Saturday, April 01, 2006

Sen Lauzen, Kane County, and the lobbyists

The opening paragraphs from an e-mail from Sen Lauzen. This is another one of those things where I feel like I'm getting about 20% of the story. I wish he would have named the lobbyists. What gives here? Other county's must hire lobbyists. Are we out of line?

Looks like he's been doing more live blogging. I didn't realize he was keeping this up. I'll check in next time and ask him. If everyone in the GA blogged like that, maybe it would put lobbyists out of work.

You tell me...should our local governments be spending our hard-earned tax dollars on lobbyists?

The Kane County Board is now annually spending $42,000 on politically-connected lobbyists rather than on vaccinations, nurses, and other medical care for county citizens. The same group of decision-makers spends $138,000 per year of our money on a lobbyist in Washington D.C. when we're already represented by Speaker Denny Hastert, the third most powerful person in the nation! And now, the City of Aurora is spending $84,000 per year on a lobbyist, when we are already represented by nearly 8% of the entire General Assembly with Senators Petka, Roskam, Lauzen and Representative Lindner, Chapa-LaVia, Cross, Hultgren, and Dunn.

Think about it--$84,000 per year! We educate ten students at East and West Aurora High Schools for that much money. $84,000 is more than the average annual income for two families in our town. $84,000 for a wholly-owned and paid for unelected lobbyists to do the work that we are already paying a host of local elected officials and eight state elected officials represents the entire property tax bill for 20 homeowners or the annual state income tax paid by 100 typical Aurora families. Any wonder now why government says it "needs" more of what you earn.

12 comments:

Yellow Dog Democrat 7:53 AM  

Bill -

Looks like the Kane County Health Dept. has retained Consulting 4 Biz, whose principals include Sue Clark, lobbyist for the Illinois Nurses Association.

Anyone can search for registered lobbyists here.

Anonymous,  9:32 AM  

the aurora lobbyists do state and federal lobbying. a lot less expensive than what kane county, dupage county, and many other cities are paying or both. the second biggest city in the state needs to have lobbyists, especially because chris lauzen is utterly useless in springfield and can't get anything done for his district.

Anonymous,  9:49 AM  

My god they can not put all their relatives to work on the toll way and DOC give them a break

Anonymous,  10:51 PM  

Kane County and Aurora need lobbysists because the sanctimonious Sen. Lauzen can't deliver squat to his district. And let's not pretend that Roskam, Petka and Schmitz care about Aurora. The only ones on his list that care about Aurora and live there are Senator CPA and Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia.

This from the same guy who promised to limit himself to two terms and then found himself so valuable that he had to run again and again. Dear Chris, please find a statewide office that you can actually win and save Aurora from yourself. Pretty please.

Now go back to blaming Chicago Democrats for getting nothing done in Aurora, Chris. You sure didn't do anything when the Republicans actually had power.

Anonymous,  12:45 AM  

Lauzen is a pathetic, impotent example of a state legislator. Gee, that's not an easy target--lobbyists. But if it's someone lobbying on behalf of county government, to benefit the county and maybe, I don't know, get the damn state legislature to listen to local governments, why not let them lobby? Neighboring Kendall County has looked into lobbying as well, and I'm sure others have, too. Why not spend a little money in the hopes of getting a big return?

Anonymous,  4:13 AM  

Bill,
This letter I wrote in February should add context to the Senator's very well-stated commentary.

Open letter to Kane County Board Members RE: Full disclosure of conflict of interest



Later this morning a resolution will be before you that will call on you to support a $41,666.66 consulting contract for Springfield lobbying services with regards to securing additional funding for the Kane County Health Department. This amounts to over $4,100 a month over the duaration of the contract.



I would encourage you to table this vote until all the facts and potential conflicts are considered. Chairman McConnaughay expressed sensitivity to conflict of interest in a document entitled "Full Disclosure" that she sent to the Board last week. I have pasted that document at the end of this e-mail for your reference.



Unfortunately, a more apt title for that document would be "Partial Disclosure" because important details were left out. For instance, the Chairman disclosed an August 13, 2004 $250 donation to Citizens for Karen McConnaughay from Mr. Andrew Raucci, one of the principals of the lobbying firm in question. However, the Chairman did not disclose a $250 donation to her campaign committee on the same day from Christine Dudley of the EXACT SAME address- 3000 North Sheridan Road, #18-D, Chicago, IL 60657.



