Taxpayer-funded lobbying and Cook County

Sunshine Review compiled the totals for lobbying expenditures by the ten largest counties in Illinois. We found over $6.2 million in taxpayer-funded lobbying. Naturally, we included Cook County.

Cook County has had transparency complaints against it in the past. In fact, we’ve written about some of them. For our Freedom of Information Act request, the county was a mixed bag. The Freedom of Information Act officer I worked with would generally pick up phone calls and make himself available.

However, the process of getting my information, even once it was already processed by the county, was fatiguing. To begin with, I didn’t get all of the information I requested. I requested contracts between the Cook County Board and lobbyists since 2005. I also requested the county board’s membership dues to taxpayer-funded lobbying associations.

I received contracts with lobbyists for 2008 and 2009.

For those keeping score:

Requested: lobbying contracts and membership dues
Received: lobbying contracts, no mention of membership dues

Requested years: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
Received: 2008 and 2009

The total amount of spending that Sunshine Review uncovered for Cook County lobbying is $780k. But this is clearly only a partial figure. The real number must be exponentially more. In a purely unscientific fashion, the amount spent on lobbying between 2005-2010 in Cook County is more than twice as much at $1,559,980, considering the 3 years of contracts not disclosed and not even considering membership in taxpayer-funded lobbying associations.

From my very subjective perspective, Cook County wasn’t stonewalling me. They just didn’t prioritize their resources or time to respond to my request. Which is just as unacceptable as them having done it on purpose, because the result is the same: citizens and journalists having to go through rings of fire in order to get information that rightfully belongs to them.

There’s always room for improvement when it comes to transparency and taking your constituents seriously, and Cook County is no excuse.

Who lobbies Cook County? More importantly: who does Cook County lobby?

We give Cook County in Illinois a B- on the information it discloses on its website. Which is a decent grade. One of the check marks the county misses on our checklist is for “Lobbying.” The county does not disclose on its website what lobbying organizations it pays dues to, or what lobbyists it hires to represent the county before the Illinois State Legislature or the federal government.

Most local governments have lobbyists. And because these lobbyists are a part of public affairs, they should be disclosed.

Cook County is now posting lobbying reports online of those who lobby them. Which is great! The section of Cook County’s website is called “Lobbyist Online. The county is the largest of Illinois’s 102 counties and it contains the largest city in the state, Chicago. Naturally, this is interesting information:

The site, proposed by County Clerk David Orr and a bi-partisan group of commissioners, also lists how much lobbyists were paid.

Orr said 188 lobbyists representing 89 businesses reported on time. They contacted about 60 government officials and were paid a total of $1.12 million.
“You can track who they were lobbying and, for the most part, why,” Orr said. “They made 576 contacts with those roughly 60 people, and that’s just in the first half of 2010.”

Still, while this is great information, it still doesn’t make up for the fact that Cook County still does not disclose what lobbyists it contracts. Cook County as a whole has at least one lobbyist, as reported to the state of Illinois, and its departments and subsidiaries have more. Not to mention the dues paid to organizations like the Metro Counties of Illinois.

The county’s efforts in increasing transparency are laudable, but it can still take the next step forward. Lobbying by counties isn’t rare. Especially because of its prevalent nature, local governments should take the initiative to making that information available to its taxpayers. If anything, they should do it to get an extra point on our checklist and upgrade their B- to a B. Or, you know. For its citizens.

Follow up on the lavish lifestyle of Charles Flowers

An editorial appeared in the Wednesday edition of the Chicago Tribune, which outlined in greater detail the irregularities found in the Suburban Cook County Regional Office of Education budget. Included in this report are the shocking expenditures that Charles Flowers assumed would go unnoticed by the Cook County taxpayers. Unfortunately for him they have been noticed and a memo has been sent to Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez for their review into the taxpayer-funded shopping spree. A few of the shocking expenditures include:

• Changes for thousands of dollars in private expenses for him and his family on a trip to Mississippi
• $15,000 in cash advances for two employees, including his sister that holds a position as his administrative assistant
• Money paid towards his nephew who only worked eight hour days but received pay for nine

In addition to these purchases, Flowers still could not account for 70% of the receipts for charges made on this government card as mentioned in the previous blog entry. The state’s attorney will have her hands full as more details are uncovered regarding just how much taxpayer money was wasted at the command of Superintendent Flowers.

Tony Peraica works transparency angle for Cook County

Today, Cook County Board member Tony Peraica called for spending transparency for Cook County, Illinois.

John Tillman, President of the Illinois Policy Institute, accurately stated:

Cook County government has been on a relentless mission to continually raise taxes. People have been abandoning Cook County for decades due to its high taxes and reputation for corruption and bloated payrolls. Transparency is a first step toward reform. It is the x-ray machine that will allow the citizens of Cook County to see every check written, for how much and to whom. More is needed, but this is an excellent first step.

Other things to throw up on the Cook County website are lobbying contracts and information on how to file a Freedom of Information Act request.