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Kimmons holding out hope he can continue lobbying in Chicago, serving in Flossmoor

The last thing Flossmoor’s Gyata Kimmons said he wants to be is the face of a push against ethics reform. Kimmons has found himself thrust into the spotlight — Example A of how an ordinance passed by the City of Chicago could impact elected officials in other communities. 

The last thing Flossmoor’s Gyata Kimmons said he wants to be is the face of a push against ethics reform.

Kimmons has found himself thrust into the spotlight — Example A of how an ordinance passed by the City of Chicago could impact elected officials in other communities. 

Gyata Kimmons

It has left Kimmons with the possibility of a tough choice between his business and public service that he was not quite ready to make as of press time, but facing an hourglass without much sand left up top.

For the last 17 months, Kimmons has served as a trustee on the Flossmoor Village Board. He was elected in April 2019 and took his seat that May.

It is not his first go-round with government. Years prior, he worked for Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley in the city’s Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. He also served as deputy director of the Chicago Public Schools’ Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.

But six years ago, he moved from the city to Flossmoor. Raising two girls in the community he now calls home, Kimmons said he was talked into running for office by former Trustee James Wilder.

“I think, to some degree, every political science major wants to be an elected official,” Kimmons said. “I wanted to roll my sleeves up and be part of helping to continue to promote this community, help out in the way I could. I thought with my skill set, with some of the things in my experience, this would be a good avenue.”

But Kimmons had a worthwhile concern up front. He has served as a lobbyist for roughly the past 11 years. And as of 2015, he has done that work for Ridge Strategy Group, a company he founded and for which he serves as CEO. He lobbies the City of Chicago on behalf of clients such as Walmart, Starbucks and McDonald’s.

He said he checked with the city prior to April 2019 to make sure there would not be any issues if he won a seat on the Flossmoor Village Board. He similarly talked to people in Flossmoor to clear all of his bases. The answers were similar, he said.

“There are no conflicts,” Kimmons said.

But in December 2019, Chicago passed an ordinance that banned “cross-lobbying” — preventing Chicago aldermen from lobbying state and local government but also vice versa. It makes Kimmons’ business and public service a conflict in the eyes of the city, though he said there are others also impacted by the decision.

“It’s really not about me,” Kimmons said. “It’s any municipality and any elected office. So, whether it’s school board or library board or village board of trustees, it’s the same issue.”

While that law originally was set to go into effect in April, Chicago’s Ethics Board held off on enforcing the rule as Mayor Lori Lightfoot backed a possible amendment that would have allowed Kimmons to continue his work and public service, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

But the amendment has gone nowhere — Kimmons said he hears it may never be called for a vote — and the Ethics Board is reportedly looking to start enforcing the ordinance on Oct. 1.

“If that’s going to be the case, then I have to make a decision,” Kimmons said. “I have to make a choice.”

Kimmons is in no rush to make that call, though, one way or another. And he would not confirm, as of Sept. 21, what that means for his future with the Flossmoor Village Board or his business.

“I don’t know yet; I’m really just holding out hope,” Kimmons said that evening, noting the amendment still could be called for an up or down vote. “They’ve given me toward the end of the month, and I want to use all of that time.”

If and when the day comes, Kimmons said the choice he makes will be in line with the ethics regulations.

“I always want to be in compliance,” he said. “I’ve never not been in compliance. I will always do that.”

But while Kimmons said he understands what the city is trying to do in terms of ethics — “I get that,” he said of the ordinance — he was hoping for something more narrowly tailored so it would avoid disenfranchising other municipalities and their taxpayers.

“When I think about the effect and impact, I’m really thinking about the village itself,” Kimmons said. “That’s really where the impact really lies.

“Serving in such a hyperlocal, small-town situation, you run into your neighbors in the grocery store or at the ballpark. And their issues are your issues. … Those issues are real and the impact is real.

“Really, at the hyperlocal level, that’s really where rubber meets the road. In that regard, it’s been really rewarding. Regardless of what happens, I will certainly take that with me.”

Kimmons said he appreciates the support he has received around town. And he intends to keep serving the people of Flossmoor — at least until the timer runs out.

“I’m hopeful,” he said. “I’m still holding out hope that something’s able to happen and I can continue to serve here.”

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