Services

Morrill & Fiedler provides clients with legislative representation before the Illinois General Assembly throughout the calendar year. Our Illinois lobbyists are in Springfield during the regular session, veto session, and any special session. This representation typically includes:

• monitoring of all legislative activity, including bills, amendments, conference committee reports, resolutions and proposed constitutional amendments;
• monitoring of legislative committee activity;
• constructing, maintaining and regularly forwarding legislative user files;
• lobbying to promote the interests of the client as appropriate, and with policy direction from the client;
• drafting of bills and amendments as needed, with input from the client;
• preparing appropriate fact sheets under the general direction of the client;
• developing and implementing legislative strategies with input from the client; and
• assisting in the deepening of relationships enjoyed by the client with appropriate government officials and with the various interest groups that constitute, or should constitute, its legislative allies.

In support of this legislative representation:

• Morrill & Fiedler staff is on-site in Springfield whenever the General Assembly is in session, and pays particular attention to the action of those legislative committees whose jurisdiction is of most importance to the client; and
• Morrill & Fiedler utilizes the LIS on-line bill tracking system, and subscribes to numerous private and governmental publications that cover elements of governmental activity.

We promote client interests before Illinois state agencies in their conduct of administrative decision-making and in their application of statutes and regulations, as well as throughout the Illinois rulemaking process, which includes agency rulemaking, review thereof by the General Assembly through the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules ("JCAR"), and occasional challenges thereto in the Illinois courts. With respect to the rulemaking process, Morrill & Fiedler continually monitors the rulemaking activities of all state agencies through regular review of the Illinois Register and various agency newsletters and web pages.

The Morrill & Fiedler team has a strong working knowledge of the statutes and regulations that govern purchasing by Illinois state government, as well as those of the various forms of local government in Illinois, and we regularly help clients through the Illinois procurement process.

We have represented clients before a large number and wide variety of local governmental bodies in Illinois, and we bring both substantive legal knowledge and personal relationships to such assignments.

Morrill & Fiedler does not provide legal services on behalf of clients; however, legal services may be rendered by Steve Morrill through his Of Counsel affiliation with Barnes & Thornburg, LLP. Barnes & Thornburg is a national 650-attorney law firm with offices in Chicago, Washington D.C., and twelve other cities. It provides a broad range of legal services from its offices, as well as government relations services in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Washington, DC. While the two firms are separate entities with professional and ethical obligations flowing directly to their respective clients, they are often retained to work on the same projects by the same clients. Morrill & Fiedler has substantial experience in advising clients on matters pertaining to the Illinois governmental process, including questions related to compliance with lobbyist registration and expenditure reporting laws and regulations, campaign finance and reporting requirements, rules and statutes governing the Illinois legislative process, agency rulemaking and procurement procedures, and statutes that proscribe various procedural requirements for the conduct of local governmental affairs.

In addition Morrill & Fiedler has experience in the following areas:

• Agency Rule Making
• Zoning and Property Taxation
• Municipal Law
• Administrative Law
• Pension System Administration
• Insurance Law
• Health Care
• Utility Regulations
• Transportation
• Professional Regulation