{"id":186043,"date":"2021-09-17T09:10:30","date_gmt":"2021-09-17T16:10:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=186043"},"modified":"2021-09-17T13:11:09","modified_gmt":"2021-09-17T20:11:09","slug":"chicago-sky-owner-fined-for-unregistered-lobbying-of-mayor-for-sports-betting-license","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/chicago-sky-owner-fined-for-unregistered-lobbying-of-mayor-for-sports-betting-license\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicago Sky Owner Fined for \u2018Unregistered Lobbying\u2019 of Mayor for Sports Betting License"},"content":{"rendered":"

The owner of the Chicago Sky WNBA team has denied he improperly lobbied the city\u2019s mayor, Lori Lightfoot<\/a>, for a sports betting license.<\/p>\n

\"Michael
The Chicago Sky\u2019s Michael Alter, seen at a press conference above, says the ethics board is reading lobbying registration rules too broadly. (Image: Chicago Sun-Times<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Michael Alter was fined $5,000 after he asked the mayor to support his efforts to obtain a license while he was not registered as a city lobbyist, according to The<\/em> Chicago Tribune.<\/em><\/p>\n

But in a statement to the Tribune<\/em> this week, Alter said his contact with Lightfoot had been misread by the ethics board. He added he wasn\u2019t trying to influence the mayor because she was already a Sky fan, and furthermore, she has \u201cno authority over the state legislature.\u201d<\/p>\n

Illinois’ Sexist Policy<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The state legalized sports betting is part of its vast $45 billion \u201cRebuild Illinois Capital Plan,\u201d signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker in July 2019. The new law<\/a> created 20 sports betting licenses initially, ten for casinos, three for horse racetracks, and seven for sports teams.<\/p>\n

But Alter was incensed that only men\u2019s teams were permitted to apply for licenses, and so, in December, he wrote to Lightfoot requesting her help. In an email to Chicago’s first lady Amy Eshleman, he asked the mayor to support a bill introduced to the Illinois legislature in July 2020 that seeks to redress the gender imbalance.<\/p>\n

I am writing you now to formally get the mayor\u2019s support for pending legislation that will \u2014 FINALLY \u2014 provide an opportunity for the sky [sic] to get a gaming license,\u201d <\/strong>he wrote.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He described the existing situation as one that \u201csets an extremely dangerous precedent,\u201d and asked the mayor to lend her \u201cvocal and visible support\u201d to the amendment.<\/p>\n

He also asked the mayor\u2019s help in signing Candace Parker, who was coming to the end of her contract with the Los Angeles Sparks and grew up in Illinois. Parker signed with the Sky in February.<\/p>\n

\u2018Chilling Effect\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Alter told the Tribune<\/em> that the ethics board\u2019s \u201coverly broad reading of the ordinance\u201d was \u201cdangerous\u201d because it turned any business owner who reached out to elected city officials for help into a transgressor.<\/p>\n

This would have a chilling effect on the essential dialogue between business leaders and elected officials and lead to the absurd conclusion that every business owner and CEO must register as a lobbyist to engage with their elected leaders,\u201d he said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Ethics Board Executive Director Steve Berlin told the Tribune<\/em> it wasn\u2019t \u201cchilling\u201d because all he had to do was register so that people know about his contact with politicians.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is not chilling \u2014 it\u2019s just good government,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The owner of the Chicago Sky WNBA team has denied he improperly lobbied the city\u2019s mayor, Lori Lightfoot, for a sports betting license. Michael Alter was fined $5,000 after he asked the mayor to support his efforts to obtain a license while he was not registered as a city lobbyist, according to The Chicago Tribune. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":186044,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nChicago Sky Owner Fined for \u2018Unregistered Lobbying\u2019 of Mayor<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The owner of the Chicago Sky WNBA team has denied he improperly lobbied the city\u2019s mayor, Lori Lightfoot, for a sports betting license. 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