Springfield to bill Obama $50,000 for rally

The city of Springfield plans to bill Barack Obama's presidential campaign about $50,000 to cover expenses related to the August rally he held to introduce Delaware Sen. Joe Biden as his running mate, officials said Tuesday.

"The mayor is looking at all our finances and would like to recover whatever costs we can," said Springfield city spokesman Ernie Slottag, speaking of Mayor Timothy Davlin.

Obama's campaign declined comment Tuesday.

The Democratic Illinois senator's campaign did not get a bill when Obama officially launched his bid for the presidency during a February 2007 rally in Springfield, the state capital, Slottag said.

The city did not track expenses separately for that event, but did so in August, Slottag said. He also said the later rally was a much larger event than Obama's 2007 announcement.

Obama, Biden and thousands of people rallied in front of the Old Capitol State Historic Site on Aug. 23.

The city was still sorting through paperwork to see how much money Obama's campaign owes, but Slottag said a safe estimate would be about $50,000.

Back To Top