Lobbyist-Oriented Ethics Reform in Chicago
Mayor Rahm Emanuel continues to make small government ethics improvements
in Chicago. Yesterday, <a href="http://www.cityofchicago.org/content/dam/city/depts/mayor/Press%20Room/…; target="”_blank”">according
to a city press release</a>, the council passed five ethics
reforms, all but one of them involving lobbyists. The principal
reform is the creation of a searchable online lobbyist registration
and reporting system. This will replace the current <a href="http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/ethics/provdrs/lobby/svcs/lo…; target="”_blank”">list
of registered lobbyists</a> with something like <a href="http://www.cookcountyclerk.com/ethics/lobbyistonline/Pages/default.aspx…; target="”_blank”">the
system in Cook County</a> (which includes Chicago; they apparently
don't go far afield for their ideas in Chicago).<br>
<br>
Lobbyists will also have to disclose their campaign contributions to
elected officials and to city employees running for office. The
second part is a nifty idea, but I don't see why all city
candidates, whether already officials are not, are not included in
the disclosure requirement. Unfortunately, disclosure is only twice
a year.<br>
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In addition, lobbyists have been added to two ethics provisions, one
limiting gifts to $50 and an annual aggregate of $100 (to each
official, not from each lobbyist), the other prohibiting loans to
officials and employees.<br>
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Finally, <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/new-chicago-mayor-emanuels-ethics-rel…; target="”_blank”">the
mayor's post-employment executive order</a> is now an ordinance.<br>
<br>
As usual, reform is both limited and content- rather than
process-oriented. Let's hope these partial reforms are intended for
maximum political benefit and become enough of a habit to add up to
a big reform.<br>
<br>
Robert Wechsler<br>
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics<br>
<br>
203-859-1959