City Council’s Ethics Committee approves lobbying ban

Ethics Committee Chairman Michele Smith says “cross-lobbying” can lead to a “corrupt system.”

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Ald. Michele Smith (43rd), a former federal prosecutor, now chairs the City Council’s Ethics Committee,

Ald. Michele Smith (43rd), a former federal prosecutor now chairing the City Council’s Ethics Committee, says she wants to end the days of, “You scratch my back. I’ll scratch yours” created by “cross lobbying.”

Fran Spielman/Chicago Sun-Times

The days of “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch your back” are about to come to a screeching halt — at least when it comes to City Hall lobbying.

The City Council’s Committee on Ethics and Government Oversight on Wednesday approved an ordinance that prohibits Chicago aldermen from lobbying state and local government and prevent their counterparts at those other levels from doing the same at City Hall.

Aviation Committee Chairman Matt O’Shea (19th) and Ethics Chairman Michele Smith (43rd) are co-sponsoring the ordinance in an attempt to stay one step ahead of the burgeoning lobbying scandal swirling around Commonwealth Edison and video gaming interests pushing to legalize sweepstakes machines.

“We’ve seen, historically, that there has been an issue of cross-lobbying — sort of a reciprocity — that can lead to a corrupt system. And we’ve seen some examples of it,” Smith said Wednesday.

“We think the time to act is right now to take a stand in this new City Council that we will not allow that. … We’re trying to end the notion of, ‘You scratch my back. I’ll scratch your back.’”

Smith didn’t name names. But Ethics Board Chairman William Conlon did.

The ordinance is driven by the scandal surrounding now-former state Rep. Luis Arroyo, D-Chicago, who resigned last month, one week after his arrest on a federal bribery charge.

Arroyo was accused of paying a bribe to a state senator — identified by the Sun-Times as Sen. Terry Link — in exchange for support of a gambling bill that would have benefitted one of Arroyo’s lobbying clients. Link has emphatically denied the charge.

“When a state legislator like [Luis] Arroyo comes and lobbies the city of Chicago while the city of Chicago is requesting needed state financial aid, there is, I think, the appearance of impropriety in that,” Conlon said. “At least it can create the impression of undue pressure or undue influence.”

The ordinance states: “No elected official or employee may lobby the state, the county or any other unit of government in the state or derive any income or compensation from lobbying” those units of government.

It also states: “No elected official of a unit of government in the state may lobby the city, the City Council or any city agency, department, board or commission.”

That means no more City Hall lobbying by Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin, who is a registered city lobbyist for clients like Amazon, the National Elevator Industry Association and Museums in the Park and has represented the Chicago Teachers Union, the Chicago Bar Association and others.

Suffredin could not be reached for comment.

Attorneys seeking “administrative or legislative action in connection with any zoning matter” would be exempt.

The final version of the ordinance has been sharpened to explain the difference between legal representation and lobbying. But Smith said there are likely to be instances when the Ethics Board is asked to be the final arbiter on what is and isn’t lobbying.

The ordinance would further require annual ethics statements to include the names of relatives who are registered lobbyists in Chicago or elsewhere in Illinois.

Among roughly 30 aldermen co-signing the proposed lobbying ban was Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th), Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s City Council floor leader.

Last year, Villegas introduced an ordinance that went nowhere that would have legalized sweepstakes machines in Chicago after being lobbied by James T. Weiss, a son-in-law of former Cook County Assessor and Democratic Party Chairman Joe Berrios.

Weiss owns and operates sweepstakes machines. His lobbying efforts are part of the federal criminal case against Arroyo.

In October, Commonwealth Edison cut ties with a lobbying firm co-owned by Villegas.

Villegas has insisted he never lobbied anybody, did no work for ComEd and started “making moves to divest” himself from Stratagem, the company he formed with Elgin City Council member Baldemar Lopez, when the Chicago City Council voted in July to impose new restrictions on outside employment by aldermen.

“As leadership in the mayor’s team, I thought it was important for me to divest. Unfortunately, it takes a while to divest,” Villegas told the Sun-Times on the day the lobbying ban was introduced.

“I was never in the lobbying business. We did consulting strategy. The actual lobbying occurred with my partner in Springfield. ... I’m sure my partner did everything above board. I’m not concerned about it.”

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