The Cook County Circuit Court upheld county pay-to-play limits on Tuesday, ruling against County Assessor Joseph Berrios.

Berrios challenged the county’s campaign contribution limits for those who have sought official action from the county as unconstitutional. He also argued only the state Legislature has the authority to set contribution limits; Judge Sanjay Tailor disagreed.

Local governments are permitted to enact laws governing campaign finance, provided they do not interfere with voter registration and election mechanics.

Berrios is expected to appeal.

Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios is asking Circuit Court Judge Sanjay Tailor to void the county’s pay-to-play provisions. Current ethics rules limit campaign contributions from those who seek official action from the county.

Berrios argues only the state has the authority to limit campaign contributions, while the county maintains it is permitted to set more-restrictive limits to avoid impropriety.

Berrios was fined $41,000 in January (after receiving warnings from the Board of Ethics last summer) for taking 41 contributions exceeding pay-to-play limits from property tax appeal lawyers affected by the decisions of his office.

As he waits for a court ruling, Berrios continues to accept contributions exceeding county limits.

Pictured: Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios

Gov. Bruce Rauner signed a bill passed by lawmakers during the fall veto session aimed at curbing sexual harassment within state government.

Senate Bill 402 expressly prohibits sexual harassment by lobbyists, provides for a $5,000 fine for violations, and requires lobbyists to take an annual sexual harassment training course. The training course must be completed within 30 days of registration or renewal, beginning January 1, 2018.

Additionally, each person and entity required to register must have a written sexual harassment policy by January 1, 2018.

Gov. Rauner criticized the bill as rushed and needing more work, but conceded it was a step in the right direction.

The bill takes effect immediately.

Lawmakers passed a series of bills during the fall veto session this week aimed at curbing sexual harassment within state government.

Among them, Senate Bill 402 expressly prohibits sexual harassment by lobbyists, provides for a $5,000 fine for violations, and requires lobbyists to take an annual sexual harassment training course. The Secretary of State’s inspector general is also granted additional authority to investigate reports of sexual harassment.

The measure unanimously passed both houses and now awaits the governor’s signature.

Former federal prosecutor Julie Porter has been appointed as temporary inspector general after reports surfaced of harassment claims going unnoticed for more than a year while the post was vacant.

Lawmakers passed a series of bills during the fall veto session this week aimed at curbing sexual harassment within state government.

Among them, Senate Bill 402 expressly prohibits sexual harassment by lobbyists, provides for a $5,000 fine for violations, and requires lobbyists to take an annual sexual harassment training course. The Secretary of State’s inspector general is also granted additional authority to investigate reports of sexual harassment.

The measure unanimously passed both houses and now awaits the governor’s signature.

Former federal prosecutor Julie Porter has been appointed as temporary inspector general after reports surfaced of harassment claims going unnoticed for more than a year while the post was vacant.

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner is threatening to call lawmakers back to Springfield if he does not receive Senate Bill 1, an education funding reform bill, before noon today.

Legislators already passed the bill but chose not to send it to the governor after Rauner promised to amendatory veto the legislation to remove grant funding for Chicago Public School pensions.

Some lawmakers are seeking ways to avoid convening an expensive legislative session and have, instead, suggested a meeting between legislative leadership and the governor.

The Chicago Board of Ethics recently submitted two amendments to City Council, potentially affecting lobbyist filing procedures.

One amendment would require lobbyists to file all documents electronically in the Electronic Lobbyist Filing (ELF) system. The other amendment would establish enforcement provisions related to the electronic filing requirement.

Unless a majority of aldermen vote to disapprove them, the amendments will become effective on December 11, 2016. Once effective, the Board of Ethics will implement the new procedures beginning January 1, 2017. Paper filings will no longer be accepted after December 31, 2016.

Last week, the executive director of the Chicago Board of Ethics told the mayor and aldermen they could buy Cubs playoff tickets at face value provided they went to the game themselves and were publicly acknowledged by having their names announced or displayed.

A new ethics interpretation, however, will take effect before the Cubs face the Dodgers in game six of the seven-game series. In a revised memorandum, the Board of Ethics said the elected officials may accept the tickets at face value only if they perform a ceremonial duty or action and there is a clear and direct connection between the official’s attendance and performance of such ceremonial duty or action.

Contribution limits have been lifted in the Illinois comptroller race between incumbent Leslie Munger and Democratic challenger Susana Mendoza after Munger’s husband loaned $260,000 to her campaign.

State law stipulates any contribution exceeding $250,000 to a candidate’s own race abolishes the limits for all candidates in the race.

Gov. Bruce Rauner appointed Munger last year following Judy Baar Topinka’s death. The winner of the November election will finish the remainder of the four-year term.

After failing to pass a budget before the end of its spring session in May, the 98th Illinois General Assembly wrapped up its business on Thursday, June 30.

While concerns over the state budget were not completely alleviated, lawmakers were able to pass a short-term budget deal to keep basic services running.

Gov. Bruce Rauner believes further compromise and budget reform could occur in the 60 days following the November election when legislators will be more comfortable tackling tougher issues.

According to the Chicago Board of Ethics, unions representing city employees should not be bound by the city’s pay-to-play limits. Current campaign finance law bars vendors from contributing an aggregate amount exceeding $1,500 to any elected city official during a reporting year.

The Board ruled a collective bargaining agreement with the city is not the same as an agreement between the city and a private vendor providing goods or services because a labor union is not doing or seeking to do business with the city.

Gov. Bruce Rauner has signed Senate Bill 248, increasing the transparency of political spending. The bill requires political committees making independent expenditures of $1,000 or more file a report within five business of the expenditure.

If the expenditure is made during the 60-day period before an election, the report must be filed within two business days.

The bill, now Public Act 99-0437, goes into effect on January 1, 2016.

The number of municipalities and regional governments our research associates track continues to grow. We now cover almost 300 municipalities and local governments. This is part of a continuous effort to better serve the needs of our clients.

In that effort, we have recently added another abridged jurisdiction to our website. These entries, condensed due to the limited number of relevant local laws, provide the core information our clients need for their government relations work.

The new jurisdiction is: Peoria, Illinois

On July 29, City Council passed ordinance O2015-4685, amending the city ethics code.

The amendment requires the Office of the Legislative Inspector General (OLIG) to deliver all evidence collected during an investigation to the Board of Ethics before the board decides if city ethics rules have been violated. This would include the names and addresses of complainants and confidential testimony.

As the board will provide collected evidence to the accused, there is concern the change will have a chilling effect on potential whistleblowers, leave witnesses open to possible retaliation, and weaken the OLIG’s ability to enforce the ethics ordinance.