 The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, a good-government group
that produced a report tallying the money spent on lobbying efforts,
believes the public is ill-informed about the relationship between
government entities and lobbying firms."There's a void in what we
know about the state Capitol, and we should call on legislators to
fill that void, to make this information public," said David
Morrison, associate director of the advocacy group.
Although the biggest spender in the study was the Chicago Transit
Authority at $385,000 on six lobbying firms, some of the largest
spenders came from the smallest areas.
Three Chicago suburbs managed to outspend the city of 3 million
residents. The village of Bellwood, population 20,500, sent more
than $138,000 to four separate lobbying firms; Crestwood spent more
than 10 times its 11,000 population; and Countryside's 5,000
residents paid lobbyists $90,000.
Chicago, meanwhile, spent $84,000 lobbying state government.
The spending stretched beyond Illinois' population center.
McLean County, for example, spends $7,500 a year on lobbyists
with Anderson Legislative Consulting and contributes $4,000 to a
lobbying fund for the Metro Counties of Illinois Association.
Terry Lindberg, McLean County administrator, said the majority of
county lobbying efforts is focused on ensuring reimbursements at a
time when the state government is amassing a slew of unpaid bills.
Anderson representatives also push legislators to support laws that
would benefit the county.
Lindberg said lobbying is needed to ensure Illinois' smallest
towns are represented in Springfield.
Morrison said the practice is not uncommon. Smaller government
bodies like school districts can be spread across legislative
districts. Their voice may be lost amid these boundaries. Lobbyists
and associations can increase their presence in Springfield.
Lindberg defended taxpayer-funded lobbying.
"Everyone makes it sound like it's dirty, but it's not," he said.
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Morrison can agree on that point, at least partially. A
self-described lobbyist, the associate director said the study does
not indicate any wrongdoing -- it's only meant to give the public
some insight into the inner workings of government.
He thinks the public would not be as suspicious of lobbyists if
there were more transparency in the process. He said public and
private lobbyists should disclose what measures they are backing,
along with the money allocated to providing such services.
Lindberg said the county provides ample oversight to lobbyist
spending because those funds mean that much more to his smaller
revenue pool.
"We've carefully reviewed (lobbyist) expenditures we make and we
feel they are well worth it," he said.
But even oversight can't stop the inevitable insider deals from
taking place in Springfield. Many lobbyists for local governments
and in the private sector are former government officials. There are
no rules in place to prevent legislators or their aides from
becoming lobbyists soon after the end of their legislative careers
-- a regulation that became federal law several years ago.
"Legislators who were defeated in a primary or lose an election
... show up in Springfield at the end of session, and the very next
day they're back registered as lobbyists," Morrison said. "It's in
some ways even worse with staff members who in the middle of session
give notice and quit on a Wednesday and come back on Thursday as a
lobbyist."
The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform spent more than eight
months compiling the data from public records requests.
[Illinois
Statehouse News; By ASHLEY BADGLEY and BILL McMORRIS]
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