Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel failed to garner enough votes in Tuesday’s consolidated primary to avoid heading to a runoff election. Emanuel required more than 50 percent of the vote to win the election outright.

Although he finished first in the five candidate field with just over 45 percent of the vote, the city will now hold a runoff mayoral election for the first time in history.

The runoff is scheduled for April 7, and the mayor will face Cook County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia.

The campaign contribution limits have been lifted for candidates in the Chicago mayoral race. Under state law, the limits are lifted for all candidates in a local race once a candidate in said race exceeds $100,000 in contributions to his own campaign within a year of the election.

Conservative candidate William J. Kelly reached the $100,000 threshold on Monday. This is seemingly good news for Rahm Emanuel, who will now be able to go back to wealthy supporters to add to his campaign war chest.

Kelly argues lifting the caps does not help his opponent, however, as Emanuel already has all the money he needs. Kelly contends the playing field has been leveled as anti-Emanuel groups are now free to contribute to him as much as they want.

Lobbying

“ALEC Finds New Friends” by Janie Lorber in Roll Call.

Arizona: “Ex-Fiesta Bowl lobbyist takes plea deal in probe” by Craig Harris in the Arizona Republic.

Campaign Finance

“Appeals court upholds Illinois campaign disclosure law” by Nate Raymond (Reuters) in the Chicago Tribune.

Minnesota: “Minnesota to keep enforcing campaign disclosure law; federal judge called part of it ‘onerous’” by Martiga Lohn (Associated Press) in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

“Nonstop Fundraising Stretch Starts” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

“Rahm Emanuel suspends super PAC fundraising” by Kenneth P. Vogel in Politico.

“Shop Talk: Celebrating Campaign Women” by Kyle Trygstad in Roll Call.

“Look-alike sites funnel big money to mystery PAC” by Shaqne Goldmacher in NextGov.

“Corporate Contributions and Disclosure” editorial in the New York Times.

Social Media

“Twitter adopts new targeting method for advertisers” by Steve Friess in Politico.

“Cementing social media’s place in the campaign world” in Campaigns & Elections.

“Social-Media Insights Inspired By Barack Obama, America’s First Truly Social President” by Amber Mac in Fast Company.

“Nine Tech Tips for Starting a New Government Job” by Mark Micheli in Government Executive.

“Social Media Mistakes That Can Ruin Your Government Career” by Mark Malseed in OhMyGov!

Mayor Rahm Emanuel introduced an ethics reform amendment to the city council on June 8. The amendment, based on the recommendations given to him by the Ethics Reform Task Force, would strengthen the gift ban, add a reverse revolving door provision, and increase the penalties for PACs who accept illegal contributions. The amendment also includes a code of conduct for city officials and employees, which is something the city has never had before.

The city council will now decide the fate of the mayor’s initiatives. The Ethics Reform Task Force will release its second set of recommendations in late July, this time focusing on the relationship between, and the key responsibilities of, the city’s ethics institutions.

Photo of Chicago skyline by mindfrieze on Wikipedia. 

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has announced the creation of an ethics reform task force charged with overhauling and strengthening the city’s ethics ordinance.

The task force will be given four months to rewrite the city’s ethics ordinance.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office in Chicago is now offering a Google map on the City of Chicago website that allows citizens to follow the mayor’s travels.

The City Hall in Your Community page has markers on its map showing where the mayor has visited. They give us the date of the visit, a picture of the mayor at the event, a link to the original source of the picture, and a description of the event as well as the mayor’s role. It appears there are over one hundred of those markers on the City Hall in Your Community map.

I think this is a good idea for other cities to imitate. It looks like a powerful tool to demonstrate government responsiveness and accountability.

Govtech.com has a great article with much more information about the site. It is called “Where’s Rahm Emanuel? Online Map Tracks Chicago Mayor’s Travels” from September 20.

Federal:

Crossroads GPS, Priorities USA Violate Tax Laws, Reform Groups Allege in IRS Petition

Oregon Congressman, Named in Sex Case, to Resign

From the States and Municipalities:

Alabama

Bob Riley’s PAC Admits Taking PAC-to-PAC Donation in Violation of Law Riley Pushed

California

Judge Ready to Strike down San Jose Law Barring Last-Minute Campaign Contributions

District of Columbia

D.C. Council Member Thomas to Repay D.C. $300,000

Florida

Judge Hears Challenge to Florida Campaign Law

Florida

Press Group in Talks to Take Over State Lobbyist Registration

Georgia

Ethics Commission Could See Major Reorganization

Illinois

Emanuel Ethics Reforms Back on Track at City Council

Massachusetts

GOP’s Winslow Uses On-line Coupon to Promote Fundraiser

New York

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz Fined $20,000 for Taking Free Foreign Trips for His Wife

Rhode Island

Twenty Politicians Owe $800,000 in Election Fines

Tennessee

Some Advocacy Avoids Tennessee Lobbying Label

Virginia

For Virginia Companies, Campaign Donations to Lawmakers Just another Cost of Doing Business

State and Federal Communications produces a weekly summary of national news, offering more than 80 articles per week focused on ethics, lobbying, and campaign finance.

News You Can Use is a news service provided at no charge only to clients of our online Executive Source Guides, or ALERTS™ consulting clients.

Jim Sedor is editor of News You Can Use.

The three reissued executive orders include a ban on political contributions to the mayor from the owners of companies that do business with the city, an order requiring city employees to comply with hiring oversight rules, and an order reaffirming that it is the duty of every city employee to report wrongdoing to the inspector general.

The first new executive order prohibits new appointees from lobbying city government for two years after leaving the administration, bars lower level employees from lobbying the departments or agencies in which they work, and bars appointees to boards and commissions from lobbying the board or commission on which they sit.

The second new executive order protects city employees from being pressured to give gifts or make political contributions to their superiors.

The third new executive order prohibits city lobbyists from making political contributions to the mayor.