Attorney and former 43rd Ward Alderman William Singer has been fined $25,000 by the Chicago Board of Ethics for lobbying Chicago Mayor Raul Emanuel without registering as a lobbyist.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel's private emails were released following lawsuits by the Better Government Association (BGA) and the Chicago Tribune. Singer, then a paid consultant to United Airlines, corresponded with the mayor on behalf of the airline. Singer failed to register as a Chicago lobbyist within five business days of contacting the Emanuel.
"We understand that one of our consultants' failure to register was an administrative oversight and it has been corrected," United spokesman Frank Benenati told the Tribune in an email. "We hold all of our vendors to the highest standards."
Mayor Rahm Emanuel
Singer had sent Emanuel an email in July 2016 regarding the gate expansion plans at O'Hare International Airport. While Singer failed to register in accordance with law, he did register on Feb. 28, eight months after his initial contact with Emanuel.
Singer told the board his failure to register was "a mistake." He said he had sent the email after Emanuel had telephoned him regarding United. It contained a PDF attachment of a letter that had been sent to Chicago Aviation Commissioner Ginger Evans regarding United's proposal for O'Hare. A series of emails followed.
Singer agreed to pay a fine of $25,000 under terms negotiated with the board. United was fined $2,000. The board could have issued a fine of $1,000 per day from the time Singer failed to register until Feb. 28.
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