Chicago-area transit agencies, along with public community colleges and universities, counties and municipalities, spent millions in tax dollars on lobbyists over one year, according to a survey of local governments and public agencies facilitated by the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform (ICPR).

These groups spent millions of taxpayer money to hire people in an attempt to influence state government decisions.  The ICPR found that more than 119 governmental units spent over $6.3 million to hire more than 80 lobbying firms in the 2009 fiscal year. This figure is 23 percent higher than it was the first year the survey was conducted in 2007.

The top five lobbyist spenders include the Chicago Transit Authority, DuPage County, the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, Metra, and the City Colleges of Chicago. Combined these entities spent a total of $1.3 million, more than 20 percent of the total lobbyist costs identified. 

The ICPR is a non-partisan group that is calling for greater transparency in order to better track the public money that is being spent on lobbying.  As a result of the study, the ICPR is advocating for increasing the amount of information on lobbying that has been made public. Additionally, the organization believes that there should be greater enforcement of the state’s lobbying laws.