State reports show wide gap in fundraising by candidates in Belleville mayoral race
Belleville City Clerk Jenny Gain Meyer raised more than $46,000 in the last three months of 2024 for her campaign to unseat incumbent Mayor Patty Gregory in the April election.
That’s according to a quarterly report that her committee filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections. It also shows strong support from labor unions and leaders of Art on the Square, an art show that Gregory founded and directed for 20 years before she became mayor.
Gregory’s committee reported no contributions during the same quarter, although it has more than $11,000 left over from the 2021 election, when she defeated Mayor Mark Eckert.
Gregory declined to be interviewed for this story. She emailed the following statement on Tuesday:
“The first time I ran for office, the majority of my campaign was self funded,” she stated. “As to date, it is my intention to continue to fund the majority of my own campaign.”
Gregory’s committee reported in 2021 that she received $34,470 in contributions for her first mayoral campaign, $15,000 of which came from businesses owned by her husband, Bob Gregory.
Under Illinois law, candidates for public office must file quarterly reports, detailing revenues and expenditures and naming individuals, businesses and organizations contributing more than $150.
“The concept is to inform the public and certainly your opponent where your donations are coming from and where your committee is spending its money,” said John Levin, senior campaign disclosure specialist for the Board of Elections. “So it’s shedding light on the political process.”
Contributions by labor unions
Meyer was elected city clerk in 2017 and reelected in 2021. She announced her plans to run for mayor in August 2024.
In the quarter from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2024, Meyer raised $46,621.15 and spent $9,126.01, leaving $37,495.14 in the bank, according to her report to the Board of Elections. Expenditures included drinks and food for two fundraisers, one at Big Daddy’s 618 on Dec. 4 and one at Tavern on Main on Dec. 21.
Contributions to Meyer have included at least $11,250 from 11 unions and union-affiliated political action committees.
“I feel good about (the union support),” Meyer said last week. “The city has seven unions, and I believe in working men and women. That’s who does the work of the city.”
The union contributions include:
- Downstate Laborers’ District Council PAC, $2,500
- Ironworkers Local 392, $1,000
- Laborers’ International Union of North America Local 459 PAC Fund, $1,000
- Southwestern Illinois Central Labor Council, $500
- Steamfitters Local 439 PAC Fund, $2,500
- Southwestern Illinois Building & Construction Trades, $1,000
- Teamsters Local Union 50, $500
- Teamsters Volunteers in Politics, $1,000
- United Food & Commercial Workers Local 881, $500
- Southern Illinois Carpenters PAC, $250
Operating Engineers Local 520 Voluntary Political & Educational Fund, $500
Meyer has been working on campaigns for Illinois Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-Swansea) since 2012. She once served as his committee chair and now is listed as treasurer in Board of Elections records.
“He supported my decision to run (for mayor),” Meyer said, but he hasn’t made a formal endorsement in the race.
Support from art show leaders
Meyer’s report for the fourth quarter of 2024 lists several contributions from Art on the Square leaders, including $2,505 from Co-Director Karl Gilpin, $2,500 from Co-Director Rebecca Boyer, $1,100 from former Co-Director Carol Bartle and $250 from former Co-Director Stephanie Dorris.
Bartle and Dorris had a public falling-out with Gregory last year over the art show’s leadership and direction before they retired as co-directors. Boyer and Gilpin took over in September.
Meyer was an Art on the Square board member until last fall, when she resigned in conjunction with the announcement of her mayoral bid.
Gilpin said his support for Meyer’s campaign has nothing to do with Art on the Square, and he isn’t “anti-Patty.”
“I like Patty a lot and hope we’re still friends despite me supporting Jenny,” he said. “It goes without saying that Jenny is extremely well qualified for the job, and almost everything she does is for Belleville.
“She’s on four boards that I know of and volunteers at basically every event that Belleville has. So, ultimately, as in all small-town political elections, you have to choose between people that you likely know well.”
Other contributions to Meyer of $1,000 or more came from Scott Russell, Patrick and Thiem Flynn, Rosemary and Lawrence Hamann, Keefe, Keefe & Unsell, Scott Lanxon and Richard and Amy Orchard.
Ward 4 Alderman Johnnie Anthony and Ward 5 Alderman Ed Dintleman contributed $250 each.
The quarterly report lists Marilyn Rossi as chair and Rosemary Hamann as treasurer of Meyer’s campaign committee.
Meyer is relinquishing her job as city clerk to run for mayor. She said her campaign will become more active in February now that the holiday season is over and January’s snow is melting. Local residents can expect door-to-door visits, yard signs and mailed literature.
Meyer said these efforts will include more information on what will be her priorities if she’s elected on April 1.
“This is about Belleville,” she said. “This isn’t about what (Gregory) has done or hasn’t done. This is about Belleville and what we can do to make it better.”
Second mayoral campaign
Before entering politics, Gregory was a retired schoolteacher and founding director of Art on the Square, which is widely considered Belleville’s most important community event.
Gregory established a campaign committee on Feb. 16, 2021, for her first Belleville mayoral race. She defeated incumbent Eckert, now deceased, in the April 6 election. He had served more than 16 years as mayor.
Gregory started her campaign with $1,500, according to Board of Elections records. She raised $22,520 and spent 20,580.18 in the first quarter of 2021, leaving $3,439.82 in the bank.
During the second quarter of 2021, Gregory raised $11,950, including $6,000 from Barbara Kern and $5,000 from Wigginton Law Firm. She spent $4,330.93, mostly on catering and printing costs. Since that time, the committee’s $11,058.89 balance has remained unchanged.
Dorris, the former Art on the Square co-director, was listed as Gregory’s committee treasurer until late March 2024, when Dorris sent a letter to the Board of Elections, stating that she was no longer affiliated.
“(Gregory) was to replace me and clear my name from the database as Treasurer,” Dorris wrote. “It does not seem as if that has happened despite repeated requests to the candidate.”
Gregory is now listed as committee chair. No one is listed as treasurer.
This story was originally published January 22, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
