Lobbying by sitting Illinois lawmakers under scrutiny

A federal bribery charge against an Illinois state legislator has led to questions about whether lawmakers should be allowed to lobby other units of government.

The federal bribery charge last month against former Rep. Luis Arroyo laid bare the potential ethics tangle. Most states allow lawmakers to lobby outside state government, and Illinois isn't even the least restrictive. Eighteen states, including California, have no restrictions on such lobbying.

Arroyo, a Chicago Democrat, is accused of attempting to bribe a senator to support his plan to legalize slot-like "sweepstakes" gambling machines. At the time, Arroyo was registered as a Chicago lobbyist, representing a company that operates the games before the City Council.

FILE - In this April 16, 2013 file photo, Illinois Rep. Luis Arroyo, D-Chicago, speaks on the House floor during session in Springfield, Ill. A federal bribery charge against an Illinois legislator has led to questions about whether lawmakers be allowed to lobby other units of government.Illinois like most states allows legislators to lobby outside state government. The federal charge last month against former Rep. Arroyo laid bare an example of how lobbying privileges could be abused. (AP PhotoSeth Perlman File)

Such an arrangement can pit loyalties against each other, said David Melton, interim executive director of Reform for Illinois.

"There's an obvious potential for log-rolling in terms of trading favors back and forth — and a dereliction of their exercising good judgment as to what or should or should not be policy — and log-rolling in terms of edging over into explicit bribery," Melton said.

Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker promised a "comprehensive" ethics-reform review, including a potential ban on legislators lobbying and called the circumstances generated by Arroyo's dual roles are "challenging and problematic." No one answered a phone call placed Friday to the office of Arroyo's attorney.

FILE - In this Oct. 28, 2019 file photo, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker answers questions during a news conference at the Capitol in Springfield, Ill. A federal bribery charge against an Illinois legislator has led to questions about whether lawmakers be allowed to lobby other units of government.Illinois like most states allows legislators to lobby outside state government. Former Rep. Luis Arroyo was charged last month with attempting to bribe a senator to support his so-called sweepstakes gambling legislation at the same time Arroyo was representing a sweepstakes company before the Chicago City Council. (Ted SchurterThe State Journal-Register via AP File)

House Republicans have already produced a package of legislation, including a ban on lobbying by active legislators and a revamp of annually required statements of economic interest. Those forms' broadly worded questions aimed at unearthing an officeholder's financial situation and potential conflicts currently allow for answers of "None" or "N/A."

Several members of the Illinois House and Senate are registered to lobby in Chicago — including Senate President John Cullerton, although reports filed by the Chicago Democrat show no lobbying activity since 2016. The reports are easily accessible online.

Illinois is not alone in allowing lawmakers to lobby. In Maryland, for example, it's not unusual for a sitting legislator to be a registered lobbyist before Congress or in nearby Virginia. Lobbying lawmakers who face a potential conflict must disclose it in writing and may seek advice from the Legislature's ethics counsel, said Delegate Kathleen Dumais, co-chairwoman of the Maryland Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics. She said a legislator who lobbies on Capitol Hill and faces a later vote on the same issue in the Statehouse should request permission to be excused from the vote.

FILE - In this May 25, 2016 file photo, Illinois Rep. Michael J. Zalewski, D-Riverside, speaks at the Illinois state Capitol in Springfield, Ill. A federal bribery charge against an Illinois legislator has led to questions about whether lawmakers be allowed to lobby other units of government.Illinois like most states allows legislators to lobby outside state government. Zalewski, last registered as a Chicago lobbyist in 2015 when he worked for a law firm which required more active intervention with city officials on clients' behalf. (AP PhotoSeth Perlman File)

One problem facing policymakers is definition. Chicago defines a lobbyist as anyone who represents someone else "to influence any legislative or administrative action."

For Democratic Sen. Elgie Sims, a Chicago attorney, it means representing his law firm's clients who have contracts with the Chicago Police Department, the Chicago Park District, and the Chicago Transit Authority.

For Rep. Jaime Andrade, it means using his expertise in building permits and zoning-amendment language honed during two decades as a Chicago City Council aide and legislative assistant before joining the Legislature in 2014.

"I'm a paper-pusher," said the Democrat who first registered as a lobbyist while seeking income during the 2015-17 state budget crisis which halted lawmakers' pay. "I know what the holdup is, and I know what the process is. People are overwhelmed by the process and the time it takes."

Some ethics advocates suggest prohibiting legislators from earning any outside income. Others counter that would discourage talented people from seeking office. The base legislative salary is $69,464.

Rep. Michael Zalewski, a Riverside Democrat, last registered as a Chicago lobbyist in 2015 when he worked for a law firm that required more active intervention with city officials on clients' behalf. His new law firm represents dozens of gambling interests, and this year he relinquished his involvement in legislation to legalize sports betting after facing criticism, even though he had sought an opinion from the House ethics officer, who had approved his participation.

