The Oswego Village Board recently approved another extension to agreements with lobbyists to help secure funding for two major projects, a Metra commuter rail extension into Kendall County and the transition to
Lake Michigan drinking water through a connection with the DuPage Water Commission for the village.
Oswego and Yorkville in 2018 hired Chicago-based lobbying firm Kasper & Nottag, P.C. to secure infrastructure funding for a Metra commuter station. A year later, the state passed its first capital plan in a decade, which included $100 million in funding to the Regional Transportation Authority for a Kendall County Metra rail extension.
The village of Montgomery in 2019 joined the partnership with Oswego and Yorkville for the lobbying services, Oswego officials said.
In 2020, Oswego hired lobbying firm Elevate Government Affairs to represent the village at the federal level. Yorkville, Montgomery and Kendall County joined an intergovernmental agreement to share the cost.
Oswego Village Administrator Dan Di Santo said the purpose of hiring federal and state lobbyists is to utilize their expertise to help secure funding and financing for both major projects in the village.
“Both our state and federal lobbyist contracts have resulted in great success for Oswego,” Di Santo told The Beacon-News.
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“Our state lobbyists helped secure several grants including $100 million in the state capital bill for our commuter rail extension project and helped pass our bill that allows Kendall County communities to be represented on the DuPage Water Commission board. Looking forward, these lobbyists will continue to bring our commuter rail extension, Lake Michigan water connection and Wolf’s Crossing expansion projects closer to fruition through grants and legislative assistance,” Di Santo said.
Elevate Government Affairs, the federal lobbyists, assisted in the application process for funding for a commuter rail extension and a $1.8 million Lake Michigan water grant, the village administrator said.
“Their continued involvement to see these projects through to the finish line is vitally important,” Di Santo said. “They have recently connected us with the necessary federal agencies responsible for overseeing our grants, regulating our projects and those that offer additional funding opportunities.
“These major projects are complicated and involve numerous state and federal agencies and funding opportunities. Hiring expert lobbyists to help navigate and advocate on our behalf is essential to our timely success in these areas. In addition, the services come at a bargain due to the funding through the intergovernmental agreements with our Kendall County partner communities,” Di Santo said.
The monthly retainer cost of $7,000 through the intergovernmental agreement with Kasper & Nottage is shared equally between Oswego, Yorkville and Montgomery, while the $12,500 monthly retainer for Elevate Government Affairs is shared four ways between the three municipalities and Kendall County, according to village documents.
Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.