Who is Christine Dudley and why is she relevant to this contract?

Ms. Dudley, since July 25, 2003, according to the IL State Board of Elections, has performed at least $22,500 of political consulting for Citizens for Karen McConnaughay. Beyond that Ms. Dudley has performed at least $6,000 of consulting for the Kane County Advisory Council, a fundraising arm of the Kane County Republican Party that supports the Chairman. Further, Ms. Dudley has also earned tens of thousands of dollars assisting McConnaughay supported candidates like Pamela Fenner and Ignacio "Joe" Pena.



Ms. Dudley has a substantial business and personal relationship with Mr. Raucci that Chairman McConnaughay did not disclose to the board. Questions need to be asked and answered about what gives the appearence of being a contract beneficial to a political crony and his business partner/friend. Ms. Dudley is also a former political consultant to Mr. Sullivan, the retired State Senator who just joined Mr. Raucci in this lobbying business venture a few months ago.



Also, questions need to be asked and answered about the process of interviewing and soliciting firms to do this lobbying. While Mr. Raucci is clearly a competent lobbyist, there are many competent lobbyists in Springfield. I wonder if an open bidding process, or a proper advertising of the opening/need was conducted?



Perhaps a bigger question to be discussed today is, "What are our elected officials supposed to be doing?" I asked two Kane County State Senators and one Kane County State Representative if they had been asked by the Chairman or a County Board member for help with funding for the Kane County Health Department. Each of the three answered "no." Shouldn't we rely on our legislators to be our lobbyists and advocates for our interests? At least have them give it a try first?



We have quite possibly the finest Congressman in America representing Kane County- Speaker Dennis Hastert. Is it necessary to pay a former Hastert staff member, David Thompson, $138,000 a year to lobby Kane interests in Washington? That's like sending a second Congressman from our District to DC.



With all of the controversies regarding "pay-to-play" convictions regarding ex-Governor Ryan and allegations of "pay-to-play" revolving around current Governor Blagojevich, Kane County government must be beyond reproach. This particular contract, upon first scrutiny, does not appear to be beyond reproach.



I hope that this is tabled, or voted down. I am especially hopeful that my County Board member, Jan Carlson, takes the lead on this. He has been involved in public service for over three decades and should understand and appreciate the importance of clean and open government.



I wish I could have sent this out earlier but I have only limited time, late in the evenings, for volunteer efforts like writing this document. I will not be able to come to the Board meeting today due to work commitments but I hope this document and issue receive the attention deserved.



Date: February 6, 2006



To: County Board Members



RE: Consulting Contract





A resolution on the February 14, 2006 County Board Agenda will ask you to consider a government consulting contract with Raucci & Sullivan Strategies, LLC, as approved by the Public Health Committee. I would like to direct your attention to two issues as it relates to this proposed contract.



The qualifications of four firms were considered by Mary Lou England, Public Health Committee chair Gerry Jones, and myself. Interviews were held with three of them (company profiles attached). The combined bipartisan experience and particular areas of expertise led to the selection of Raucci & Sullivan Strategies.



Mary Lou England was quite familiar with Dave Sullivan and his strong reputation as a knowledgeable and successful advocate for health issues while in the Illinois State Legislature.



Additionally, I had previously worked with Andrew Raucci. In 1990, he represented the collar counties in the successful effort to block Forest Preserve legislation proposed by S.T.O.P., the citizens group I had worked with. In 2003, my campaign committee hired Raucci for his extensive knowledge of election law to ensure proper preparation of my election petitions. As a matter of full disclosure, in 2004, he made a $250.00 contribution to my campaign (as reported to the State Board of Elections).



Providing the highest level of disclosure and transparency in all issues considered by the Board continues to be a top priority of this administration. Therefore, it is appropriate that you approve or disapprove this contract with complete knowledge of my past political association with one of the principals in the proposed contract. (emphasis added).



As a second issue, why Kane County would need a lobbyist is a question raised whenever consideration is given to such engagement. Government advocacy has become a necessity at the Federal and State levels. It is important not only to promote or discourage proposed laws effecting the function of county government but also the need to protect and increase the crucial funding required for the continuation of services currently provided to Kane County residents.



