Obama Stiffs Springfield for $55K

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Springfield Asks Obama to Pay Up for Campaign Event
In Springfield there remains one piece of unfinished business: an unpaid bill for $55,480

By Carol Marin and Don Moseley, NBC Chicago
|  Monday, Feb 6, 2012  |  Updated 5:55 AM CST

Three and a half years after a rally by then candidate Barack Obama in Springfield, city officials in the state capitol say they are left holding the bill for police overtime.

On August 23, 2008 the Obama campaign rolled through central Illinois to announce Joe Biden as its Vice Presidential running mate.

  It was a buoyant time for the campaign en route to Denver for the Democratic Convention.

Thousands turned out in the square by the old State Capitol to witness the announcement.

But before the event could begin, the city of Springfield had work to do, said Alderman Frank Edwards.

“There are a lot of things that they asked for,” Edwards said. “Extra police, move things. You’ve got to have this A to Z and we provided that.”

The event went off without a hitch.  Obama moved on to Denver, got his party’s nomination and ultimately a history-making general election victory.

But back in Springfield there remains one piece of unfinished business: an unpaid bill for $55,480.

“What they refused to pay was the $55,000 associated with police overtime for extra security,” said city Budget Director William McCarty.