CHICAGO — 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.
Jefferson County Schools report cards in Colorado include ads for the CollegeInvest college savings program, raising $30,000 a year, and Utah has a new law allowing ads on school buses. Chicago is looking to raise $25 million from ads on city property — including bridges, electrical storage boxes and garbage cans.
“I think it’s disgusting,” resident Linda Ro sen thal said of the signs on the city’s 81-year- old Wabash Avenue Bridge. “The architecture in Chicago is stunning. To see this awful advertisement angers me.” The Associated Press
