The Chicago Board of Ethics has fined former Barack Obama adviser David Plouffe $90,000 for illegally lobbying Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel on behalf of the transportation company Uber.
Plouffe contacted Emanuel via email on behalf of Uber in November 2015.
The contacts came to light after Emanuel's December 2016 legal settlement with the Better Government Association (BGA) regarding the use of personal email accounts while conducting public business. Upon reviewing more than 3,200 pages of emails, the BGA questioned Plouffe's contact with the mayor. Plouffe had worked for Uber since leaving the White House in 2013, but he was not a registered lobbyist at that time. He did not register as a city lobbyist until April 2016.
Emanuel was on a trade mission to China when Plouffe sent the email urging the mayor to intervene in the new agreement with Uber. Once the agreement was implemented, the drivers would be able to transport passengers to and from the airports and McCormick Place. Emanuel told Plouffe to work with his aides in city hall to resolve the signage and fees issues.
After the emails came to light, spokeswoman Molly Spaeth acknowledged that the exchange put Uber out of compliance with the city rules on lobbying.
“We take compliance seriously," she said. "We’re always working to ensure registrations are accurate and kept up-to-date, but in this case there was an oversight."
The Illinois Board of Ethics held a special meeting on January 25 and issued an advisory. The board launched an investigation into the alleged violations of the Governmental Ethics Ordinance lobbying laws. It did not reveal the identity of the individual or the employer.
The story was broken on January 31 by news website The Daily Line, which identified the probable identities of the individual and company as Plouffe and Uber.
“As matters come to our attention we’re going to deal with them," ethics board Chairman William Conlon told the BGA, the group said. "We’re aware of what’s going on in the public arena, and if there are any actions that appear to be violations, we’re going to act.”
The ethics board received a written response from Uber on February 14 that did not dispute the notice of probable cause. Uber did argue that the fine should be limited to $1,000 because the lobbying was limited to a single day. The fine is usually $1,000 per day for the entire period.
The board disagreed with Uber's contention. It was 95 business days from the email to the date Plouffe registered as a lobbyist. Although the illegal lobbying was one series of emails on one day, the board noted that if Uber's and Plouffe's interpretation were allowed, it could lead to numerous instances of illegal lobbying. Individuals could break the law knowing that they would face a maximum fine of $1,000. The wording of the ordinance is clear that the same fine is required whether the individual had lobbied once or every day until registering.
“While it is true, as this lobbyist and company assert in their response, that this could lead to ‘massive fines for a single instance of unregistered lobbying,’ that is precisely what the ordinance says, and how it promotes transparency,” Conlon wrote.
The board voted 5-0 that Plouffe and Uber had violated the city's lobbying ordinance. Board member Zaid Abdul-Aleem recused himself and Dr. Daisy Lezama was absent. The board also determined that Plouffe's fine should be $90,000 and Uber's fine $2,000.
“The evidence before the board is clear: Mr. Plouffe lobbied city officials via email on November 20, 2015, explicitly on behalf of the company, never reported that lobbying activity, and did not register as a lobbyist with the board of ethics with that company as his client until April 13, 2016,” Conlon wrote.
Spaeth told the BGA that Uber and Plouffe would accept the board's ruling. Plouffe has since left Uber's employment, although he still sits on the board, and is working for a nonprofit headed by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
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