We do not have the in-house resources or staff necessary to provide the physical presence required to develop the relationships, track the various agency actions, and pursue the much needed funding from the State and Federal governments. Now, more than ever, the competition for shrinking tax dollars is taking its toll on our budget; expanding unfunded Federal and State mandates continue to have a negative impact on the level of service we provide our constituents.



There are numerous issues of concern for the Health Department this year. The lobbyists will work to increase and sustain funding in women's health, tobacco programs, local health protection and family case management. Intensive case management clients have had to be turned away because the Health Department did not have the funding. Additionally, the Health Department is seeking its fair share of pandemic flu and bioterrorism funding. The lobbyists will advocate for changes in animal control and water treatment issues.



Please consider these factors when contemplating approval of this firm, an alternative firm, or none at all.

Bill Baar 6:50 AM  

Thanks Jon,

I wish Sen Lauzen had been as clear in his letter, or linked us back to his webpage.

Anonymous,  12:16 PM  

Does anyone know how much money Sen. Col.CPA has brought back to Kane County, not just for the special interest groups he likes to showcase, I mean the nuts and bolts money, money for help with infrastructure and transportation issues? Wasn't Kane County 99th out of 102 counties statewide in Transportation Dollars? I guess he's chosen to ignore Kane County in his quest for Speaker Hastert's seat. He'll be a tremendous asset for us in D. C...NOT!

Making The Wheels Turn 8:04 PM  

There's a whole lot more to this story than meets the eye. Kane County has become a "black hole" as far as obtaining useful information under both Karen McConnaughay and Mike McCoy (County Board Chair before her) - and that's become a constant and ongoing complaint from the other tax districts, and our state legislators.

There's a bunch of local tax districts who have asked the Treasurer's office for information, and they've literally been told he (Rickert) does not have that information (how money the districts got from property taxes were calculated). His staff have literally sent the tax districts over to the County Assessor's office with their questions, and they don't have the information (apart from the fact that it's NOT THEIR JOB!).

The tax districts don't even waste time talking to the tax person in the County Clerk's office (a Susan Erickson, I believe). She doesn't even have a clue as to how taxes were calculated - she just forwards all the phone calls over to the Assessors office (almost feel sorry for those people). In fact, I understand that an outside company/contractor did almost all the Clerk's property tax work, and if she had to do the work on her own, they'd drown for sure.

Chris Lauzen took an interest about a year ago in the vast increase in special service areas and made the terrible error in judgement of asking Kane County for information. After about 9 months of doubletalk from Kane County, he figured out that the people he was talking to were a complete waste of time.

Btw, one of the things to look at with the whole Pingree Grove story involves the spread of these Special Service Districts being used to fund these massive new developments. Some interesting things going on there. When you see lots of people who were on the inside voting with their feet, there's a message there (not a good one).

Then came the effort by Campton Township to incorporate to put a stop to the annexation fever going on out there (Re: City of Elgin, etc.). The township board finally realized that Kane County was just blowing smoke at them, so they wanted a township referendum to incorporate. And they went directly to their state legislators, because Kane County is completely useless. That created a pissing match between all the parties.

And if you really want to see "interesting", see how Dave Rickert (Treasurer) and most of the townships are getting along these days. I wonder if the wounds from the last go around are healed over yet?

Anonymous,  8:47 AM  

I'm not sure how to insert one of those links here, so I put it in my "name" instead, but check out some very interesting stuff at the OpenlineBlog.com on just who profiting from the lobbying contract with the City of Aurora and the cronyism of Mayor Tom Weisner.

Anonymous,  2:23 PM  

I am not positive but I am fairly sure Will County has someone hired to lobby for them. Maybe they have to hire someone to lobby because their elected officials are too busy kissing babies, shaking hands, and having to beg for campaign donations in order to get re-elected?
There has to be a better way.

Anonymous,  9:26 PM  

Chris Lauzen is an extremely ineffective legislator who is only concerned with divisive wedge issues and furthering his own politicial career. He lost touch with his district and his constituents long ago. I've had a chance to talk with his opponent, Frank Craig, who genuinely cares about effective representation for all of the citizens of Lauzen's district. You can check out his message for yourself at www.frankcraig06.com. We do have an alternative to Lauzen this year.

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