IG: Ethics Board’s definition of lobbyist is ‘ broadest’ in U. S.
The definition of a lobbyist established by Chicago’s reinvigorated Board of Ethics is the “broadest in the country” and would include “Mom and Pop grocery stores” inquiring about street repairs, Inspector General Joe Ferguson said Tuesday.
Ferguson weighed in on the lobbying controversy nearly two weeks after the Board of Ethics accused a close friend and heavy contributor to Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the husband of Ald. Sophia King ( 4th) of lobbying the mayor through his private emails but failing to register as lobbyists.
“The definition of lobbyist in Chicago by the characterization of the executive director of the Board of Ethics is the broadest in the country,” Ferguson said, during a Budget Committee hearing on his reappointment to a third, four- year term.
“In a world where those provisions weren’t being enforced actively, that wasn’t a big deal,” he said. “Now they are. So what we have is this vast open field . . . of what a lobbyists is where we’re actively applying it.”
Ferguson then launched into his own interpretation of just how broad that definition of a lobbyist is.
“The owner of a mom- and- pop grocery store approaching their alderman to ask about street repairs out front is technically a lobbyist and should be registering [ and] paying a $ 300 fee,” Ferguson said. “Why? Because they individually are asking questions that bear upon the business interest, the business entity of the mom and-pop store. Therefore, they’re technically engaged in lobbying.”
Ferguson said it “can be OK to have that broad definition,” but the board needs to spell out “exactly where they believe the tipping point is for enforcement purposes.”
The inspector general has a vested interest in sharpening that definition. That’s because Ferguson’s office has the investigative power that the Board of Ethics lacks.
“We’re not gonna go and investigate the owner of the mom- andpop grocery story for that technical violation. But we need to know where the Board of Ethics itself regards that tipping point to be,” Ferguson said.
“We all need to come together and find out whether the Board of Ethics is going to issue some guidance or regulations that better define the field or we need to actually change the ordinance in away that achieves the same original objections, but without this ambiguity,” he said.
Ferguson said he is also seeking clarity so aldermen have a better understanding “what the tipping point is” for the contract employees hired to assist City Council members.
Ethics Board Chairman William Conlon denied that the board’s definition of lobbyist was overly broad. But he acknowledged that “certain aspects” of the oft- amended ethics ordinance “require a re- look.”
“We have interpreted the plain language of the ordinance fairly and followed the language of the ordinance,” he said. “The purpose . . . is to identify people who are attempting to influence administrative or legislative action. . . . The purpose is to have people who do that register . . . so the public knows who is attempting to influence governmental action.”