DLA Piper | Publications | City of Chicago and State of Illinois enact changes in lobbyist ... Page 1 of 2
News & Insights > Publications
Publications
13 OCT 2009
City of Chicago and State of Illinois enact changes in lobbyist rules
ILLINOIS GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS ALERT
Andrew P. Scott
The City of Chicago and State of Illinois have both recently enacted significant changes to their rules pertaining to lobbyists. Each jurisdiction has imposed mandatory lobbyist training, raised registration fees and increased penalties for non-compliance. In addition, the state has imposed new requirements with respect to the frequency of reporting. Illinois and Chicago thus join the growing number of jurisdictions, including the federal government and other states and localities, to adopt new, tougher rules on lobbyists and other advocates. Beginning July 1, 2010, the City of Chicago will require that all lobbyists complete an annual ethics education training course provided by the Board of Ethics. Failure to comply with this requirement can result in a fine of up to $750. The city has also increased registration fees and penalties for non-compliance as of January 1, 2010. The registration fee for an individual remains at $350 per year, but there is a new fee of $75 for each client after the first client identified by the lobbyist. Monetary penalties for registration and reporting noncompliance have increased from $500 to $1,000 per day. The State of Illinois has adopted comparable changes to the Lobbyist Registration Act, and those changes go into effect on January 1, 2010. Like the city, the state is requiring lobbyists to complete a program of ethics training provided by the Secretary of State’s Office during the calendar year in which they are registered. Rules regarding implementation of this new requirement are expected to be issued by the Secretary of State’s Office within the next 60 days. The state has also increased fees and penalties for non-compliance. The registration fee will be $1,000 instead of the current fee of $350. In addition, any person who is found to have violated the Lobbyist Registration Act may be fined up to $10,000 per day of violation. The amount of the fine can depend on the scope of the lobbying project, the nature of the lobbying contacts and whether the violation was
http://www.dlapiper.com/city-of-chicago-and-state-of-illinois-enact-changes-in-lobbyist-r... 10/13/2009
DLA Piper | Publications | City of Chicago and State of Illinois enact changes in lobbyist ... Page 2 of 2
intentional or unreasonable. One of the more onerous changes is frequency of reporting. The Lobbyist Registration Act currently provides that reports must be filed on January 31 and July 31. Once the changes take effect, reports must be filed weekly when the General Assembly is in session and then monthly when it is not in session. The new reporting deadlines do create some conflicts with parts of the statute that remain unchanged. For example, the statute currently provides that any party filing a report which lists an expenditure on behalf of an official must give that official at least 25 days notice before filing the report. Weekly and monthly reporting requirements clearly do not mesh with this 25-day notice requirement. It is anticipated that this conflict will be addressed through further legislation or in the implementing rules. For more information about these changes or other state or local lobbyist registration issues, please contact Andrew Scott.
http://www.dlapiper.com/city-of-chicago-and-state-of-illinois-enact-changes-in-lobbyist-r... 10/13/2009