Brandon Johnson’s City Hall hands millions in deals to firms tied to Carmen Rossi, cited for improper lobbying

During Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s last year in office, one of her allies, Carmen Rossi, ran afoul of city lobbying rules. Rossi got fined $5,000. Lightfoot also gave back his campaign contributions.

Under Mayor Brandon Johnson, records show that Rossi, who remains a registered lobbyist at City Hall, is in line for $38.5 million in taxpayer-funded city deals made over the past five months for himself, his business partners and clients.

Johnson’s administration wants to give $28 million in tax-increment financing to Rossi’s lobbying client — an Italian billionaire who plans to convert one of four Loop office buildings to affordable apartments under a program that Lightfoot initiated.

The mayor also plans to hand Rossi — a Chicago lawyer and North Side bar owner who formerly held the liquor license for Lollapalooza — and another of his lobbying clients city grants totaling $454,000 to rehabilitate two downtown storefronts that include one of Rossi’s bars.

Those contracts still need Chicago City Council approval.

In a separate deal, Rossi’s restaurant group is getting paid, as a subcontractor, to feed migrants under a $10.1 million contract Johnson gave to a catering company represented by Rossi’s lobbying partner.

The mayor’s office didn’t respond to questions about Rossi’s deals.

Rossi and his companies had given $68,500 to Lightfoot’s campaign. During Lightfoot's unsuccessful run for a second term, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that some of those contributions appeared to have violated a ban imposed by former-Mayor Rahm Emanuel on mayors taking campaign money from lobbyists. As a result, Lightfoot returned $44,500 to Rossi.

And the Chicago Board of Ethics fined Rossi $5,000 in April 2023 for failing to be registered as a lobbyist when he called Lightfoot’s business affairs commissioner inquiring about licenses his parking company needed to park cars on Chicago Public Schools grounds.

After Lightfoot lost her re-election bid, Rossi’s companies gave $4,000 to Paul Vallas, the former CPS chief executive officer, who lost the mayor’s race in a runoff with Johnson.

Johnson hasn’t gotten any campaign contributions from Rossi, his businesses or his clients.

Rossi and Johnson’s senior adviser Jason Lee exchanged emails on one deal with Rossi’s client Brown Derby LLC, owned by Italian billionaire Luca Garavoglia, who also owns Campari liquor and buildings in Chicago.

A few days before Lightfoot left office in May 2023, two Rossi clients — Brown Derby LLC and R2 Companies — applied for city funding to convert vacant offices at 79 W. Monroe St. to apartments under Lightfoot’s plan to revitalize LaSalle Street skyscrapers, a program Johnson also has embraced.

Jim Vondruska/Chicago Sun-Times

Brown Derby had bought the 14-story building from R2, the developer of the Salt Shed concert venue on the North Side. The companies are working together on the rehab.

Last September, Rossi contacted Lee, wanting to introduce the mayor to Garavoglia and R2's Gary Stoltz, according to emails obtained by the Sun-Times. Rossi was registered to lobby for R2 but not Garavoglia’s company.

“I think for the purposes of the mayor this is more introductions between himself and the ownership team in from Europe,” Rossi wrote in a Sept. 21 email. “Both Jason and [then-chief of staff Rich Guidice] are familiar with the project, and understand that this group seeks to expand their development footprint in Chicago. I would expect this to be cursory in background discussions as a friendly means of introducing themselves.”

On Oct. 1, Rossi registered as a lobbyist for Garavoglia, who was set to meet with Johnson on Oct. 12, according to the mayor’s schedule.

On April 3, Johnson announced the Brown Derby project would be one of four residential conversions to receive taxpayer funding. City Hall has agreed to give Garavoglia $28 million to build 117 apartments, including 41 units designated as affordable, on eight of the building's 14 floors. The Chicago City Council has yet to approve the funding.

Rossi filed statements with the Chicago Board of Ethics saying he didn’t lobby for R2 or Brown Derby or get any lobbying payments.

Rossi’s lobbying partner John D’Alessandro reported he got $180,000 from Brown Derby and R2. D’Alessandro, whose clients include Rossi’s law firm, reported paying $11,500 to Rossi's law firm on behalf of Brown Derby last November.

Becky Carroll, Rossi’s spokeswoman, says the payment was for legal fees, not lobbying.

“This was a brief introductory meeting, and there was no specific conversation, request or ask regarding current, pending or future projects,” Carroll says. “He registered out of an abundance of caution, but no lobbying activity was reported, as none occurred.”

Johnson created a program to rehab Loop storefronts, with R2 and Rossi landing two of the six grants awarded. The mayor wants R2 to get $250,000 to upgrade a storefront for a Chicago Board of Trade museum, and Rossi is in line to get $204,120 to rehab Cardozo’s Pub, 170 W. Washington St.

Jim Vondruska / Sun-Times

Cardozo’s is one of a dozen restaurants that are part of 8 Hospitality LLC, a Rossi company that's helping feed migrants under a $10.1 million contract City Hall gave in January to Seventy-Seven Communities Meal Services LLC.

Seventy-Seven Communities’ chairman is Joseph Buonavolanto, whose family owns Buona Beef restaurants. Buona paid D’Alessandro $3,600 to lobby city officials.

Carroll says D’Alessandro didn’t lobby Buona to hire Rossi as a subcontractor and that Buona won’t say how much it has paid Rossi under the city contract.