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Effort to remove mayor’s ‘Belvidere wins’ ads from city bills fails after council debate
Summary
Alderman Freeman and constituents objected to two taxpayer-funded ads placed by the mayor praising the reopening of the Stellantis plant; an amendment to remove those charges from city expenditures failed in a roll-call vote after debate about contract risk and whether the ads were political.
Alderman Freeman urged the Belvidere City Council on Feb. 17 to remove two quarter-page newspaper ads from the city’s bills, saying constituents wanted to know "if their taxpayer dollars went to pay for these ads" that read "Belvidere wins" and thanked Stellantis, the UAW and then‑President Trump. Freeman said residents viewed the ads as an inappropriate use of public funds in an election year.
The mayor responded that he wrote and paid for the ad placement "on behalf of the city of Belvidere," describing the reopening of the…
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