Aviation Committee Chairman Matt O’Shea and Ethics Chairman Michele Smith are trying to stay one step ahead of the lobbying scandal swirling around ComEd and video gaming interests pushing to legalize sweepstakes machines.
By Fran Spielman Nov 13, 2019, 3:53pm CST
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Ald. Matt O’Shea (19th), chairman of the City Council’s Aviation Committee (left), wants to ban aldermen from lobbying state and local government. Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th) (right), Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s City Council floor leader, is one of 27 co-signers, even though he was a partner in a lobbying firm that did work for Commonwealth Edison. Rich Hein/Chicago Sun-TimesChicago aldermen would be prohibited from lobbying state and local government — and their counterparts at those other levels would be barred from doing the same at City Hall —under a crackdown proposed Wednesday by a pair of influential aldermen
Aviation Committee Chairman Matt O’Shea (19th) and Ethics Chairman Michele Smith (43rd) are trying to stay one step ahead of the lobbying scandal swirling around Commonwealth Edison and video gaming interests pushing to legalize sweepstakes machines.
“We’ve seen multiple ethical scandals across the state at multiple levels of government…If it continues, it’s not a question of if, but when” the City Council is dragged in, said O’Shea, one of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s staunchest City Council supporters.
“We want to get ahead of that. We have to restore the public’s trust …We are supposed to be working for constituents we represent. We shouldn’t be...advocating for taxpayers and, on the other hand, receiving payment from private entities. It’s a blurred line.”
The ordinance championed by O’Shea and Smith and introduced at Wednesday’s City Council meeting 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.”
Attorneys seeking “administrative or legislative action in connection with any zoning matter” before the city, county, state or other units of local government would be exempt.
Among 27 aldermen co-signing the proposed lobbying ban was Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th), Lightfoot’s City Council floor leader.
Matt is a great alderman.
ReplyDeleteMatt is one of the cleanest politicians of all time. 19teenth warders should be proud.
ReplyDeleteYep,good old Matt votes for every tax that adversely effects every retailer in his ward. Just like the sheep alderman in the 18th,13th,23rd.,25th,10,and about 13 other collar wards that should be rising up against some of this stupidity, but don't. So that's wht Matt got rewarded with the Aviatiom plum. I too think Matt is a decent man and a hard worker,however it's time for some GOP opponent to step up in the 19th ward and run
ReplyDeleteRepublican Alderman support tax increases too, such as Anthony Napolitano, Brian Doherty and Nicholas Sposato.
DeleteA Republican would only put on 40 hours a week as Alderman. Matt puts in over 70.
DeleteBecause a republican can do in 40 hours what it takes Matt to do in 70, LOL
DeleteOMG it’s the crazy lady from Redeemer infiltrating the blog!
DeleteMaybe his next good deed would be to propose to cut the City Council in half.
ReplyDeleteThen you’ll be whining when Howard Brookins is making decisions for the 19th Ward. Use your head.
DeleteWould 19th Warders want Beale, Brookins or Austin? No!!!!
DeleteAgreed, absolutely no need for 50 Alderman, and there should be term limits. No elected office should be served as a career. They say they do it because they care about the community, I'm sure that maybe true but not the real reason they serve.
DeleteIris Martinez is against term limits.
DeleteEvergreen Park has lots of nice stores. Beverly doesn’t.
ReplyDeleteThey also had a lot of open land on which to build. If roles were reversed, we had the land, the big box stores would have gone to our side instead of EP. They don’t care about the taxes, they just pass them onto the customer.
DeleteChuck E Cheese...?
Delete