(The Center Square) – Two recently introduced bills seeking to change lobbying regulations are sitting in committee awaiting advancement.
House Bill 1169 would amend the Lobbyist Registration Act and direct the Illinois Secretary of State to grant a fee waiver to nonprofits with an annual budget of less than $5 million.
Alisa Kaplan, Reform for Illinois executive director, said nonprofits aren’t inherently harmless and that they have their own interests like any other group.
“The public deserves to know which ones are lobbying the legislature. So it’s essential that they’re at least required to register so that information is out there,” said Kaplan. “That said, the current registration requirements, and especially the fees, are quite burdensome for small nonprofits.”
Amy William, an attorney with the Illinois Secretary of State, is opposed to the measure, according to a witness slip filed on the bill. Williams has not reponded to The Center Square’s request for comment.
In Illinois, the annual registration fee is $300 per lobbying entity, including nonprofits, and $300 per individual lobbyist.
As of Aug. 19, 2024, Illinois had 2,454 registered lobbying entities and 2,284 registered lobbyists.
Kaplan is a proponent of waiving fees for smaller organizations and said fees prevent some from exercising their constitutional right to appeal to the legislature.
“I don’t think limiting those fees or exempting small nonprofits or any small organization really is unreasonable. I’m not sure $4 million is the right number but that can be worked out in the details,” said Kaplan.
The measure sits in the House Ethics and Elections Committee and is sponsored by state Rep. Maurice West, D-Rockford.
The state legislature is also seeking to close a loophole with a separate measure that prohibits legislators from being lobbyists.
Kaplan said the General Assembly passed a law in 2021 that attempted to address a recent scandal.
Former Illinois state Rep. Luis Arroyo, D-Chicago, pleaded guilty to a bribery scheme in which he offered a member of the Illinois Senate payments to support a bill that sought to legalize gambling machines.
“The law … says that a state legislator can’t be a lobbyist in another jurisdiction. But that prohibition only applies if their lobbying client, the company they’re working for, is also registered to lobby Springfield,” said Kaplan. “It’s extremely narrowly tailored to the exact circumstances of Arroyo’s situation so that lawmakers could say, ‘look, we fixed the Arroyo problem.’”
Kaplan said the law still allows state legislators to be lobbyists elsewhere, and leaves the door open to all kinds of opportunities for bribery and corruption.
“It’s a loophole you could drive a truck through,” she said. “This bill would close that loophole and make the law closer to what Chicago passed after the Arroyo scandal. If you want to be a legislator, you can’t be a lobbyist, period. If Chicago can do it, so can Springfield. The legislature should absolutely pass it.”
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The Chicago Municipal Code was amended to prohibit elected officials from becoming lobbyists while holding office and for a period after they leave office.
Also sitting in the Ethics and Elections Committee, House Bill 2413 is sponsored by state Reps. Patrick Windhorst, R-Metropolis, and Tony McCombie, R-Savanna, the minority leader.