Des Plaines hires third lobbyist for gambling issues

The Des Plaines city council this week hired a third lobbyist to strengthen the city’s voice and influence in Springfield on any new gambling expansion legislation, officials said.

The newest member of the city’s lobbying team is McGuireWoods Consulting, LLC, whose clientele includes Metra, several other municipalities, and previously The Illinois Housing Development Authority. The $19,200 contract with McGuireWoods will run from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31.

Michael Cassidy, the firm’s vice-president of government affairs, will do most of the lobbying for the city. He previously worked for the Democratic Party of Illinois for six years and was a senior member of Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s legislative staff.

The city’s two other lobbyists are the firms of Alfred G. Ronan, Ltd., whose contract was extended this week at a cost of $60,000 from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, and Government Consulting Services of Illinois, LLC.

“We allocated additional monies in the budget for this year,” Des Plaines Mayor Marty Moylan said. The 2012 budget includes $100,000 in funding for professional lobbying services. Additional costs such as travel expenses, long-distance telephone calls and express mail and other delivery services will be paid for by the city.