Daywatch: Illinois’ weak lobbying laws

Good morning, Chicago.

When former state Sen. Tom Cullerton walked out of federal prison on April 14, 2023, after serving time for public corruption, he was following in the footsteps of scores of convicted Illinois politicians before him.

Eleven days later, Cullerton headed down another well-worn path for ex-officeholders in the state — he became a lobbyist in Springfield. Lobbying not only earned Cullerton a paycheck but also enabled him to use the access and influence he had accumulated over nearly a decade in the statehouse to help shape public policy, only this time on behalf of paying clients.

Cullerton served seven months of a yearlong sentence after pleading guilty to pocketing a quarter-million dollars in pay and benefits from the Teamsters through a no-show job. A union boss told federal investigators the Democrat from west suburban Villa Park was given the organizer gig as a “favor” to another state senator, who has never been publicly identified.

Because of provisions in federal law, the conviction meant Cullerton was banned from working for a union or employee benefit plan for 13 years after his release.

But there was nothing stopping him from joining the ranks of the Illinois General Assembly’s so-called Third House — the group of nearly 2,300 registered lobbyists who are paid to bend the ears of state officials and sway the votes of lawmakers on behalf of interests ranging from megacorporations such as Amazon and Apple to unions and tiny nonprofits.

Cullerton’s quick turn from federal inmate to statehouse lobbyist underscores the insular nature of Springfield, where legislators and lobbyists hash out issues by day in hushed conversations around the Illinois Capitol rotunda’s circular brass rail and hang out in the same downtown restaurants and bars by night.

The cozy, at times co-dependent, relationship between lawmakers and lobbyists, coupled with some of the flimsiest regulations in the country, contributes to the greed and graft that permeate Illinois politics, which the Tribune is exploring in its ongoing series “Culture of Corruption.”

Read the full story from the Tribune’s Dan Petrella.

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