WINNING HER PLACE AT THE RAIL
Move women are lobbying these days. And a growing number are getting hired by big-ticket clients to troubleshoot high-profile issues
by Heather Nickel

Billie Paige made her way from the House Republican leadership office to a Senate Financial Institutions Committee meeting on the fourth floor of the state Capitol where a client was waiting.

The meeting was important to Steve Brubaker, the executive director of the Illinois Small Loan Association, because the committee was considering new regulations on the "payday loan" companies his association represents. A measure under consideration would restrict the size of short-term loans and limit loan extensions. The sponsor, Palos Park Republican Sen. Patrick J. O'Malley, argues the restrictions are needed because the companies often charge high rates for the loans. But Brubaker and other opponents say the bill would drive local "mom and pop" stores out of business.

Paige was confident. "I think we're in good shape, really."

Considered one of the top professionals in her field, Paige has been lobbying the Illinois legislature for more than 25 years. In that time, she's seen a lot of changes along the rail in the Capitol rotunda just outside the legislative chambers where she and other lobbyists traditionally gather to talk with lawmakers. More women have joined Paige's profession, certainly. More important, a growing number of these women, like Paige, are getting hired by big-ticket clients to troubleshoot high- profile issues.

Much has happened since the members of the Women's Legislative Network began meeting in 1977 to lend moral support to the small contingent of women then lobbying state government. Then they could barely fill a room. The 1975 state registration list indicates that only about 35 women were lobbying the legislature at that time, or about 9 percent of the 383 lobbyists who registered with the state. "It could get very lonely," Paige says.

Loneliness is no longer a problem. Last fall, 3, 077 lobbyists registered with the state. And though the list doesn't identify individuals by gender, at least 680 were women.

In part, broader state registration requirements have been responsible for boosting the count. Still, in the past quarter century lobbying has become a growth industry in Illinois. And women have made real gains. At a minimum, they now constitute 22 percent of those who lobby state government, an increase that is only slightly less than the inroads women have made in the legislature. One of every four members of the General Assembly is a woman, according to the Illinois Blue Book.

Women lobbyists also are gaining a wider clientele. Randall Witter, a partner in the Springfield-based lobbying firm Cook-Witter Inc., notes that in the 1970s women usually "came up from the ranks" to represent teachers or nurses or social agencies. Others got started lobbying in favor of the Equal Rights Amendment. "In general, women had a closer tie with the group they were lobbying for," he says.

These days, women lobbyists are tackling more of the hot-button issues traditionally dominated by men. In addition to working with the loan association, Paige lobbies for such major corporate firms as AT&T and Anheuser-Busch.

Another top lobbyist, Betsy Mitchell has a portfolio that ranges from child care to trucking interests. Mitchell, who owns Springfield-based Betsy D. Mitchell Consulting, has been lobbying off and on since 1976. "Women are finally moving into all sectors," she says.

As the ranks of women lawmakers have widened, more organizations have sought women lobbyists. Mitchell adds that when she started, "there was this idea that women lobbyists may be better at communicating with women legislators." At the same time, she believes, businesses probably sought out women as the legislature focused on more so- called women's issues. As an example, powerful interests, including insurance companies and health care providers, are among the industries most affected by women's health legislation.

Margaret Blackshere, a longtime labor lobbyist who made history by becoming the first woman president of the Illinois AFL-CIO, agrees that in the early '70s women lobbyists were often assigned to women legislators. "Now there's not a separation of labor," she says. "I don't think there's a group that's of any size or any consequence that doesn't have a female lobbyist."

And, many concur, those lobbying groups reap the benefits of women's experience.

Paula Johnson Purdue, who started the Women's Legislative Network, sees her current career as a logical extension of her former career as a teacher. A Springfield-based lobbyist, she got into the field after teaching home economics. She's been an advocate for the Illinois Education Association since the late 1970s. This spring, Purdue is back-

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ing legislation that would encourage school districts to provide breakfast programs for children. And she says she's still teaching, just not in a classroom. "I educate legislators about school employees, public education and how to make it better."