"There will be a conversation in the very near future about what lobbying entails at the state and local level and the times when, as an attorney or as a member of another profession, you're required to register because you're meeting with a government official," Zalewski said. "It's all getting harder and harder to navigate."

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UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Russia on Wednesday vetoed a U.N. resolution sponsored by the United States and Japan calling on all nations to prevent a dangerous nuclear arms race in outer space, calling it “a dirty spectacle” that cherry picks weapons of mass destruction from all other weapons that should also be banned.

The vote in the 15-member Security Council was 13 in favor, Russia opposed and China abstaining.

The resolution would have called on all countries not to develop or deploy nuclear arms or other weapons of mass destruction in space, as banned under a 1967 international treaty that included the U.S. and Russia, and to agree to the need to verify compliance.

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said after the vote that Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Moscow has no intention of deploying nuclear weapons in space.

“Today’s veto begs the question: Why? Why, if you are following the rules, would you not support a resolution that reaffirms them? What could you possibly be hiding,” she asked. “It’s baffling. And it’s a shame.”

Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia dismissed the resolution as “absolutely absurd and politicized,” and said it didn’t go far enough in banning all types of weapons in space.

Russia and China proposed an amendment to the U.S.-Japan draft that would call on all countries, especially those with major space capabilities, “to prevent for all time the placement of weapons in outer space, and the threat of use of force in outer spaces.”

The vote was 7 countries in favor, 7 against, and one abstention and the amendment was defeated because it failed to get the minimum 9 “yes” votes required for adoption.

The U.S. opposed the amendment, and after the vote Nebenzia addressed the U.S. ambassador saying: “We want a ban on the placement of weapons of any kind in outer space, not just WMDs (weapons of mass destruction). But you don’t want that. And let me ask you that very same question. Why?”

He said much of the U.S. and Japan’s actions become clear “if we recall that the U.S. and their allies announced some time ago plans to place weapons … in outer space.”

Nebenzia accused the U.S. of blocking a Russian-Chinese proposal since 2008 for a treaty against putting weapons in outer space.

Thomas-Greenfield accused Russia of undermining global treaties to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, irresponsibly invoking “dangerous nuclear rhetoric,” walking away from several of its arms control obligations, and refusing to engage “in substantive discussions around arms control or risk reduction.”

She called Wednesday’s vote “a real missed opportunity to rebuild much-needed trust in existing arms control obligations.”

Thomas-Greenfield’s announcement of the resolution on March 18 followed White House confirmation in February that Russia has obtained a “troubling” anti-satellite weapon capability, although such a weapon is not operational yet.

Putin declared later that Moscow has no intention of deploying nuclear weapons in space, claiming that the country has only developed space capabilities similar to those of the U.S.

Thomas-Greenfield said before the vote that the world is just beginning to understand “the catastrophic ramifications of a nuclear explosion in space.”

It could destroy “thousands of satellites operated by countries and companies around the world — and wipe out the vital communications, scientific, meteorological, agricultural, commercial, and national security services we all depend on,” she said.

The defeated draft resolution said “the prevention of an arms race in outer space would avert a grave danger for international peace and security.” It would have urged all countries carrying out activities in exploring and using outer space to comply with international law and the U.N. Charter.

The draft would have affirmed that countries that ratified the 1967 Outer Space Treaty must comply with their obligations not to put in orbit around the Earth “any objects” with weapons of mass destruction, or install them “on celestial bodies, or station such weapons in outer space.”

The treaty, ratified by some 114 countries, including the U.S. and Russia, prohibits the deployment of “nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction” in orbit or the stationing of “weapons in outer space in any other manner.”

The draft resolution emphasized “the necessity of further measures, including political commitments and legally binding instruments, with appropriate and effective provisions for verification, to prevent an arms race in outer space in all its aspects.”

It reiterated that the U.N. Conference on Disarmament, based in Geneva, has the primary responsibility to negotiate agreements on preventing an arms race in outer space.

The 65-nation body has achieved few results and has largely devolved into a venue for countries to voice criticism of others’ weapons programs or defend their own. The draft resolution would have urged the conference “to adopt and implement a balanced and comprehensive program of work.”

At the March council meeting where the U.S.-Japan initiative was launched, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres warned that “geopolitical tensions and mistrust have escalated the risk of nuclear warfare to its highest point in decades.”

He said the movie “Oppenheimer” about Robert Oppenheimer, who directed the U.S. project during World War II that developed the atomic bomb, “brought the harsh reality of nuclear doomsday to vivid life for millions around the world.”

“Humanity cannot survive a sequel to Oppenheimer,” the U.N. chief said.

United States Ambassador and Representative to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield addresses members of the U.N. Security Council before voting during a meeting on Non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, Wednesday, April 24, 2024 at United Nations headquarters. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

FILE - U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield speaks on Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Tokyo. The U.N. Security Council is set to vote Wednesday, April 24, 2024, on a resolution announced by Thomas-Greenfield, calling on all nations to prevent a dangerous nuclear arms race in outer space. It is likely to be vetoed by Russia. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool, File)