Cash-strapped cities, schools say: 'Your Ad Here'

11-22-2011

By Carla K. Johnson and Robert Ray/Boston Globe

Seven vinyl banners draped this month along one of Chicago's most iconic bridges, advertisements some have dubbed "a visual crime" and "commercial graffiti," are reviving a debate about how governments raise money in tough economic times. In the aftermath of the Great Recession, a public school district in Colorado is selling ads on report cards and Utah has a new law allowing ads on school buses. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's administration, straining to fill a $600 million budget hole, is looking to raise $25 million from ads on city property -- including bridges, electrical storage boxes and garbage cans. The effort kicked off this month with Bank of America ads on the 81-year-old Wabash Avenue Bridge, which crosses the Chicago River and has appeared in movies including "About Last Night" and "The Dark Knight." (more...)

Also: Torrance Daily Breeze

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Cash-strapped cities, schools say: 'Your Ad Here'

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