay Springfield lobbyist Tim McAnarney $2,000 monthly for economic-development consulting ? as it did during the July 1, 2006-June 30, 2007, span of the study, although McAnarney and Chatham Mayor Tom Gray both say their relationship does not require lobbyist registration, so they no longer list it in secretary of state lobbyist records.
David Morrison, deputy director of the reform group that released the study, said that while there is ?definitely an argument that there are state reps and senators for each? unit of government, his group is not taking a stand on whether local governments should pay outside lobbyists.
?That?s up to local taxpayers to decide,? he said.
But the group is pushing for more disclosure of lobbyist expenditures, public and private, through legislation.
Identified were 110 units of government that had a total of more than 150 lobbying contracts. Among top spenders were the Regional Transportation Authority, a transit agency in the Chicago area, that spent $223,600 in the yearlong period; and the Chicago Transit Authority, which spent $220,173.
The Springfield Metro Sanitary District, which is listed as spending $24,361 in that 12-month stretch, has the chairmen of Sangamon County Democrats and Republicans among its five trustees. Democratic county chairman Tim Timoney, said when contacted Monday that it makes sense to have lobbyists.
While he said county chairmen ?may have more access to individuals than other board members might,? that isn?t the same as having a lobbyist working the halls of the Statehouse.
?I just think it?s a good idea for governmental entities to have somebody over there on a daily basis during session to keep an eye out on issues that are important,? Timoney said.
He agreed that such lobbyists can work to alter or kill legislation that could hurt the district in addition to seeking money or positive legislation.
Timoney said the lobbyists mostly deal with Gregg Humphrey, the sanitary district?s director/engineer, and provide him updates on legislation he passes on to the trustees.
?Basically, we pay them to keep an eye on the legislation that?s going to affect us,? said Timoney, who was away from his office Monday evening, so he didn?t have the list and couldn?t specify particular legislation. He did say, ?We?re always looking for grants? from the state, and the lobbyists could be involved in that process.
Bruce Stratton, secretary of the Sangamon County GOP and a lawyer for the sanitary district board as well as for the Prairie Capital Convention Center?s board, also said Monday that more than a part-time presence is needed.
?If you want the legislature to do something, you have to be there tending to your interests all the time,? Stratton said.
He said he thinks the choice of the firm that works for the sanitary district board ?probably had something to do with Mr. McPike?s experience in the legislature and the people who are in the legislature now who are colleagues and friends of his from the days when he was in leadership.?
Former state Rep. Jim McPike, D-Alton, was majority leader under House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago. His partner, Jack Dorgan of Rosemont, is on the Republican State Central Committee.
Stamp is a lawyer who has held state posts including director of the Department of Insurance and director of legislative affairs for Gov. Jim Thompson.
A Stamp partner, lawyer Kevin McFadden, works with a Rockford lobbyist, John Holub, to represent a loose association of 10 convention centers across the state.
?That?s why you saw in the capital bill from last year and this year an appropriation up to $25 million for civic centers,? said McFadden, whose brother, Brian McFadden, is chief of staff to Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson, R-Greenville.
If a capital bill is passed with the $25 million set aside, that will mean $4.2 million for the PCCC, Kevin McFadden said.
He added that while the PCCC pays him and the Rockford Center pays Holub, other centers pay lesser amounts to both lobbyists, and two centers pay nothing, to be part of the coalition. McFadden said the full coalition is included in the lobbying with the thought that having more cities represented helps make a stronger case. He added that Holub and he ?do things for our respective civic centers other than what we do for the coalition.?
Mayor Tom Gray of Chatham said McAnarney?s contract is to help bring businesses and economic-development grants to the village, but that John Myers, the village attorney, determined that lobbyist registration isn?t needed under state law for that function, so the registration was discontinued.
The reform group?s report, titled ?Governments Lobbying State Government,? says the secretary of state?s office does not require local units of government to register their lobbyists with the state, but ?state law requires lobbyists to register all of their clients, including units of government.?
The report says that when a lobbyist fails to list a unit of government, ?there is no readily accessible public record of the relationship.?
Among examples listed is that of the Chicago?s mayor?s office, responding to a Freedom of Information Act request, producing a contract with E.B. Enterprises that included about $27,000 in payments during the period of the study. The study noted that the firm, whose exclusive lobbyist is Ed Bedore, hadn?t been registered on the state?s lobbyist list since 2003.
In the letter sent with Bedore?s contract to the reform group, Jennifer Hoyle, director of public affairs for Chicago?s law department, said that Bedore?s firm ?did not actually engage in lobbying for the City during the time period referenced in your request.?
Bedore, former chief financial officer of Chicago who has been a Springfield resident for more than a decade, said his last check to pay for his consulting for the city came in November 2006. Records from the reform group show Bedore?s bill for that month was $5,333.
The ?scope of services? with the contract included several points, among them to ?Assist the City in the passage and enactment of legislation favored by the City,? and ?Assist the City in the defeat of legislation opposed by the City.?
Bedore, who was considered Chicago Mayor Richard Daley?s point man on seeking renovation for Soldier Field in the mid-1990s, said he also represented Chicago in getting projects for it from the Illinois FIRST construction program under then-Gov. George Ryan.
He said he ?mainly worked in the city of Chicago with people from the City of Chicago,? in recent consultations, but indicated he also talked with state people at times on behalf of the city.
?It?d be impossible not to have talked to a state official,? he said Monday, but added, ?The primary thing I was doing with the city of Chicago was not lobbying.?
The report also noted that some lobbyists list other lobbyists as subcontractors, but it?s not clear if the subcontractors serve all the same clients.
Government Consulting Solutions, a Springfield firm whose principals are Chris Stone and Jim Riemer Jr., is listed in the study as an example. The firm represents at least eight units of government ? including Marion and Effingham ? and has four contractual lobbyists.
Stone said none of those contract lobbyists represents the cities, although one represents the State Universities Retirement System, another firm client.
?If they want to change the law so that we would have to report who the subcontractors lobby for, Governmental Consulting Solutions would have no problem with that,? Stone said.
Bernard Schoenburg can be reached at 788-1540.
Local examples
Area governments listed in the study as having lobbyists from July 1, 2006, through June 30, 2007:
*Village of Chatham: $24,000 for Tim McAnarney, Springfield consultant
*Prairie Capital Convention Center: $12,361 to Zack Stamp Ltd., of Springfield.
*Springfield Metro Sanitary District: $24,361 to Dorgan-McPike & Associates.
What to do?
Some recommendations by the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform:
*All lobbyists representing a government or private entity should be required to disclose terms of lobbying contracts, including financial arrangements.
*All organizations lobbying state government should disclose expenses related to lobbying, including salaries of in-house lobbyists and other administrative expenses.
*Lobbyists hiring other lobbyists as subcontractors should disclose if those subcontractors are working for all or only some of the main lobbyists? clients.
*The secretary of state?s office should have clear authority to audit lobbyist-disclosure reports and punish violators.
*Units of government should be required to file an acknowledgment that they have hired a lobbyist, and also list contact information.