Your big brother is a powerful member of city council, and you're just a deputy city clerk. There's got to be more than this! So you retire, take your pension of $68,000, and run for state representative, with all the support your brother and his friends can provide, adding another $86,000 in salary and the prospect of a second government pension. Not bad.

But not enough. You set up a lobbying firm, "to help businesses engage" with the city, and you let your partner engage with the state, since you can't do that yourself. For an office from which to lobby city officials, including your brother, you find a bargain: in your brother's building, where you and he already have your constituent offices.

Who's going to use the services of a novice lobbyist? One client was a pair of men looking to get into building homes on city-owned lots with city financing. The deal was accepted by the city council, with the lobbyist's brother voting. Another client was a company seeking the wireless contract for the airport; it got it. Most of the other clients don't appear to have gotten what they wanted, but the little brother looked like a good opportunity to get a foot in the revolving door.

The rule in this city -- not surprisingly, Chicago -- as in so many other cities is that there is a one-year freeze on lobbying by former officials, and no rule on lobbying by council members' immediate family members or by state representatives.

The above is based on research done in tandem by the Better Government Association [2] and the Chicago Sun-Times, which reported the story [3] yesterday.

The BGA is calling for an end to double-dipping (two government salaries or pensions) and to public officials lobbying other public officials. Better recusal rules would also be nice.

Robert Wechsler
Director of Research, City Ethics

203-230-2548