Chicago City Wire

A medical supply executive and the husband of a Chicago alderwoman have been cited by the Chicago Board of Ethics for lobbying Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel on his personal email account, according to the Better Government Association (BGA).

James Abrams, a Medline Industries executive and Emanuel donor, and Alan King, who is married to 4th Ward Alderwoman Sophia King – an Emanuel appointee – face fines of up to $500,000, although the ethics panel has indicated the fines will probably be considerably less.

According to the BGA report, Abrams forwarded an email from Douglas Bank, the chief operating officer of Phoenix Electric Manufacturing, who asked Abrams to put him in touch with the mayor so he could seek an exemption from a city ordinance to raise the minimum wage. King messaged Emanuel in an effort to have a fence removed from Jackson Park, which threatened a planned event King was involved in.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel

The latest cases are the latest in an investigation by the BGA that began with a lawsuit to access Emanuel’s personal account.

The use of Emanuel’s personal email account for public lobbying has prompted the board to send 15 letters notifying individuals that they might have violated lobbying. Former Uber Executive David Plouffe and the company earned a $92,000 fine for lobbying Emanuel without registering ahead of time.