The Chicago City Council unanimously passed an ethics ordinance Wednesday aimed at punishing lobbyists for contributions to mayoral candidates, after Mayor Brandon Johnson dropped his opposition to the plan.
The measure bans lobbyists from donating to a mayor’s or a mayoral candidate’s political committee and adds fines and suspensions for lobbyists who break the rule. The effort to reinstate a 2011 executive order signed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel was essential given how many elected officials at Chicago City Hall have been “indicted, convicted and gone to prison,” sponsor Ald. Matt Martin said.
“It is critical we strengthen the trust people have in local government,” said Martin, 47th, the council’s Ethics Committee chair.
Martin proposed the ordinance after the city ethics board in April dropped several cases of registered lobbyists improperly donating to Johnson’s political committee. The body determined it lacked the legal authority to enforce a 2011 executive order that banned such donations.
Martin’s ordinance effectively reinstalls the Emanuel executive order. However, it initially faced opposition from Johnson. The mayor’s administration argued the legislation did not go far enough by only targeting mayoral candidates and not including more politicians.
Allies of the mayor helped stall the legislation in June with parliamentary maneuvers. Later that day, the mayor called on the City Council to instead pass a “full comprehensive ethics package.”
But Johnson stopped opposing it after Martin and the administration worked out changes to the ordinance. The legislation now clarifies that bribes are prohibited and that individuals completing their annual financial interest statement must disclose business they have done with the city, Martin said.
“When we have an opportunity to make sure we are not taking a step backward when it comes to longstanding campaign finance laws, we need to take that,” Martin said.
The City Council also approved four separate settlements of lawsuits targeting the city totaling $15.1 million, including an $11.6 million settlement for a man who claimed to have been forced into a false confession by police. Anthony Jakes spent 20 years in prison for alleged involvement in a 1991 murder before a judge vacated his conviction.
Aldermen later voted to confirm Johnson’s appointment of Ald. Walter Burnett Jr., 27th, as the council’s Zoning Committee chair and Sharla Roberts as the city’s new chief procurement officer. Roberts’ appointment ends Johnson’s long troubles with the position after he reached a severance package to facilitate the exit of Aileen Velazquez from the role in July.
The City Council also passed an ordinance requiring computer data generated by Chicago residents and employees be stored within the United States. The ordinance includes incentives to encourage data to be stored within Illinois and the city. Later, aldermen voted to extend and expand an ordinance aimed at preventing gentrification near the Northwest Side’s 606 trail, including by adding fees for home demolitions.
jsheridan@chicagotribune.com
