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* Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin chairs the board’s Legislation and Intergovernmental Relations Committee. He’s also a registered lobbyist in Springfield. He does not disclose that activity separately on his statement of economic interest. Suffredin was endorsed by the Sun-Times in 2018.
Cook County Commissioner John Daley is an insurance broker by trade. The firm was built by his late father, the former mayor. The insurance business is a favorite of political insiders. Commissioner Daley was endorsed by the Sun-Times in 2018.
Cook County Commissioner Sean Morrison was also endorsed by the Sun-Times two years ago. His Sun-Times profile lists him as “Founder & CEO of Morrison Security an Illinois Licensed Private Security Contractor.” Commissioner Morrison sits on the Criminal Justice Committee and the Homeland Security and Emergency Management Committee.
Cook County Commissioner Dennis Deer lists his occupation as the proprietor of Phoenix Behavioral Health Services. Deer chairs the Health and Hospitals Committee. The Sun-Times endorsed Deer in 2018.
Cook County Commissioner Scott Britton’s law firm handles workers’ compensation defense cases. Britton sits on the Workers’ Compensation Committee. The Sun-Times endorsed Britton in 2018.
I’m not trying to pick on those five commissioners. I just chose five at random.
* With all that being said, this is from a recent Sun-Times editorial…
When running for Cook County commissioner, Bridget Degnen vowed to be a full-time officeholder who wouldn’t profit from outside work.
But six months after Degnen took her seat on the county board in 2018, as reported by Tom Schuba of the Sun-Times late last week, she walked through the infamous political “revolving door” and started cashing in on her prior governmental experience.
After working from 2013 to 2017 as the deputy director of medical cannabis at the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation — the state agency that will issue the next round of licenses for marijuana dispensaries — Degnen hung out her shingle as an adviser to applicants for those licenses. She also landed an ownership stake in a company hoping to open dispensaries across the state.
It’s a perfect example of how the revolving door works, with all its dangers of insider dealing. […]
Like others before her, Degnen says she broke no laws because enough time had elapsed between her state job and the beginning of her work for the cannabis industry. But one applicant said she somehow “knew how these [applications] were going to get scored” and “knew what the application looked like before anyone else did.”
How did she know that?
This is how the revolving door works.
The editorial then calls on Degnen to either resign from the county board or quit the cannabis business.
* As I’ve said before, Degnen has some explaining to do about her broken campaign promise. But exactly how long does the Sun-Times want a state revolving door law to apply? Five years? Ten years? Infinity? I mean, heck, some of the applicants were former government officials, legislators, etc. Also, should outside income be banned for commissioners? OK, fair enough. So, where’s the “Resign!” editorials about the other commissioners?
And, sorry, but quoting an anonymous source claiming that Degnen somehow knew what would be asked on the application is just ridiculous. As Charlie Wheeler always says, “Read the bill.” Anyone who studied that bill would know what questions would be asked because they were essentially written into the legislation. And that goes double for anyone with knowledge of the industry. I hire someone to do my taxes for the same reason. I don’t have time to study and understand tax laws, so I pay somebody to do that for me. Plenty of applicants hired consultants. Some of those consultants were lobbyists who helped write the law itself .
* For some reason, the Sun-Times has decided that the cannabis industry is somehow bad, or yucky or tainted or whatever. A recent story about Degnen called a dispensary a “dope shop.” But dispensaries are licensed and regulated by the state, even more so than lobbyists, insurance brokerage firms, security companies, behavioral specialists and workers’ comp attorneys.
So, how about we get out of the mid-20th Century on this topic, for crying out loud?
* All that being said, the whisper campaign about Degnen’s clients is just brutal. If half of it is true, there’s gonna be heck to pay. But this CST hit is utter nonsense.
posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Oct 19, 20 @ 1:15 pm
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Great comparison work. from what I have been told, Degnen’s candidacy against the incumbent had a personal element to it. forces at work.
Comment by Amalia Monday, Oct 19, 20 @ 1:24 pm
This is completely self-inflicted.
Comment by The Captain Monday, Oct 19, 20 @ 1:28 pm
===completely self-inflicted===
Yeah, right. IIRC, she doesn’t get paid until they get a license.
Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Oct 19, 20 @ 1:29 pm
One slight difference, in my opinion, is that we publicly know the outside sources of income for the other commissioners; they did not foolishly put Other-LLC on their economic interest statements in what can be argued as an attempt to conceal potential conflicts of interest or appearances of impropriety.
Comment by Legalese Monday, Oct 19, 20 @ 1:33 pm
Did Degnan promise to be a full time Commissioner? If so, then she broke her promise.
Comment by Frumpy White Guy Monday, Oct 19, 20 @ 1:34 pm
“For some reason, the Sun-Times has decided that the cannabis industry is somehow bad, or yucky or tainted or whatever.”
Paging Sgt. Joe Friday, paging Sgt. Friday!
Comment by Anyone Remember Monday, Oct 19, 20 @ 1:34 pm
Degnen brought a lot of this on herself by claiming to be full time and being so cagey when the issue first surfaced, but Rich’s point is spot on. If the Sun-Times wants full time commissioners, alderman, legislators, etc., they should just say it and be prepared to argue for pay hikes.
Comment by Roman Monday, Oct 19, 20 @ 1:34 pm
=== how long does the Sun-Times want a state revolving door law to apply? Five years? Ten years? Infinity?===
For me, this is “everything, plus one”, it’s the issue to the meaning of revolving, how long is this pause between?
Stifling one’s ability to put up a shingle and use the institutional knowledge as a skill, how long are we talking, with allegedly ethics as the concern?
