Mayor Rahm Emanuel spent his second week in office on City Hall’s fifth floor, but his influence was felt 200 miles away in Springfield, where lawmakers are considering casino and pension proposals.
A prodigious Blackberry networker, Emanuel has been connecting with legislators regularly and deploying a team of seasoned lobbyists to advance his ambitious agenda.
As a former member of Congress and White House chief of staff, the mayor understands the importance of long-distance lobbying. He has been deeply involved in the details of several bills impacting Chicago Public Schools and a potential gaming facility, lawmakers said. He also met with Springfield’s power brokers when they were in Chicago.
“He has the advantage of being kind-of-a famous guy,” said Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago). “He was White House chief of staff. He is close to the president. And as you know, the media covers the mayor more than the U.S. senators or the governor. As a result, he’s a big shot. He can be very effective down here.”
Emanuel’s hands-on style contrasts with former Mayor Richard M. Daley’s arms-length approach to the General Assembly. Daley rarely called lawmakers–even elected officials with Chicago-based districts–to lobby for bills he supported. He relied on a small circle of trusted middle men to handle the details and often shared his views on legislative matters from news conferences in downtown Chicago.
Emanuel is involved in the details of the process, according to lawmakers and lobbyists familiar with his agenda.
Only a few days remain in the legislative session for the new mayor to accomplish his list of priorities, including gaming, pension reform for city workers, changes for Chicago Public Schools and relief from workers’ compensation cases.
Emanuel wants a proposed city-owned casino to pay lower fees and taxes than those required of the state’s other nine casinos, lobbyists involved with the negotiations said. But that item suffered a setback Wednesday night, even as Emanuel’s team negotiated the bill privately. A House committee rejected a plan that authorized a Chicago casino and four others around the state.
Emanuel’s lobbyists were successful in their effort to include city workers in a controversial pension bill. The measure would require city employees to pay more into their pensions, along with state workers, teachers and university employees. Chicago police and firefighters were not included in the bill. The proposal advanced out of a House committee Thursday.
Some legal experts say the plan would violate the Illinois Constitution, which says pension benefits “shall not be diminished or impaired.” But with heavyweights including Emanuel and House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) supporting it, the measure gains stronger legs as it moves to the Senate.
During the mayoral campaign, Emanuel was vocal about the need to address the city’s underfunded pension system, but he did not say how he would fix the problem. He was not endorsed by the city’s police and firefighter unions due to concerns he would reduce pension benefits, and he lost several wards with heavy police and fire populations on Election Day.
Emanuel also has an interest in reducing the employer share of workers’ compensation costs. The city is one of the state’s largest employers.
The House and Senate are scheduled to adjourn Tuesday. If they don’t conclude their work by then, state law requires a three-fifths majority for legislation to pass as of June 1. The Democrats would lose their ability to drive the agenda. They would need Republican votes to move forward.
So there is an incentive for Democrats to finish up. Most of the legwork in the final days will be handled behind closed doors as Madigan, Cullerton and Gov. Pat Quinn find middle ground on a host of complicated issues. How Emanuel will play into that remains to be seen. The legislature is known to thrust unresolved issues toward the finish line in the final hours, and it’s possible a casino for Chicago could result from last-minute negotiations.
Emanuel’s participation is welcome, even in the frenzied final days of the session, lawmakers said.
“It seems like he’s willing to push up his sleeves and get in the discussion and get in the conversation, and I’m pleased with that,” said Kimberly Lightford, a Democratic state senator who sponsored an education reform bill Emanuel wants. “I met with him a number of times because it was something I needed, to see him eye to eye and have a conversation, and he was totally open to that.”
Matt Hynes, Emanuel’s chief Springfield liaison, is among the mayor’s surrogates talking regularly with lawmakers. He is a lawyer and brother of Dan Hynes, the former Illinois Comptroller. His father, Thomas Hynes, is a longtime Madigan ally.
Emanuel also has enlisted Michael Ruemmler, a member of his campaign team, as a key negotiator in Springfield. Ruemmler is working with Hynes, lobbyist William Filan and Billy Glunz, who also worked for Daley.
This week, they phoned lawmakers to urge support of the Illinois DREAM Act, which provides money to college-bound children of undocumented immigrants. They also engaged in old-fashioned bartering at “the rail,” the Capitol’s second- floor hangout where gray-suited lobbyists try to catch House members as they come and go. Emanuel’s team stood for more than an hour outside a roped-off area, sending notes to the House floor to summon representatives they hoped to influence.
“They are taking our temperature,” said state Rep. Michael Zalewski (D-Chicago), whose father serves on the Chicago City Council. “They’re engaged and involved, and they want us to know about everything that might impact the city, especially things that could hurt. They’re doing some of that defensive lobbying.”
So far, Emanuel’s go-to lawmakers are those sponsoring bills he wants. He worked with Lightford on her education bill, which is a change, she said, from Daley’s style. When she co-sponsored Senate Bill 750, which would have raised the income tax, Daley’s aides wanted the bill to pass. But they were unwilling to support it publicly, she said.
“I see this mayor as saying, ‘OK. What do I need to do to move this bill along?’” Lightford said.
Daley rarely visited Springfield, relying on lobbyists who worked on a contract basis. That meant their time was divided among many different issues, lawmakers said.
“Daley was more willing to go it alone,” Zalewski said. “I think with the problems in the city, Emanuel will need our help. I think he sees it’s better to be engaged, as he should be. The city is a big stakeholder in this state.”
With his Washington experience, Emanuel is no stranger to how legislative bodies work. He is exerting his influence while not overstepping boundaries, Cullerton said.
“He appreciates the legislative process,” Cullerton said. “Illinois is a microcosm of Congress.”
Kristen McQueary covers state government as part of a partnership between CNC and WBEZ
