SBC under fire for failing to name lobbyists
May 15, 2003

BY DAVE MCKINNEY Sun-Times Springfield Bureau

SPRINGFIELD--SBC Communications hired two clout-heavy lobbying firms for its furious legislative push to impose higher telephone rates on rivals but failed to disclose the hirings as required by state law.

SBC employed a firm headed by Mayor Daley confidant Victor Reyes and another company led by Carter Hendren, the longtime chief of staff for the Senate Republicans. But it didn't publicly disclose those lobbying deals until after the Chicago Sun-Times made inquiries Wednesday.

The misstep--condemned by a top government watchdog--comes amid criticism from consumer advocates over the way SBC muscled the legislation through the House and Senate last week and got it signed by Gov. Blagojevich in a breathtakingly short four days.

"It's important to have a public record of what resources are put into a legislative battle and who's lobbying for which side," said Cindi Canary, director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform. "Disclosure is all we've got. If we let that slide, we don't have anything."

The SBC law, decried as anti-consumer by Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Lt. Gov. Patrick Quinn, allows the company to jack up rates for competitors that use its phone lines to provide local telephone service. Tens of thousands of consumers who rely on AT&T, MCI or other firms could face higher bills.

The high-pitched battle over the legislation saturated the media with negative advertising and employed more Springfield lobbyists than anything else before the General Assembly this spring--other than perhaps the still-unresolved state budget.

Reyes and Hendren, who did not return phone messages Wednesday, filed paperwork with the secretary of state's office April 8 and April 18, indicating they had been hired by SBC.

But state law required SBC to file its own disclosure reports with the state within 10 days of signing lobbying contracts with Reyes and Hendren. The company failed to do so until Wednesday.

"There's nothing untoward or that we were trying to hide," SBC spokeswoman Andrea Brands said.

"It's merely a matter that we were very busy, and it was simply human error that it didn't get filed. It has been filed," she said.

Violations of the state Lobbyist Registration Act are considered business offenses and could result in $10,000 fines and a three-year ban on lobbying. But the statute is not enforced.

SBC's rivals seized on the company's snafu, calling it an example of a near-monopoly playing hard and fast with state laws designed to shine light on the way business is done at the Statehouse.

"This is typical of some of the things SBC does, where it thinks it can run roughshod over people and ignore the rules and regulations because they think they're above it," said Gary Mack, head of the Illinois Coalition for Competitive Telecom-munications, which includes AT&T and MCI.

SBC's filing Wednesday also disclosed that it hired former state Sen. William Shaw (D-Dolton), a close ally of Senate President Emil Jones (D-Chicago), and William Filan, who is one of Mayor Daley's top Springfield lobbyists.

The controversy flared on the eve of a report to be released today showing Illinois has one of the worst lobbying laws in the country.

The Center for Public Integrity's report gives the state a failing grade, ranking it 45th in the nation.