Chicago’s Board of Ethics fined the owner of the Chicago Sky basketball team $5,000 for lobbying Mayor Lori Lightfoot without registering, an act that became public following inquiries by the Tribune.

       Records show Michael Alter, principal owner of the WNBA team, emailed Chicago first lady Amy Eshleman in December to ask for the mayor’s help obtaining a gambling license for his team. In the email, Alter noted he’d previously discussed the issue with Lightfoot.

       “I am writing you now to formally get the mayor’s support for pending legislation that will -- FINALLY -- provide an opportunity for the sky to get a gaming license,” Alter wrote. “As you know from our previous conversation, in the big gaming bill passed in (June) 2019, all the men’s professional teams were (given) the right to buy a license. The sky was not included.”

       In the email, Alter said he had been trying to get the law changed since it passed. Lightfoot previously asked him to “step aside” to make legislation for a Chicago casino passage easier and he did, Alter said.

       Chicago Sky owner Michael Alter speaks at a press conference on Nov. 13, 2018. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)

       Alter said he was hopeful that the legislature would pass an amendment giving him the license in January but was trying to “formally rally support now to create the necessary momentum.”

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       “It would be extremely helpful if the mayor would lend her ‘vocal’ and visible support to our efforts by agreeing to add her name as a supporter to this amendment,” Alter said. “If you could help facilitate this quickly, I would be enormously grateful.”

       Eshleman responded that she sent his email to Lightfoot who would give him a call. A measure that would allow the Sky to apply for a license was approved in the Illinois House in May but stalled in the Senate.

       In January, Alter emailed Eshleman on the same thread and asked for Lightfoot’s help signing Candace Parker, a former Los Angeles Sparks star who played high school basketball at Naperville Central.

       “(Do) you think the mayor would be willing to give candace a call -- or send her a text, encouraging her to come play for chicago?” Alter wrote. “(W)e’re pulling out all the stops we can think of to make her feel ‘home.’”

       Eshleman said Lightfoot would be willing to contact Parker and copied the mayor on her response.

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       “We saw her play when she was in high school!” Eshleman wrote.

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       Alter has not registered as a city lobbyist dating back to 2013, according to the city’s lobbyist registry. The Tribune obtained the emails from Alter as part of a public records request.

       A spokesman for Alter did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

       Lobbyists are required to register with the city and report contact with city departments. Exempt from registering are those acting solely on their own behalf. Individuals who fail to register as a lobbyist or report their lobbying activity face fines. The largest is a $1,000-a-day fine for lobbyists who fail to register within five days of contacting city officials — a penalty designed to create immediate transparency as to which interests are seeking to influence potential government actions as city officials weigh those decisions.

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       Numerous individuals violated lobbying rules under Mayor Rahm Emanuel by contacting him on his private email and not registering as lobbyists.

       Lightfoot has had her own controversies over lobbying.

       In late 2019, aldermen led by Matt O’Shea and Michele Smith passed a ban on elected officials lobbying city leaders on behalf of clients. Although that ordinance passed unanimously, Lightfoot introduced her own plan that would have rolled back part of the ordinance.

       While Lightfoot’s ordinance was pending, Flossmoor trustee Gyata Kimmons continued lobbying the city. During that time, the city’s Board of Ethics declined to enforce the restrictions against lobbying by elected officials on the grounds that if Lightfoot’s proposal passed, it would nullify them.

       After Lightfoot’s ordinance failed, Kimmons resigned his position in Flossmoor in order to continue lobbying.

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