Chicago Democratic Rep. Julie Hamos, a former lobbyist, says having experience in a variety of capacities within government is a benefit to anyone who wants to lobby. Purdue agrees. "You have to get to know everyone. Everyone is important, from the president of the Senate to the doormen."

Lynne Padovan, also a former schoolteacher, says she got involved in lobbying in the 1970s because she "liked the legislative process and the ability to influence it." Now executive director for the Illinois Environmental Council, Padovan works on issues that she describes as "hard."

"Trying to stamp out pollution and toxins many times runs counter to industry," she says. "These issues are complex. It's never black and white." This spring, she's pushing a bill she says would create coal-mining jobs in southern Illinois while cleaning the air. The measure would provide dollars to help utilities pay for pollution controls to meet more stringent emission standards. In return, though, those companies would have to burn Illinois coal. "Right now, it is the utility companies that are opposed to the legislation."

But Padovan thinks women lobbyists have some inherent strengths in this political game. "Women are great mediators and facilitators," she says. "I think we're naturals." Blackshere agrees. She says lobbying "may be a more natural instinct for women. I think we offer a sensitivity to it."

Jennifer Gordon, a partner with Springfield-based Filson/Gordon Associates, adds that lobbying is "basically a process of communication and women are pretty good at communication." Along with her partner, Darlene Logsdon, Gordon represents such diverse clients as Advocate Health Care Network and the Illinois Chamber of Commerce.

Female or male, getting the job done is always the bottom line. Chicago- based lawyer and lobbyist Larry Suffredin says good political instinct and the ability to understand what you're being told are the keys to success in the field. "You have to know what subject matter is worth in terms of political realities," he says.

Purdue adds that the most important thing for a lobbyist to have is integrity. "You have to know what you're talking about, and admit what you don't know and find out," she says. "You also have to love working with people."

Women have made great strides in the last quarter century in lobbying and across the political and governmental board, Mitchell says, but "there is still a lot of progress to be made." Women remain vastly under-represented, she argues. "We're still breaking through the glass ceiling."

Photograph by Terry Farmer
Lobbyists Lynne Padovan and Billie Paige at the rail in the state Capitol rotunda.

As a result, says Alice Phillips, president of the Springfield lobbying firm Government Affairs Specialists Inc., women frequently accept difficult jobs that men won't take. These days, for example, all of the lobbyists with the pharmaceutical industry are women. Phillips says that's a tough position because it requires a lot of time and travel. "Women will do it because it pays well and serves as an entree into the profession."

But there's a price. "It's tough to be a conscientious mom and a lobbyist," Mitchell says. With long drives and legislative sessions that can last into the wee hours of the morning, a woman with children has to have a support system.

Women lobbyists also share a major difficulty with their male colleagues: a negative public perception of what they do. "People think that lobbyists are handing people envelopes," Paige says. "The public has no perception of what I do." Paige, though, considers herself a salesperson. "I sell the wisdom of passing or not passing legislation."

And these days, she has her hands full. Of course, more lobbyists mean more competition. But increased partisanship in the legislature, she says, has made her work more difficult. She traces the change to the early 1990s. "People began to lose their sense of humor," she says. "If you can't have fun, don't do this job."

But these days are still a far cry from 25 years ago, when it was uncommon to see a woman standing at the third floor rotunda railing jawboning a lawmaker. And that is what Purdue envisioned when she launched the lobbying network in the late '70s. Originally, weekly meetings drew five to seven members who gathered in her living room. A key role for the group was providing moral support. "How do I help you survive in an environment that is not friendly to women yet?"

Today, the network is "huge and has money," Purdue says. Sexism may be less of an issue now, but the group is still dedicated to furthering the careers of women in government. The organization has expanded to include women reporters who cover government. And it may have inspired the creation of a similar group for women legislators, the Conference of Women Legislators. "Women can be as successful as men today," Purdue says. "That was less possible in the 1970s."

Meanwhile, though the payday loan bill got out of committee, Paige's confidence about its fate could be well- placed. Lobbying, after all, is a game that's best played over the long haul.

Personal hardships and political uncertainties aside, Lynne Padovan says she wouldn't trade her job for anything. "It is totally addictive. You go to the peaks and valleys every day. I'll probably be here when I'm 80." 

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