Calling for Greater Transparency of County Lobbyists Outside Cook County

[Jean4CountyClerk]

Last edited Thu Aug 14, 2014, 06:51 PM - Edit history (2)

Do you know what lobbyists are up to in your county?

Unless you live in Chicago or Cook County, you probably have very little, if any, information online on lobbying activity where you line.

Often we hear about what lobbyists are doing on national level, but not what's going on in our back yards.

This week I advocated to the DuPage County Board that they broaden their reporting requirements of lobbyists and make that information available online, just like it's done in Cook County. Cook County Clerk David Orr introduced this very successful public service four years ago:

http://www.cookcountyclerk.com/ethics/lobbyistonline/Pages/default.aspx


Date: Aug. 12, 2014
For Release: IMMEDIATE

DUPAGE COUNTY CLERK CANDIDATE JEAN KACZMAREK CALLS
FOR GREATER TRANSPARENCY OF LOBBYISTS

Lobbying Activity Must be Broadened & Placed On-Line

County Clerk Candidate Jean Kaczmarek calls for greater transparency of lobbying activities as the DuPage County Board prepares to vote on contracts for lobbyists at this morning’s meeting at the 421 County Farm Road Building in Wheaton.

“I advocate for an initiative to broaden what lobbyists are required to report and that this information be entered on-line on the County Clerk’s website,” Kaczmarek says.

Kaczmarek will ask Board members to check out Lobbyists Online, unveiled on the Cook County Clerk’s website in 2010 following the unanimous passage of the Lobbyist Sunshine Initiative the previous year.

Cook County ethics amendments require lobbyists to submit their photos, update client compensation, report dates of contact, the person contacted and any expenditures. Bi-annual press releases detail information compiling data. For example, the January 2014 summary stated that lobbyists contacted Cook County officials nearly 1,000 times. The Public Portal allows searches of lobbyists’ names A to Z, who they’re lobbying, what they’re lobbying about, and total compensation.

When he unveiled the initiative in 2009, Cook County Clerk David Orr said “Online lobbyist reporting will give taxpayers, elected officials and the media unprecedented access to track who is lobbying and about what. Everyone will be able to act as a watchdog.”

The percentage of lobbyists and firms reporting compensation in Cook County leaped from 15 to 48 percent immediately after the reporting switched to online. Government watchdogs, including Kaczmarek, applaud it.

“I’ve experienced frustration at the lack of transparency regarding the Election Commission’s lobbyists in the past,” Kaczmarek says. “Once I submitted a Freedom of Information Act requesting reports and memos of their lobbyist and was told that there were none. How can we pay a lobbyist $36,000 and have nothing to show for it?”

“Placing more lobbying information online diminishes speculation of what’s going on behind closed doors. It aligns perfectly with the County's ACT Initiative promoting accountability and transparency. And, it's so easy to do,” Kaczmarek says.