from the Daily Herald:

Towns turn to lobbyists as link to Springfield
By Diana Wallace Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted on October 26, 2001

Mary F. Rooney doesn't live in DuPage County, nor does she hold elected office.

Yet, in one form or another, Rooney represents more of DuPage County's interests in Springfield than virtually any elected official.

Rooney is a Wilmette-based lobbyist whose firm represents Wheaton, Lombard and West Chicago, and DuPage County's forest preserve district, airport authority, circuit court clerk and election commission.

She's also an example of how communities are increasingly dependant upon paid lobbyists to make sure local agendas aren't lost in the legislative shuffle.

"It's sort of like the squeaky wheel gets the grease," Rooney said. "Towns that have someone there every day of the session do better than those that don't."

But not everyone is convinced it's the interests of taxpayers that's being served.

"I kind of have an aversion to this whole process," said state Rep. Tom Johnson, a West Chicago Republican. "It's paying tax dollars to go lobby to get tax dollars from people who are also being paid with tax dollars ... It begs the question, why do we elect state representatives and senators? Why don't we just hire lobbyists?"

Johnson, who has said he won't seek re-election, said lobbyists do play a valuable role in educating lawmakers on issues sometimes unfamiliar to them.

But hiring lobbyists also can "contribute to a tone of cynicism, that it's not the merits of the issue, but who you know and whom you connect with," he said. "I don't know where it all ends and where democracy kicks in."

Naperville, possibly the first DuPage community to hire its own lobbyist, has now had one for several years. Yet this year, lobbyist Glenn Schneider's contract was renewed by the slimmest of margins, and some council members questioned whether he's worth the money.

The city of Wheaton hired Rooney and her main associate - Carolyn Kulie, a politically connected former county board member - earlier this year to lobby for state funds to fix a flooding problem. West Chicago and Lombard hired Rooney and Kulie just this month.

Most of the contracts range from $30,000 to $45,000 for a year or less of work.

With Rooney and Kulie representing so many different interests, Johnson questioned whether there could be conflicts of interest, because all those towns compete for many of the same state funds.

But Rooney said all legislators have state funds to hand out for projects in their home districts. "We're not robbing Peter to pay Paul," she said.

Wheaton Mayor James Carr said he'd like to extend the city's lobbying contract when it expires in November. For the $40,000 it paid for lobbying services, the city received $1 million in funds for its flood-control project.

"That's a huge return on the investment for the citizens," Carr said. "The people of Wheaton were well-served."

Johnson, however, noted there's no way of telling whether the city would have received those funds without the lobbyist.

State Rep. Mary Lou Cowlishaw of Naperville questioned the effectiveness of municipal lobbyists who don't live in the towns they represent.

Cowlishaw, who also is not seeking re-election, said many of the lobbying efforts are redundant, when groups such as the Illinois Municipal League and the DuPage Mayors and Managers Association also lobby on behalf of local towns.

Not only do most DuPage County communities pay dues to those groups, they also have access to some of the General Assembly's most powerful members. Senate President James "Pate" Philip and House Minority Leader Lee Daniels both live in DuPage County - Philip in Wood Dale and Daniels in nearby Elmhurst.

But DuPage County Forest Preserve President Dewey Pierotti of Addison said many local governments hire lobbyists to get access to the other power brokers in Springfield - particularly those on the Democratic side of the aisle.

"I can call up Pate or Lee any time and they'll see me. I have as much access to them as any lobbyist," Pierotti said. "But I couldn't get past (Democratic House Speaker) Michael Madigan's secretary."

Like Carr, other local officials said the amount of money they received from the state made their investment in a lobbyist worthwhile. But the real test may be what happens in the upcoming veto session and next year, as the state's coffers have shrunk and money is tighter than it has been in years.