Chicago City Clerk Amends Ethics Forms After NBC 5 Questions

On Friday, the Chicago Board of Ethics has posted on its website that Anna Valencia has amended her 2020 ethics statements.

Chicago City Clerk Anna Valencia, who is running as a Democrat for Illinois Secretary of State, has amended her statements of financial interests after questions raised by NBC 5.

Valencia’s husband Reyahd Kazmi is a lobbyist, and as required, Valencia must list any companies that do business with the city that her spouse/or partner received compensation for of more than $5,000 a year. 

Valencia initially amended her 2021 forms on March 15 after NBC 5 first revealed Valencia did not list Monterrey Security, a company with clout-heavy city contracts.     Besides Monterrey Security, Valencia also amended her 2021 form to include two other businesses that were not listed initially: Chicago Commons and Black Dog Corporation.

On Friday, the Chicago Board of Ethics has posted on its website that Valencia has amended her 2020 ethics statements.

Valencia's campaign spokesman, insisting the amendment was done the same day on March 15, forwarded to NBC 5 a form her campaign says was emailed to the Board of Ethics, but the form had no one’s name on it and was not dated or signed. The word "amendment" was misspelled.

On the Board of Ethics website it states: The Board of Ethics will not accept for filing incomplete forms.

The Board of Ethics on Friday, March 25, said it received a form signed and dated March 16. Steve Berlin, the executive director of the Chicago Board of Ethics, said he accepted the amended form even though it was post dated because it is the substance of the form that makes it genuine.

If Valencia should become the Secretary of State she would be in charge of the registration of lobbyists.

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