I think once I can fully grasp the accepted timetable, then let’s discuss ethics to that in one’s new work.
As to Degnen, it’s always better to get ahead of the rumors or the thoughts to already known facts than try to continually answer piece meal whatever is seemingly dropped as a hit piece or oppo dump.
Why not clear the air?
I’ll leave that open ended question as it is. It appears there’ to be a long winding answer…
Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Oct 19, 20 @ 1:42 pm
“When running for Cook County commissioner, Bridget Degnen vowed to be a full-time officeholder who wouldn’t profit from outside work.”
This is the only sentence in the story that matters to me. If she promised to be a full-time Commissioner, it doesn’t matter why she broke that promise, just that she did.
Comment by Michael Westen Monday, Oct 19, 20 @ 1:45 pm
Do we even know that she works for the cannibis company? She advised them on the application and they got a perfect score. That doesn’t show that she had a part time job there, or that she wasn’t a full time commissioner.
All this shows I’d that if Hollywood doesn’t get what he wants, somebody gets hurt.
Comment by Socially DIstant watcher Monday, Oct 19, 20 @ 1:54 pm
Not sure how it happened but my dispensary email gets all of her campaign fundraising requests and now her official emails as a commissioner.
Comment by dispensary employee Monday, Oct 19, 20 @ 1:55 pm
I have a full time job and in the past have had several side gigs. This did not affect my 9-5.
Comment by Live Wire Monday, Oct 19, 20 @ 2:04 pm
She ran a campaign based on no second jobs. She pledged to be full time and hammered the hell out of John Fritchey for not being a full time Commissioner. I agree with Rich pass the law or make it a County Ordinance.
I wasn’t and I’m not a fan of Fritchey but wrong is wrong and now she needs to face the music.
Comment by Hard D Monday, Oct 19, 20 @ 2:18 pm
Hard D nails it.
Degnen didnt make some offhanded pledge not to work outside her commissioner job.
She hammered the incumbent nonstop for having an outside job and leveraging his prior government experience to obtain revolving door work as a lobbyist.
Is she being held to a higher standard than other incumbents?
Yes.
But it is her standard, and she is being a hypocrite.
Comment by Rodney Copperbottom Monday, Oct 19, 20 @ 2:41 pm
===She hammered the incumbent nonstop for having an outside job===
And now he’s claiming that she’s using her connections to make money. lol. A bit rich.
Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Oct 19, 20 @ 2:48 pm
The CST wants Degnen to resign from the board or dispose of her interest in the cannabis company? Rich is right. No record of the paper asking other board members to do the same.
She is not going to take either option. The stories will keep coming, she will catch a strong primary opponent, and she might be a very rich woman by that point.
Comment by North Side Reformer Monday, Oct 19, 20 @ 2:50 pm
My answer: infinity - I’d rather lose people who can’t afford to simply be a full-time elected official from the “talent pool.” Especially given this state’s history.
Comment by lake county democrat Monday, Oct 19, 20 @ 2:51 pm
Some of the anger here is cracking me up. You’d think Bridget Degnen is the new Michael Madigan. Or maybe people are just really mad at anyone who looks like Amy Coney Barrett.
Comment by North Side Reformer Monday, Oct 19, 20 @ 3:10 pm
===You’d think Bridget Degnen is the new Michael Madigan===
LOL
Yep
Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Oct 19, 20 @ 3:12 pm
=== You’d think Bridget Degnen…===
… went back on her word, has outside work, and is it sketchy?
You mean *other* than that?
Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Oct 19, 20 @ 3:13 pm
For what its worth, I have worked with Degnen and while I don’t agree with her on everything, I think she is doing a good job as Commissioner.
Comment by Powdered Whig Monday, Oct 19, 20 @ 3:28 pm
===Yeah, right. IIRC, she doesn’t get paid until they get a license.===
Wait a sec - so consultants seeking a state license can get paid on a contingency basis?
There’s a reason that lobbyist-consultants can’t get paid that way when they advise on a state procurement etc.
Just sayin’
Comment by Joe Bidenopolous Monday, Oct 19, 20 @ 3:55 pm
—Wait a sec - so consultants seeking a state license can get paid on a contingency basis? –
Degnen provided professional services, not government relations work. Having expertise in cannabis does not mean she had to register as a lobbyist. If she contacted the state or her former colleagues, she has an issue to deal with. Her bigger problem is if this becomes a public relations nightmare for the governor.
Comment by North Side Reformer Monday, Oct 19, 20 @ 4:03 pm
So many “reformers” change their tune once they get into office. No sympathies for Degnan here.
Comment by Chicagonk Monday, Oct 19, 20 @ 4:15 pm
She opened a company with her chief of staff to advise license applicants. I personally don’t have an issue with that, but she did break a campaign promise, and will have to answer to her constituents for that.
To the bigger point, gimme a break. The list of conflicts of interests at the County Board are deeper and way more interesting than her her consulting company. She is just an easier target. The fact that the CST editorial board felt this was a worthy topic says more about them than her.
Comment by Centennial Monday, Oct 19, 20 @ 4:43 pm
–She opened a company with her chief of staff to advise license applicants. I personally don’t have an issue with that, but she did break a campaign promise, and will have to answer to her constituents for that. –
Whoever is doing comms for Degnen needs to be fired. How they let what should have been one story snowball into this is beyond the pale. But then again, we live in a Trump news cycle. People will forget, but we can be sure John Fritchey will remind everyone in a couple years. Ain’t Chicago politics fun?
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Oct 19, 20 @ 9:55 pm